Heilstätten [Haunted Hospital] (2018)

(In French, On Cable TV, November 2022) Found-footage horror movie set in an abandoned asylum—nothing else to see here, next! Well, not quite. While I was, indeed, bored by the strong familiarity of Haunted Hospital, there is a cool bit roughly five minutes before the end that makes it just a tiny bit better. It doesn’t justify watching the film unless a found-footage haunted asylum film is exactly what you’re looking for no matter the quality, but at least it’s better than nothing. Writer-director     Michael David Pate’s Haunted Hospital doesn’t make a good first impression, as it features online influencers heading to a haunted abandoned hospital just to see what could happen (and rake in some sweet views)—isn’t it interesting that “the dumbest motivation we could find for stupid acts” is now synonymous with “attention-seeking influencers”? As Haunted Hospital goes on, there’s little here we haven’t already seen—spooky stuff, bickering leads, shaky-cam nausea and low-end production values. Even the twist, frankly, isn’t that original (nor sensical)… but it looks far better in comparison with what came before it. Look, filmmakers, I know that the temptation to resurrect found-footage films through influencer-bashing is strong, but I implore you: You’re stronger than that. Resist!