I didn't know what to think about this before I threw it on. Directed by Victori Garcia (the man who helmed my hands-down least favourite horror film of all time Hellraiser : Revalations), this appears to be the first film that allowed him full creative control. Prior to this movie, he was the director of Mirrors 2, Return To House On Haunted Hill, 30 Days Of Night : Blood Trails, and of course the worst movie ever… however, based on the jump in quality with this one, I have a feeling he felt considerably more free, and wasn't just after the work. Another surprise was the writer, Richard D'Ovidio, who previously penned Thir13en Ghosts, and The Call. All around, based on the previous work of both of these guys, this might have been one I avoided. I can honestly say, I'm glad that I didn't.

The movie begins with some pretty flat seeming characters, and felt quite generic. That being said, the style actually seemed to change pretty drastically and became quite cool and atmospheric. The effects are minimal, and effective, and the actors seemed to get their sh*t together part way through the movie. The young girl who plays the 'ancient evil' is pretty effective and creepy, though her performance is pretty short lived once the the demon starts to switch bodies. The story moves along at a pretty good clip, and delivers on some pretty good tension all the way through, it does have fall a little bit flat from time to time, but not enough to kill the movie or stop it dead.

I will say this, the story comes off a little bit heavy handed with the occasional voice over about secrets, and the fact that all of these characters are also tortured souls with deep dark secrets to be exploited. As a result, there are some moments that get a little bit eye-rolly, but overall it's actually pretty effective and does make a reasonable (albeit heavy handed) point about people's secrets coming back to haunt you.

All that said, the movie is occasionally frightening, grim, and even becomes quite bleak and heavy near the end. It's also not a movie that forces a happy ending, and the ending feels natural without sequel baiting. That really was a breath of fresh air to have a movie end in a bit of a non-traditional, and down-note like this one did.

So, all in all, this is a fun movie, that delivers a pretty satisfying level of scares throughout. It might not make anyone's top-10 of all time list, but it really is one of the better horror films I've seen this year. Go ahead and give it a watch, you could certainly do worse! Also, never, ever, ever watch Hellrasier: Revelations.

Final Grade : B-

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"Gallows Hill" (aka "The Damned") was actually a good enough movie, despite it being generic in every sense. The storyline was nothing new, but still the movie was entertaining for what it was and for the way it was directed.

A group of Americans are traveling in Columbia when they are in a landslide accident. Seeking refuge at a nearby old inn, the marooned come across an old man living all by himself. When they hear the cries of a young girl from the basement, things take a turn and things are not all what they appear. But as they release the girl from her confinement, little do they know what they have unleashed.

The storyline is good and there is a good continuous flow to the movie. Just a shame that the movie followed every book of "how to make a horror movie" there is, and it all was something seen before.

The acting in the movie was good, and the people had a proper script and proper characters to work with. And as such, that whole element added a layer of enjoyment to the movie.

I will say, though, for a horror movie, then there were surprisingly little scare moments in the entire movie.

"Gallows Hill" is a good enough choice for an evenings worth of movie entertainment.

A mediocre 5 out of 10 stars from me.

I saw this on a rented DVD in 2014. I enjoyed this movie. Its a very good demonic horror flick. Víctor García (Return to house on haunted hill, mirrors 2) did a decent job. I really liked the new take on the possession. Some may compare it to Fallen or The shrine. It is a very atmospheric horror. The eerie hotel, the middle of nowhere, the rains, all added to the creepy feel. Best part is that it is not ur typical pg13 possession film. This movie has lots of brutal killings. The scariest part was that the demon is able to read people's secret past n spill out in front of others. There is plenty of eye candy faces. Decent acting. Good cinematography n screenplay. Horror fans will not b disappointed.

