Haunter (2013): A Supernatural Groundhog Day

~review by Marie Robinson

For those of you who are fed up with the lack of originality in recent horror cinema, consider Haunter a beacon in the darkness. This Canadian supernatural sleeper comes to us from director Vincenzo Natali (Splice, Cube), and writer Brian King (Night Train).

It stars Abigail Breslin (Zombieland) as Lisa, a moody teenager with a music taste pretty similar to mine. What is really troubling her, though, is that she is stuck reliving the same day in 1985 over and over again, while her parents and little brother are seemingly oblivious. She tries desperately to break the routine and bring her family members to the realization that they are all dead.

When Lisa challenges the monotonousness she is threatened by a grim entity credited as the Pale Man (Stephen McHattie). He warns not to meddle with his arrangement, or try and contact the living, as she has been trying to do by way of an Ouija board, or she will suffer a fate worse than death.

Unfortunately, this is really all the plot information I feel comfortable giving you. However, let me reinstate that this is a very original concept and there is plenty more storyline to follow where I left off. It is a slow-burner, so events take place very gradually over the course of the film, but I don’t fear you’ll have trouble staying interested in Haunter.

While an unconventional storyline, well-developed characters and lovely cinematography are a few qualities that make Haunter a good film, the performances are what truly bring it to life. Abigail Breslin has been a promising actress from the start, and at age 17 she is only getting better. Her acting is flawless, compelling, and extremely impressive from a performer her age. I sincerely hope she continues to do more genre work—we could use a few new scream queens!

Another favorite of mine is Stephen McHattie (Pontypool); his face is so deliciously expressive he could easily give an entrancing performance without speaking, but then you would be robbed of his wonderful voice. McHattie has been in a fair amount of genre work in his day, such as Tales from the Darkside, The Twilight Zone (1980’s series), The X-Files, and plenty of others, and it looks like there’s only more to come. His upcoming films include the disturbing and psychological Torment (2013), and Hellmouth (2013), which is directed by John Geddes (Exit Humanity, also featuring McHattie), and written by Tony Burgess (Pontypool).

So far I am quite the fan of Natali’s work and I’m very excited to see what he has next—which is apparently a segment in the ABC’s of Death 2, set for a 2014 release.