I’m Haunted (2022) Review – A Derivative and Low-Effort Found Footage Slog

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we will be reviewing micro budget, found footage, paranormal horror movie I’m Haunted from 2022.

Paranormal vlogging horror

Following the story of a woman called Genesis, vlogging the mysterious events taking place in her apartment. This is one of those horror movies that couldn’t possibly feel lower effort. It might seem like I am being a bit unfair saying that. But a movie simply existing doesn’t mean it is, instantly, deserving of praise.

I’m Haunted feels extremely low effort and not low effort as in “a filmmaker working within the constraints of a tight budget”. Low effort as in a filmmaker putting together a derivative and poorly fleshed out story, writing a dull script and cutting together a series of videos in the most haphazard way possible.

Why is I’m haunted so bad?

I’m Haunted is just a classic example of lazy storytelling and dishwater dull production. It is the lowest form of found footage. A woman sits in front of a camera and recounts a number of paranormal experiences. Things bang on the wall and strange people appear at the door, rinse and repeat. It’s been done a hundred thousand times before and 99.9% of those times it was done better than this. Every single horror cliché you can possibly think of has been crammed into this movie.

“I’m Haunted is just a classic example of lazy storytelling and dishwater-dull production. It is the lowest form of found footage. Every single horror cliché you can possibly think of has been crammed into this movie.”

We have creepy children crawling in front of cameras, a priest performing an exorcism, a woman wearing a cross to fend off evil spirits, spooky rituals designed to curse people. It’s all so incredibly over-familiar. I really hope I’m Haunted isn’t representative of the director’s filmmaking skills because if innovation was an infectious disease, Brandon Rhiness wouldn’t need an inoculation.

He is already immune. Not a single facet of this movie is even remotely original and not a single facet isn’t borrowed from a much better film. I’m Haunted is the Ali Express of horror movies, full of cheap copies of much better made products.

Just not very good

There are, unfortunately, a lot of technical issues here. The movie is, obviously, supposed to be a woman filming on her webcam. That doesn’t actually appear to be the case, though, as she frequently switches between filming at her computer and filming using her phone with no loss of quality. Which begs the question, if this was filmed on proper camera equipment, why is the audio so terrible?

Movies that are filmed vlog-style still tend to use separate audio recording equipment. You can often see the mic packs under the actor’s clothes. They also tend to be filmed in rooms that have undergone some type of acoustic preparation. You know, to avoid the tinniness, horrible hissing and nasty echo that this movie has. None of that has been done here. The audio has been captured straight into whatever camera was used for video in a non-sound-proofed room, making for a fairly awful sounding film.

“The audio has been captured straight into the camera in a non-sound-proofed room, making for a fairly awful sounding film. It entirely lacks in scares and the protagonist is utterly unlikable.”

That’s not all, though. There are lighting issues, the camera is often overexposed, and many of the plot points are completely farcical. The movie entirely lacks in scares, scripting is poor, dialogue is awkward, especially between multiple characters, and our protagonist is utterly unlikable.

She is vicious about the people around her, self obsessed and incredibly difficult to relate to. On top of that, she never seems to be particularly phased by anything that is happening to her, instead choosing to brush the “supposedly terrifying” events off with a chuckle and a smile. It makes it extremely difficult to invest in her situation.

Any positives?

I suppose there are a couple of positives here. Despite playing a completely unlikable twat of a character, Elizabeth Chamberlain seems to be comfortable in front of a camera. She has decent line delivery and seems pretty confident. This movie didn’t feel retro-scripted; I am assuming Chamberlain was reading from a script, but if she was improvising then she does a good job avoiding dead air. She has very clear elocution, as well, making her easy to understand. 

Some of the other performances were okay. I like that the movie actually had a solidly constructed ending. Something that seems to be lacking, as a whole, in found footage. I appreciated the fact that certain scenes were filmed in different locations, keeping the picture, at least, somewhat fresh.

“If you are desperate for some low-budget paranormal stuff, give it a try. Otherwise, this is a safe skip. It’s the Ali Express of horror movies.”

Honestly, I was also impressed by the size of the cast given the micro budget. I am not sure that I’m Haunted is a solid indication of Brandon Rhiness’s abilities as a filmmaker. He clearly doesn’t struggle for inspiring people to work for him. The actors involved all seemed very loose as well, suggesting a great onset experience.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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