Starting a few millenniums back, science; i.e., facts, began a battle with religion; i.e., superstition. Those who believe in the supernatural, miracles, extra-terrestials, etc., are unaware science has won. As such horror and sci-fi movies, long ago limited to genre, are measurable by HOW it's done, with limitations on what CAN is done. This film (on Netflix as GALLOWS HILL) is creative on the CAN as it's stars are not lost or partying kids or paranormal sleuths. The creativity on character relations is done with useful effect. Its setting is not the USA and the film usefully employs the language barrier. Okay, it is stuck inside a house and borrows some gimmicks. The actors, photography, dialog and editing are professional. Restraint is employed regarding gratuitous nudity and special effects and the opening and closing "narrative" is minimal enough to avoid the preachy manure many films of this budget use. In sum, in relation to the tons of horror films out there, this one is pretty good. The makers might think what I'm going to say is faint praise: GALLOWS HILL, a/k/a THE DAMNED, didn't make me feel like an idiot for watching it until the end. For a grouch like me, that's praise indeed.

After a car crash a group of people take sanctuary in an old hotel, only to find a girl in a basement that is not all she seems.

Gallows Hill A.K.A The Damned is packed with atmosphere and wonderfully shot by Richard D'Ovidio. As a creepy tale in a large decrypted hotel it works well but as horror piece it falls short. Sophia Myles (when not possessed) is on fine form and Carolina Guerra is simply outstanding as Gina leaving her co-stars in her wake.

There's blood, shootings, twisted heads and fantastic settings but unfortunately the well trodden Exorcist and Evil Dead style demonic voices fail to give big scares. This offering is debatably not as strong as some atmospheric horrors Livid, REC, The Beckoning (2009), or The Orphanage to name a few.

That said, The Damned is still worth watching for its eerie ambiance created in the first half and Carolina Guerra performance.

Its a new twist to the possession sub genre, rather than a demon or something of that a nature. You get a Brujah(Spanish word for Witch) that takes possession of a body than gets moved to whoever kills or cause the possessed body's death. I have never seen this plot or i never seen this plot resemble anything close to a watchable movie. The movie starts off slow but the pace picks up and the mystery and intrigue of the plot starts to grow. I hope i do not ruin the movie for anybody, its a great watch. Acting was great in some areas, not so good in others but also was not really noticeable by me. I hope this begins more exploration into this particular sub genre. This was a great Netflix find.

In hindsight maybe the rating is too high for this movie. But I am partial to movies which have a better second half.

The main problem is predictability. If you have seen similar movies, then it is pretty much the same template. Too many elements are derived from so many other movies. There is really no attempt to bring anything new to the table. Another thing was the dad character. He is a good actor and all but I just couldn't buy him as the father of that girl. When she called out "Daddy" in the first scene of their meeting, I was quite surprised. He looks way younger than that. I also disliked the nosy nature of the characters. They invited trouble by going down to investigate. I am not sure if it is manners to explore since they were just guests in that house. The frequent Spanish also doesn't help matters since I was puzzled at the long conversations.

But once the girl is out, then it is game on. It just pretty much piles on the action from that point. Well, whatever action is possible within that house for the most part. The frequent bursts of Spanish doesn't matter now since we are as puzzled as the dad character. It also works well for the devil voice as well. Then it becomes a Thing-like situation with pretty much anyone being a target for the possession. The ending is a nice touch. Here the negative ending actually works instead of being a lame shock ending out of nowhere which many movies do nowadays. It is actually believable and doesn't feel like a gimmick.

There is plenty of eye candy but unfortunately not much nudity. I guess there is not much time to do anything and the characters are not in the mood anyway with all the possessions and all.

I liked it. 7/10

This goes by two different titles the very first title is Gallows Hill, it was changed to the name The Damned, for its distribution. This plays on the idea of possession. These movies seem to be running rampant this day and age. This one has a family who ends up in a storm. Their car is turned over because of a flash flood, they end up going to little Motel, where an old man lives. The old man almost refuses to let them in but then he realizes they are a family. He lets them in. What they discover is a little girl locked up in a basement, chained and bolted inside a room. They take it upon themselves to free the little girl unbeknownst to them the little girl has a secret. The old man has a secret and the place has a secret.

This is an interesting possession horror film with great little spooked moments, that play with the viewer's mind. This is a good film to watch in the dark with no lights and the television volume way up so that you can experience all the ultimate spooky reality. Now with that said it's not meant to mean a fantastic film because it's not. This plays out like a direct to video b-grade horror film.

The movie takes place in Columbia. Your main character is David. He is a widow and about to remarry. He comes to Columbia to collect his daughter who is staying with her aunt. David wants his daughter at his marriage. David's daughter does not like his new main squeeze basically stating all she is, is a money hungry whore.

