Movie Review: A Haunted House (2013)
Written by Anthony Sargon
The spoof genre hasn't exactly been thriving as of late. It's been milked to death in recent years with endless "Scary Movie" sequels and spinoffs like "Date Movie", "Epic Movie", and "Meet the Spartans". "A Haunted House" does little to reinvigorate the genre, and it's let down by an abundant amount of crudeness and lack of wit. You'll laugh, just not very often.
Taking aim at the "Paranormal Activity" movies and "The Devil Inside", the movie follows Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and Kisha (Essence Atkins) as they move into their dream home. The house turns out to be haunted by a seemingly sex-craved demon, and chaos ensues much like you would expect.
It's too bad that writers Marlon Wayans and Rick Alvarez are simply pandering to the lowest common denominator. They can't seem to come up with something more clever than fart jokes or ghosts having sex with people, and while you'll chuckle a few times at how ridiculous it is, it's very superficial. The movie pokes fun at some stereotypes which is funny, and there are definitely some stand outs when it comes to the cast.
Cedric the Entertainer is great as Father Williams, an ex-con turned exorcist, and Nick Swardson does his usual schtick as Chip the psychic, but still ends up delivering consistent laughs. Marlon Wayans and Essence Atkins are fine in the lead roles, but given that their dialogue is pretty obnoxious, their characters aren't that likable as a result.
Anthony's Verdict:
"A Haunted House" is a lazy, predictable, and mostly unfunny endeavor. There are a couple of bright spots, but they're sadly very few and far between.
Numerical Score: 5/10
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