8213: Gacy House is presented as a found footage film and The Asylum have stuck to this conceit with the packaging and everything on their website. The DVD is allegedly actual crime scene footage edited into a narrative and released by The Asylum. The DVD even states:
BE ADVISED! This is not a Hoax, nor a Reenactment. This is actual crime scene footage released by law enforcement.
None of this is obviously true, as a cursory internet search and a bit of common sense will tell you, but the dedication to this conceit is reasonably entertaining and could perhaps even fool a few viewers.
The film follows the crew of a television programme called Ghost Trackers (think Ghost Hunters or Most Haunted) which is investigating paranormal activity at John Wayne Gacy’s old home at 8213 West Summerdale in Illinois. Real life serial killer John Wayne Gacy (often referred to as the Killer Clown due to his habit of dressing up as a clown prior to his arrest) was responsible for the murder of at least 33 mostly teenage males, 26 of which he buried at this house. The exploitative nature of the subject matter is treated with a distinct lack of taste that is actually pretty appropriate to the tone of the film. There is even a scene in which the group’s psychic offers up clothing to the spirit of Gacy which she says belongs to her neighbour’s 15 year old son.
Things predictably start escalating pretty quickly. Despite comments by the crew though, about how crazy things are getting, it is not till the last few minutes that the film really ratchets up. It’s at this point that the film gets into what is clearly horror territory. Up until then there is a lot of scenes in which the characters wander around the house getting scared by odd sounds. This isn’t really the stuff of great horror but it is very much in keeping with the kind of programmes that the film is riffing on. Herein lies the crux of whether an audience will find 8213: Gacy House enjoyable.
Every week television programmes such as Ghost Hunters or Most Haunted are avidly watched by fans who often get scared by what they are seeing and believe there are genuinely ghosts being contacted (despite a lack of any empirical evidence). There are also those fans of these series who take pleasure in watching it as comedy, with scenes such as this providing amusement for not only the audience but apparently the crew as well. 8213: Gacy House taps into the success of these series as there are a few scenes in the film that have the requisite jumps and scares that are quite poorly executed but still actually slightly better than those orchestrated in the real TV shows. There are also moments that are quite funny, especially near the end.
8213: Gacy House is weak in most areas but fans of the genre of television shows that it is inspired by will certainly find entertainment to be had. Coulrophobics should probably steer clear though.
8213: Gacy House is available on Region Free DVD now.
i agree with your assessment that gacy house one-ups the sort of shows it’s mocking, but i found it to be quite scary. of course, i’m a bit of an easy scare. i had fun with it, and for me, that’s enough.
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Love your blog by the way. Have been reading it since pretty much the beginning I think.
Love your blog by the way. Have been reading it since pretty much the beginning I think.
Love your blog by the way. Have been reading it since pretty much the beginning I think.
The movie was pretty accurate, Gacy last words were supposedly “kiss my ass” witch he said to a bodyguard. Also if you look up pics for his actual crawl space is is spot on! Ss at least they did their homework.
Terrible movie. Hated it, and almost fell asleep. Don’t waste your time. Cheesy and definately not scary
this movie looks whack lolz
this movie sucks
Just seen the movie my husband wanted to see if its real or not good to know I could always find the answer online lol thanx 🙂
I have to admit it did have my skin crawling. Things that made me realize it was fake. 1. The busty paranormal psychic who accidentally got stabbed in the breast and then later gets her shirt torn off. Two of the investigators run off to have sex upstairs when they are supposed to be ‘scared out of thier minds’. Mistake – the final reports of cause of death – exposure to extreeme cold actually causes ‘hypOthermia’ – hyperthermia is death due to overheating (good try though). Usually people that are under the age of 40 years do NOT have 80% stenosis of the cardiac arteries (yah right). People with scardosis – die a slow death – and usually slowly loose the ability to airate thier lungs (ie will need oxygen tanks and then be intubated) they don’t suddenly fall down and die from asphyxia.