Written and directed by Kyle Mecca, Dwelling is a by the book horror which sees a young woman deliberately buying a haunted house with her husband and niece. Suffering from a tormented past in which her sister was institutionalised, she attempts to make contact with the spirit world in an effort to communicate with her deceased mother who died under mysterious circumstances. Using a black mirror as a conduit, she starts to witness a strange malevolent force that begins to slowly tear her family apart.
Offering nothing new to the genre, Dwelling is a relatively pedestrian affair, which is low on both thrills and chills. With not much in the way of suspense, Mecca may have played his cards too close to his chest, as there’s not a whole lot here that’ll entice modern-day audiences. With a story that’s been done more effectively before, Dwelling pales when put up against its counterparts and although there are glimmers of well-orchestrated terror, it’s not enough to grip one’s attention.
With some crisp cinematography and ambitious shots scattered throughout, there is a polished sheen to proceedings that gives the film some added weight. The performances, however, lack authenticity making it hard for the viewer to connect with any of the characters on screen. With paranormal horrors having saturated the market in recent years, this low budget entity will fail to resonate with even the most hardcore of fans and although it’s efficiently put together, there’s not enough that will test or challenge its audience.
Overall, Dwelling is a generic horror, which you’ve probably seen before. Not offering much in the form of scares, Kyle Mecca has crafted an instantly forgettable addition to the paranormal genre. With a bland script and a weak story, Dwelling lacks the killer instinct that you’d come to expect from most horror films and with nothing to get the heart racing, it all becomes a little redundant. With questionable performances and countless clichés, there’s not a whole lot to keep one invested and although the running time is relatively short, it does ultimately become a chore to watch. With a UK release scheduled for the second quarter of 2018, our advice would be to steer clear and seek out other alternatives to this low rate horror.
DWELLING / CERTIFICATE: NR / DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY: KYLE MECCA / STARRING: ERIN MARIE HOGAN, DEVANNY PINN, MU-SHAKA BENSON / RELEASE DATE: TBC
