House 3: The Horror Show (1989) Review

Go to Hell.

If the plot summary for House 3 sounds familiar, it's because it's the same plot summary of one of my favorite movies, Fallen, as well as the Wes Craven film Shocker which preceded Fallen. Well, not to be outdone by Wes Craven, who of course directed A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sean Cunningham, director of Friday the 13th, produced The Horror Show (aka House 3, outside of the U.S.) which released the same year as Shocker.

Both A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th were iconic films. Shocker and House 3 were not.

House 3, The Horror Show, has nothing to do with the House series whatsoever. It's a standalone movie that was seemingly made from the unused table scraps of various slashers of the era. There's some F13 in there, there's a lot of NoES in there, there's even some Videodrome thrown in for some reason. There's a lot of over-acting, countless plot holes, endless implausibilities and countless cheap jump scares.

House 3 starts strong with a roller coaster of a first act but ends weak.

It's a templated throwaway of the House franchise.

Don't believe me? Check out this turkey scene and tell me it doesn't make you think Freddy Krueger.

Worth Watching?