The Gallows will probably appeal to high schoolers at a sleepover. For the rest of us, a rewatch of The Blair Witch Project will have to suffice.

The found footage horror sub-genre came into its own back when we saw The Blair Witch Project. There has been a clutch of films since then that serve up cinematic variations of found footage fare. Some work, some don’t. The Gallows lies somewhere in between.

It’s a genius strategy – make a movie for peanuts, and make a ton of profit because people love horror movies. As a result over the past ten years we have seen a barrage of painfully bad found footage films that take a dump on the legacy of ‘Blair Witch’. The trend continues in ‘The Gallows’, which is again a cheaply made film, shot with handy cams, and presented as a found footage movie with thrills and chills. Sadly the thrills in the film are lame and the chills are absent.

Lofing and Cluff resort to formulaic cliches, and while there is great (meaning spooky atmosphere) and a jump scare or three, their failure to capitalize on supporting characters like the janitor (David Herrera) and the poorly contrived ending, results in a yawn instead of a gasp.

The Gallows has a routine storyline, but is backed up by exciting camera-work.

One-time Watch. Good for film school students for their first dialogue exercise.