Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we will be reviewing micro budget, found footage, paranormal, horror movie I’m Haunted from 2022. Coming by way of Edmonton, Canada, I believe. This movie is part of our Horror on Tubi feature. 

Low Budget Horror on Tubi

For those who don’t know. For the month of June we have been covering nothing but low budget horror on Tubi. Tubi’s a fantastic free streaming service with a lot of great horror. That’s really not what we are interested in, though. We are not looking for killer classics with established reputations.

We are looking for the lowest of low budget horror. Movies with terrible titles, awful covers and ridiculous descriptions. We are elbow deep here and scraping the bottom of the toilet pan.

Surprisingly, we have had a fair bit of luck so far. While movies like Something Walks in the Woods, Chest and The Sleepless Unrest left us yawning. Movies like ReSet, The Andy Baker Tape, and Lexi were actually completely watchable. Hell, Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism was legitimately great. So how will today’s movie hold up? Spoiler alert – it’s not so good.

Well This is Awkward

It’s always a little bit awkward reviewing movies like this. There aren’t an awful lot of people talking about I’m Haunted. To be honest, there probably won’t be an awful lot of people searching Google for it. When people don’t really talk about a movie. But I write a review for it here at Knockout Horror. We tend to come up somewhere near the top of Google. This is the case for Leaving D.C. This is also the case for Survive the Hollow Shoals, The Nothing, Uninhabited and a few others. 

That inevitably means that you will, possibly, be talking directly to the person who made the movie. Let’s be real, they are going to want to know what people think. They are going to google it and, potentially, my site will appear. They will click on the link and they will read my opinion on their movie; for better or for worse.

Sometimes, this isn’t a problem. I liked their movie and I am sure they will be happy with the review. In the case of movies like I’m Haunted, the opposite applies. I am bashing them. So I should point out ahead of time. If anyone involved in the production of this movie reads this. I don’t hate you. I know you will hate me after reading this and that is fine.

The thing is, I had to give my opinion and I think your movie is a bit poo. I’ll check out your other stuff, though. And, with any luck, I will find something I enjoy. You can stay and read some other reviews if you like? My site is kind of the “I’m Haunted” of horror review sites. A bit poo but I enjoy working on it.

Paranormal Vlogging

We are into the final two days of our Horror on Tubi feature. It’s actually been a lot of fun and is something I will revisit frequently. I’d like to build on this category quite a bit. After all, this whole month has proven that there is some genuinely decent horror hidden in the depths of micro budget hell. 

I’m Haunted, unfortunately, is not one of those decent horror movies. 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 film maker working within the constraints of a tight budget”. Low effort as in a film maker 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. 

The Worst Thing About Found Footage

Quick disclaimer here before I start this rant. I am a huge found footage horror fan. I know, it isn’t for everyone. In fact, it isn’t for most people. You certainly wouldn’t win much approval dragging one out at a horror movie watch-along party. But I enjoy them and have reviewed a fair few for this site. The fact of the matter is, however. Found Footage is guilty of dragging film making down, as a whole. 

This is a sub-genre that leads absolutely anyone to think that they can make a movie. Regardless of whether they have an interesting story to tell. Regardless of whether they can write a script and regardless of whether they understand direction. Some of the found footage movies floating around are utterly terrible. Others are just plain boring.

The strange thing is, Brandon Rhiness, the director of I’m Haunted is not an inexperienced film-maker. In fact, he has numerous writer and director credits to his name. He is actually making a living off of this. Don’t get me wrong. The vast majority of them seem to be knocked out from his apartment. Feature the same actors, garner about a 4/10 on IMDB from the few people who bother to review them. And each one is likely filmed over the course of three days. But still, he has been doing this for awhile. Which begs the question… 

Why is I’m Haunted So Bad?

I’m Haunted is just a classic example of lazy story telling 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 cliche 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. Things banging on the wall. It’s all so incredibly over familiar. I really hope I’m Haunted isn’t representative of the director’s film making 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. Not a single facet isn’t borrowed from a much better film.

It might seem like I am being unfair. But when you have experience with making movies. What excuse do you have for reusing so many tired tropes? Would it have killed to try something new? I’m Haunted is the Ali Express of horror movies. Full of cheap copies of much better made products. This movie desperately lacks in creativity and stinks to high heaven of borrowed material. That’s only part of the problem, though. 

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.

That’s not all, though. There are lighting issues. The camera is, often, overexposed. 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.

Originally an Episodic Series?

Interestingly enough, it seems as though I’m Haunted was originally released episodically. I am gonna suggest it was probably a case of each individual vlog being released as part of a web-series. With the entire collection of vlogs, eventually, coming together as a movie. I’m not sure because I can’t seem to find it anywhere. This is probably the explanation for the lack of continuity and the autoplay nature of things, though.

I understand that this is supposed to be a woman vlogging her experiences. But the way this movie is filmed and cut together is incredibly lacklustre. The movie suffers tremendously for its lazy journey to movie format. Sequences play out, one after another, without context and without connection. It is literally as if someone pressed stop on one video and start on the next. There are no transitions, no written notes to denote time and date, no dialogue from the vlogger to open scenes up. Just a bunch of videos set to autoplay, one after another.

I’m Haunted is nothing more than a woman talking rapidly into a camera about what happened that day. I get it. It started as an episodic series, but this just feels cheap. This type of production stinks of content farming. Monetising a product in every way you can while actually putting in the minimum amount of effort possible. I would have greatly appreciated extra scenes being filmed exclusive to the movie. As well as some additional editing to solidify the timeline. This just feels lazy.

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. 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 abilities as a filmmaker. But 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. 

Final Thoughts and Score

There just isn’t a whole lot positive to say about I’m Haunted. It is cliched, derivative, unoriginal, lacking in scares and difficult to invest in. There are technical issues, the story isn’t particularly interesting and it rips off every horror trope ever. Additionally, it features unlikable characters and a story that frequently trails off into the realms of farce.

I will check out more of Rhiness’ horror movies. I am really intrigued as to whether this is actually representative of his film making ability. Or whether I’m Haunted was just a lazy side project. Rushed out with minimal effort and in the quickest time possible. If you have a high tolerance for bad found footage. Give it a try, you may find something to like. For everyone else, it is a difficult recommend.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Why not stick around and read a few more horror movie reviews? I write far too much and get way too wordy. If that is your thing then take a load off because you are home. I also put together Horror Movie Lists here and there and I also go into way too much detail about horror movie endings. For movies like I’m Haunted, but not quite so poo, check out the links below.