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Gire: Horror tale 'Gallows' chokes on stale story

I consider the dumbness of the high school students to be the most believable element in the found-footage horror tale "The Gallows."

These teenagers would be dumb enough to actually shoot an incriminating video of themselves breaking into their school and vandalizing the auditorium.

Of course, they don't realize that the vengeful spirit of a student killed 20 years earlier on that very stage has a special overnight party planned for everybody.

The opening scene of "The Gallows" can better be appreciated if you know the back story.

Directors/writers/producers Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff open with an audience member shooting a VHS home video of a rehearsal for the 1993 student play "The Gallows." The filmmakers never told anyone in the cast or in the audience that Charlie, a student actor, would be "accidentally" hanged on the stage scaffold.

The reactions we hear are genuine, frightening and freaked-out.

Then there's the rest of "The Gallows," a pedestrian found-footage tale with characters desperately justifying why they keep shooting video while fleeing for their lives.

High school football jock Reese (Reese Mishler) has gone rogue by taking the lead in the 20th anniversary production of the 1993 play "The Gallows." He has a secret crush on his co-star Pfeifer (Pfeifer Brown).

Class clown and perpetual video geek Ryan (Ryan Roose) sees that Reese is nervous about being on stage. Ryan persuades Reese to break into the auditorium the night before the play opens and trash the set so that he won't go on and embarrass himself. Reese says sure. So does Cass (Cassidy Gifford), a fetching classmate who overhears the plan and wants in on the demolition derby.

Once the doors lock and can't be opened (the windows are barred, naturally), the teens catch on that a malicious force wants them to hang around for a while. It even brings the noose.

"The Gallows" begins with cocky, criminal-minded characters we don't necessarily care about, not even the charm-challenged Pfeifer, who pops into the party after seeing cars in the high school parking lot late at night. When they get all choked up, we don't. We're not vested in their welfare.

Lofing and Cluff create a relatively good imitation of a standard found-footage horror tale. That's not high praise.

False scares (look out! It's goofy Ryan saying boo!) and eardrum-busting sound shocks and manic camera whip-pans are not effective substitutes for old-fashioned suspense.

"Perfect horror!" and "It's hard to watch!" are two testimonials (attributed to "Audience Screening") appearing on the "Gallows" TV trailer.

One of them is accurate.

“The Gallows”

★ ½

Starring: Cassidy Gifford, Ryan Shoos, Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown

Directed by: Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing

Other: A New Line Cinema release. Rated R for violence. 87 minutes

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