The character of David is played by who I have always thought was an underrated actor and often overlooked and always seems to capture his characters in vivid ways and displays them emotionally accurate, Peter Facinelli. I first got wind of his amazing acting talent in the wonderful TV film The Price of Love (1995). He is most famous for the character of Dr. Cullen in the Twilight film series.

Released in 2013 and in the European shops in 2015, it should had to ring a bell but it didn't and I picked it up. Was it good, no therefore it wasn't scary enough and had too much of CGI but it wasn't that bad also because towards the end the horror really comes in.

I just had mixed feelings towards this flick because some things do work like the possession but it's the CGI done to make their faces creepy that didn't work for me. BUt I can say that teenagers could have their scary moments watching it but for me it was a bit too soft on that part. But somehow I kept watching it to see how it would end because the ghost moves from body to body. There isn't that much blood or even say gore to catch but for the Kleenex abusers there's a tittie to see from the prettiest chick in The Damned.

Mediocre for me but I grew up in the slasher heydays but for newcomers it is a must see.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

I watched this last night and feel compelled to make this the first review I have done on IMDb. I'm a huge Horror film fan and usually enjoy even the most generic of them. However, this is most definitely the exception.

I'm not sure what exactly it does that is so wrong, but somehow it manages to create zero atmosphere, zero scares, and zero enjoyment. It shouldn't be the case though, with many of the elements there which usually make an at least passable horror film.

(possible minor spoilers ahead in the check list, although I'm sure all are mentioned in the synopsis)

Old house in the middle of nowhere...check. Bad weather...check. Shifty old dude...check. Possessed kid...check.

Yet, for some reason it just fails miserably.

I watched 'Livid' the night before, and whilst not great, it did at least have a tense, foreboding feel about it. Which at least made it worth a watch.

The acting is poor in The Damned, the script is poor, the effects are poor and even the cinematography isn't great either. Not to mention it's almost completely devoid of any 'scares'.

It's the first Horror movie in quite a while in which I found myself utterly bored.

As the headline above says, this is best avoided.

In "The Damned", a family, freshly re-united, arrives at a lonely house during a storm. When they explore the house of the seemingly odd older man a bit more, they discover a girl in a small room in the basement and set her free, not knowing that what they release is much more sinister than they could possibly imagine.

What you get here is pretty much your average demon horror movie, which is in itself not very creative. I don't know why hiding a witch in an abandoned house is worth yet another film but I guess there are genres that just won't ever die out. The acting is solid and the production looks professional, in this way you can't really complain. The demon's voice of course is so worn out that it is already more a joke in itself. The reason why I nonetheless give this film a decent rating is because I like the twist in the end where the father becomes the lonely man himself, instead.

All in all this is a basic horror movie that won't surprise you with much innovation. If you're just looking for another of those you will probably be satisfied, otherwise you could most likely find something more exciting.

The ratings for this "horror movie" are going to be dropping really fast! This was a dreadful attempt of making a scary movie and really an insult to all fans of horror movies, even the B and C horror movies out there.

Cheap jump scares and the really bad effects just adds to the poorest decision making made by everyone involved in this project. There are simply to many annoying things to bring up here that I won't even get into them - suffice it to say that if you do decide to watch this movie - hide all sharp objects around you cause you are going to want to stab yourself repeatedly for making one of the worst decisions in your life by watching this! There is really NO redeeming qualities in this pile of "¤"!* and in NO way does it the deserve the 1 star rating I had to give! Be warned!

The main problem with this movie is that before you start watching the movie you already know the whole story.

I'm going to click the spoilers button now. Though it is quite obvious.

1/ Family or group of people have an accident in a storm.

2/ Family or group seek refuge/help.

3/ Family or group discover girl captive in basement and free girl.

4/ Previously mentioned Girl is possessed and freeing her was a mistake.

Okay that's really about it. By looking at the synopsis of the movie you've basically gotten the whole thing. I really probably did not need to click the spoiler button because I only reiterated the storyline content in IMDb but in a way I did because there is nothing else.

This is the very definition of predictable. It follows all the latest horror clichés as well as offering nothing that isn't in the synopsis.

