825 FOREST ROAD
(director/writer: Stephen Cognetti; cinematographer: David Gordon; editor: Brian D. Lambert; music: Karl Preusser; cast: Elizabeth Vermilyan (Maria), Kathryn Miller (Isabelle), Joe Falcone (Chuck Wilson), Darin F. Earl II (Luke), Joe Bandelli (Julian), Madeleine Garcia (Ashley), Diomira Keane (Helen Foster), Annabelle Lewis (mannequin named Martha), Lorenzo Beronilla (Larry, neighbor); Runtime: 101; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Joe Bandelli, Cindi Rice, Dana Guerin; Shudder; 2025)
“A flawed but entertaining paranormal horror pic.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A flawed but entertaining paranormal horror pic. It plays out as a family drama filled with jump scares. It’s sloppily written but creatively directed by Stephen Cognetti (“Hell House LLC”/”Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel”). This is his first film not directing for the Hell House franchise.
The music teacher Chuck Wilson (Joe Falcone) has just moved to the small town of Ashland Falls, Pennsylvania, with his fashion designer wife Maria (Elizabeth Vermilyan) and teenage college student aspiring artist sister Isabelle (Kathryn Miller). They are unaware until it’s too late that they have bought a haunted house, where the previous owner committed suicide. Through the years there have been a rash of suicides and disappearances in the haunted community. The problem is attributed to the long deceased Helen Foster (Diomira Keane), who lived at the titular address and has supernatural powers she uses to carry out a vendetta against the town from beyond the grave.
The film is divided into four chapters: Chuck, Isabelle, Maria and the address.
The weak script could have used a rewrite, the actors could have had more chemistry with each other, and the contrived story could have been more believable. But it had some fun moments and the scares were first-class. If you care only about the scares, you probably will like the film better than I did.
It played at the Overlook Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 4/13/2025 GRADE: C
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