In an endless sea of expanding genres, there’s no such thing as a straightforward horror movie anymore. Filmmakers have to be innovative, exciting and rebellious, rejecting standard plots and typecast characters. But for every director who answers the call and creates a brand-new subgenre, there are a million copycats scribbling down the formula for their own scripts. “The Gallows,” for all its trailer retweets and promises to be an unsettling thrill ride, falls victim to this epidemic of carbon-copying – and it’s not even one of the better ones.

The brief review is this: “The Gallows” sucked hard. I love horror films. Love. Them. And because they are so near and dear to me, I make every attempt possible to find the good in bad scary movies. It takes a lot of guts (pun intended) to step into this genre – audiences aren’t satisfied with a spinning head anymore, and a boogeyman’s got to manipulate children into murdering their families just to get a reaction. The problem is, when a movie tries too hard to stay one step ahead of its audience, it ends up becoming a big, plot-point laden disaster.

The more obvious issues with this film, however, lie within poorly-delivered dialogue and reprehensible character development (or lack thereof). The acting is just terrible. But the actors aren’t even the ones to blame for how bad they are – the dreadful script loads the first act with stereotypical high school banter that even Hannah Montana would roll her eyes at. The performers in this absolute mess of a screenplay only get a chance to demonstrate their chops when they’re terrified and facing their impending deaths, and frankly, that’s the only time they’re convincing. Unfortunately, it’s also the only time we feel any sort of pity for these kids because, just like “Unfriended,” they are appallingly horrible people. By the end of the film, I know I couldn’t be the only person in the theater begging the bad guy to finish them off.

Atrocious acting aside, “The Gallows” runs into real problems once the teens are officially locked in for the night. From then on, the audience spends the first half of the second act staring at the back of characters’ heads, and the second half being spoon-fed exposition leading up the big reveal of a completely predictable plot twist. Maybe I’m unfairly equipped by a lifetime of devouring horror films, but even the most inexperienced moviegoer knows the formula of found-footage flicks by now. For a flick with an 80-minute runtime, it drags on for what feels like an eternity.

This film fills every teen horror trope there is, and what’s worse, the marketing campaign had me in high hopes that it would be something opposite. The trailer is truly effective, showing off one creepy, red-lit scene in which a girl sits alone, tearfully contemplating her inescapable fate.

Unfortunately, the scene displayed in the trailer is the only one in which the director shows off real talent for atmosphere and dread. The rest of the film simply showcases the characters’ ability to shout each other’s names with varying emotions.

There are plenty of dimly-lit hallways and moments of heavy breathing in this film to keep your friends creeped out, but nothing of any real substance. The key to found footage is making the audience care about the person holding the camera, or at least curious about why they’re doing what they’re doing. Instead, “The Gallows” has neither an interesting villain or an interesting plot. It is a film whose reach far exceeds its grasp – a Friday night Redbox rental parading as a blockbuster.

The Specifics

Plot: Dragging, predictable and lazy.

Acting: Do I need to reiterate how terrible it was? I won’t even bother telling you the names of the actors, because they won’t be showing up in anything else for a long time.

Sights and Sounds: There are a couple of moments where the scene is bathed in blood-red lighting, and these are the few truly creepy moments. Bring earplugs for when you get sick of people screaming “RYAN!” over and over again.

Re-Watch Value: Non-existent. It takes a concentrated effort to get through this film the first time.

Final Cut: 0.5/5

Theater information and show times can be found at:

http://www.fandango.com/cinemarkcinema6_aaink/theaterpage