OK so apparently Witches are the new concept to exploit. And apparently they can't die or something. This film was an opportunity to make a really sincerely scary horror film, but "the Damned" just doesn't hold it's weight. The movie was somewhat confusing, and overall it just wasn't scary enough. It started off a little creepy and atmospheric but that's only because the viewer is led on by gloomy surroundings and the location of the hotel they end up at. But once the "secrets" are revealed, it's pretty much all downhill. IFC has some very good films but this is one of the weaker ones. "The Squad" is a horror film that is also about witches and I totally recommend it over this movie.

Extremely Claustrophobic and Bloody Demon Doings. It is one of those that the Evil Entity can leap from Body to Body. The Atmosphere is sometimes Chilling and the Gore is Prevalent while Weak Characters are put in Jeopardy in a Regular Rhythm of Gross and Disgusting Displays of Horror Movie Tropes.

But there is enough Splatter in this B-Movie to give it a Pass on the Familiar way it goes about its Story. None of the People here are Relate-able and some of Their Back Stories are so Glossed Over the Victims remain Nothing but Props.

Some Creepiness is at hand and the Movie does make for a bit of Unsettling Reaffirmation that when told that a Road is Unusable, the Horror Movie Thing to do is, well You Know. This Leads to the Clichéd Set-Up of the "Cabin in the Woods" Variety of Pent Up Spirits and many Brutal Deaths ahead.

Overall, there is Something here that makes all of its Familiarity somewhat Watchable for Horror Movie Fans. Just don't Expect Anything other than a bunch of Semi-Clever Kills with an Eat Your Own Tail Ending.

The movie was good, but the end was somewhat stupid. It could have been done better. Entertaining, but nothing innovative. The actors are good, and the story is good... Throughout the movie is a demon trying to get out of the house while trying to get the family members kill each other just because they are on its way of killing someone who killed it in the first place... Oh, and I LOVE the fact that the film is mostly bilingual. Another reason why I like it. One of the actress, Gina, reminds me of Nicole Scherzinger. And throughout the film there is a family solidarity, which is another plus. This can be interpreted as the fact that whatever happens in life, you can overcome everything with a concord.

Let's see..., let's go to a third world country, do the opposite of what the local police say (i.e. someone knowledgeable in what is currently going on in the near area), take the remote unimproved dirt road the police just said was not safe to drive as it is washed out, because they are 'smarter' than the local policeman (liberals will love this!), i.e. let's be really stupid and do everything wrong. How many recent horror movies start in a similar fashion as this?!? Now, 'we' are stupid kids so let's not believe the adult male (libs lovin this), follow our emotions, release a 'child' who is an evil spirit that, if it is killed, takes a nearby body as it's new host. Let's continue being really stupid and do everything wrong. Everyone in the movie is evil and the evil spirit uses that against the travelers. There are NO GOOD people with any redeeming qualities. When there are just two people/travelers left and the spirit has taken over the daughter, the father is going to take the demonic spirit controlled daughter back to the USA 'to find a way to cure her.' You can smell 'sequel' about his exploits in the USA when the evil spirit escapes into Los Angeles... Except maybe because this movie is so-o-o bad they don't gross enough to make a sequel... We can only hope!

Imagine yourself stranded at an old INN, in the middle of nowhere, on a dark and rainy night. There's no food in the fridge and no heat. Its damp, cold and oh yeah, did I mention haunted? Haunted with the notion that you may have just walked into HELL itself. Then, you find out there's a demon in this INN. If this SCENARIO doesn't make you feel even a wee bit unsettling, then this just might not be your kind of movie. Otherwise, enjoy, because I just freakin LOVE THIS MOVIE! The acting is top notch by all actors. The big sell fir me was Peter Facinelli and Sophia Myles. Both of these actors imo, are underrated, and they both do an amazing job with their craft. This movie scared the hell out of me the way THE EXCORCIST did when I was a kid back in the 70's. This movie is totally UNDERRATED and looked over. I can't believe all the negative reviews I've read about it, I can't make any sense out of it. THE DAMMED or GALLOWS HILL as it is also referred by, is far from being a "B MOVIE" / "LOW BUDGET" horror movie, in fact it's just the opposite. In contrast this movie HAS MOXIE through and through. Enjoy!

