Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2017) Review
HAUNTERS is a heart-warming and heart-stopping documentary about people who sacrifice everything to create the most popular and polarizing haunted houses for Halloween – from boo-scare mazes to a controversial new subculture of extreme terror experiences.
This fully comprehensive documentary kick-starts things by detailing the genesis of today’s Halloween haunted house experiences by informing viewers that the original ‘haunted house’ and ‘ghost train’ attractions came about during the Depression when amusement parks were looking for a cheaper alternative to roller coasters. He brings things right up to the present detailing how the impact of torture footage, shown in the media following 9-11, impacted the horror industry (SAW, HOSTEL) and consequently reshaped the thrills offered by the haunt community.
During the documentary’s mid-section there were times that I felt that it was concentrating too much on haunters Donald Julson and Russ McKamey however as the documentary reached its conclusion it made sense as to why. I was genuinely appalled by the lengths that McKamey went to in order to scare punters. From my perspective the experience he offered wasn’t about scaring people, it was about the organisers getting some kind of sick thrill from stripping people of their rights and effectively torturing them. There was nothing pleasant about his ‘exhibit’ McKAMEY MANOR and quite rightly it came under attack.
I was also appalled to see that there appeared to be no legislation in place to prevent the likes of McKamey from doing as they pleased under the banner of entertainment, holding people’s heads under water isn’t ‘scaring’ punters it’s scarring them for life. Director Jon Schnitzer remains impartial in his treatment of the subject matter and allows the facts to speak for themselves and for the viewer to make their own informed decisions. I particularly liked that he interviewed a couple of former McKamey Manor participants and showed them the footage of their ‘haunt’ experience. They are genuinely uneasy about what they allowed the organisers to do to them.
Elsewhere we see how Julson’s obsession with creating his haunt experience is shown to be putting a strain on his marriage. However his spouse’s dour opinion takes a turnaround for the better when his hobby starts bringing in the money as his talents are spotted and utilised by Hollywood productions. By having Julson and McKamey featured we can see the two extremes in terms of how current ‘haunted house’ experiences are put together and presented. We can also see where the lines should be drawn in terms of what is deemed acceptable and what is too much and in the case of McKamey he really didn’t seem to know when enough really was enough.