From thequickflickcritic.blogspot.com/

I went in to "The Gallows" with an open mind. And, MAN, was my brain shut down but at HYPER speed.

Aimless wandering through the seemingly interminable catacombs of a haunted high school. Entering dark and ominous halls and rooms which were everything short of SCREAMING at these clueless kids "You'll get killed" and for no discernible reason whatsoever. And, I swear, one more shot of a hand slowly opening a door to who knows what the hell (yet usually not a DAMN THING) and I'll put the flippin' noose around my own neck for crissakes!

The ending (and thank God there finally WAS one) was admittedly and actually kinna cool. But it was WAY too little too late to keep this weak and wearisome found footage flop from hanging itself by it's own regurgitated premise rope.

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I am just going to say I am not happy with the current positive reviews on this website of this movie. I looked at the reviews and then went and saw the movie and it was bad. So actually in retrospect the low rating is correct just the User reviews don't add up... Luckily I went on a Tuesday at my local theater so it only cost me $2.00 for the ticket...

That being said if you are going to see this movie be aware it is a FOUND FOOTAGE FILM. To make myself clear that means the ENTIRE movie is filmed with someone holding a camera pretending as if what they are recording is happening in front of them. Not to say all found footage films are bad just most aren't great. This is one of those films.

The film starts off with someone recording a school play. A scene in the play shows someone on "The Gallows" about to be hanged. Well as you guessed it the lighting goes dark for a second during the play and someone is actually hanged. Moving forward into the film another set of high-schoolers are doing the same play in the same room as the one with the ghost in it. Some people decide to come back during the night to ruin the set and as you guessed it a ghost causes terror on them.

The entire time during the film where the high-schoolers are stuck in the school being terrorized by a ghost the extent of the special effects are that of the camera picture messing up, the screen going dark, and noises being heard. The actual killing I am not going to ruin for you but I can say it has to do with "The Gallows". The actual scaring is mostly jump scares/camera going dark and something being there... Not that scary to be honest with you.

Overall, the way it was filmed just ruined the movie. It's not that it can't be good just because it is a found footage type of film but the way it was done made the movie feel bad.

If I were you I'd skip this film but if you are like me and see it in your local theater and it costs only $2.00 maybe consider watching it if there isn't anything better playing. Anyways I hope this review helps you and doesn't spoil too much of the film for you.

Twenty years ago, a student died in a high school play called The Gallows. Now the school is putting on the play again, with a jock who can't act as the male lead. The jock's irritating friend convinces him the play will stink and he will be embarrassed. So, along with another friend, they sneak into the school at night to trash the set so it will be cancelled. But they are discovered in the act by the play's lead actress and then everything goes to hell as the four find themselves trapped in the building with the vengeful ghost of the boy who died in The Gallows.

Another found footage movie trying to find a hook in a played out horror subgenre. It has most of the usual found footage problems, including my favorite: characters continuing to film the terrifying goings-on in the movie even when all logic would dictate they should drop the camera. One particularly galling scene is when one character is running for his life and has to climb a ladder to escape the hangman ghost thing (don't ask). The guy holds onto the camera with one hand the entire time he climbs the ladder. I mean, come on, that's beyond stupid and unrealistic. The characters are very annoying in this. The guys are the worst, with Ryan Shoos giving new meaning to the word obnoxious and Reese Mishler having a slack-jawed wide-eyed expression on his face the entire movie. I can only assume he calls that acting. The highlight of the film is when Ryan's character calls Reese's character a bad actor. That the characters also share the names of the actors just made the scene all the more enjoyable. I'm sure Ryan loved getting to say what he was thinking about his fellow actor without breaking character. The two girls, Cassidy Gifford and Pfeifer Brown, are fine but ultimately forgettable. It's not a scary movie in any way. The beginning is very boring but, once it gets going, it at least manages to keep your attention. You probably won't like it much but try to stick with it for the unbelievably corny ending.