I wasn't sure about this movie going in. But once I did it was one h3//of a ride! I did not think they went to overboard with the CGI.it kept the tension hi at all times throughout the movie.people have been way too hard on this movie, but also I have highlighted good things about it in their negative, or not up to par review. Don't miss out! Watch this movie! Especially if you are a horror fan looking to find a hidden gem on Netflix.

I'd not heard of this film but stumbled across a cheap DVD copy in a charity store. Confusingly the British title on the sleeve reads "The House on Gallows Hill" but the film itself reads Gallows Hill on the opening credits. A mainly American family find themselves in trouble when their car gets washed away by flood water on a Colombian road and they seek refuge at a creepy inn, owned by an equally creepy old man who doesn't really want them - or anybody else - there. And it's no wonder as the young girl that he has locked in his cellar has a terrifying secret. This film takes place during inclement wet weather and this is enhanced by the use of a dark & green tinge to the picture. I could almost feel that damp. Half of the dialogue is in English, the other half in Spanish. If you don't speak the latter it is subtitled but they're not always easy to read. It uses the idea of evil being transferred from one person to another, eg Friday the 13th pt9 or Shocker, so nothing original there. It does have a few creepy moments, eg the discovery of the girl, but overall it's pretty mediocre and what I call a "watch it once" movie.

A pretty neat idea. Not outrageously scary but creepy enough! A little unbelievable that so many people in such a tight circle would all have such many skeletons in the closet. Using a little girl as the vessel definitely pumps up the creepy factor. Facinelli a good guy!

This is an old horror story recycled. David (Peter Facinelli) and his fiancee Lauren (Sophia Myles) travel to Columbia to retrieve his college girl daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos) for their wedding. His first wife is dead. Also in Columbia is the first wife's sister Gina (Carolina Guerra) and his daughter's boy friend Ramon (Sebastian Martínez).

Jill needs to get her passport for the trip which is 6-8 hours away in Medellin by bad road. Their vehicle becomes disabled as they make their way to an isolated hotel where the owner (Gustavo Angarita) is reluctant to let them in. This is where they meet Ana Maria (Julieta Salazar) the creepy looking girl on the cover. The film takes about 30 minutes to build up before the fun begins.

Other than the English subtitles, this film offers nothing new to the formula. We have seen it done with college kids at a cabin in the woods, which is always my preferred location...I'm just shallow and simple.

Parental Guidance: No English F-bomb. Not sure what was said when she dropped her cell phone. No sex. Nudity (Carolina Guerra)

Could have been OK, but as I don't speak Spanish I missed half of it. there are NO subtitles, yet they speak in Spanish half the time. VERY annoying. Why on earth they would do this is beyond me. The film seemed fairly interesting, as I tried to guess what was being said. But not worth putting up with a language you don't speak

Gallows Hill has an intriguing premise with pretty much opportunities to generate horror, paranoia and suspense; unfortunately, the irregular rhythm and slips of the screenplay betray the potential of the premise, making the intervals between murders and demonic manifestations a bit frustrating. On the positive side, during those cruel moments, the blood flows freely and it's well combined with subtle special effects. On the other hand, the characters tend to make the most absurd mistakes whenever the screenplay doesn't find a logical way to continue the story. The actors make a decent work in their roles, highlighting Sophia Myles as the stepmother who tries to keep her false family united and Julieta Salazar, who is able to bring an appropriately terrifying attitude to her character. In conclusion, Gallows Hill is a mediocre but moderately entertaining horror film. I will probably erase it from my memory in a few days, but it didn't bore me, and I can give it a slight recommendation because of that.

It's hard to put into words how bad this film is. Yes, it has all of the clichés, old house, rain and thunder, creepy old guy. What really kills this film is how unlikable the characters are and how positively stupid as well. You could care less if they are killed off and when they are, you find yourself almost cheering. This, of course is when you aren't yelling at the screen. What is the first thing you should do when things get threatening? Have everyone separate! Absolutely! There is nothing redeeming about this film at all. I am a horror movie buff and this is just about the worst I have ever seen. This is so bad that I set up an account here so I could write my first review.