By George & Josh Bate
Lil Rel Howery becomes the latest actor to try directing a feature film with his directorial debut Haunted Heist, a neither scary nor particularly funny horror comedy.
Making its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest, Haunted Heist follows a group of old friends who reunite after years apart. T (Karlous Miller) has just been released from prison and wants to earn some cash by stealing a ceremonial dagger worth $20 million. Under the guise of having an AirBnb weekend away, T invites Shari (Tiffany Hadish), Ron (Howery), and Ellis (Andrew Bachelor) to aid in the heist. What the old friends don’t realize is that the house they’re in is haunted by the ghosts of racist, devil-worshipping cultists.
After somewhat of a lengthy beginning that establishes all the ways in which our four leads’ lives have not gone according to plan, Haunted Heist comes alive (somewhat) upon uniting everyone under one roof. What ensues is an abundance of bickering and talking over one another, which is the primary source of the film’s intended laughs. Unfortunately, the arguing grows tired quickly and seldom elicits any genuine laughs, beyond a handful of one-liners here and there. At its most fundamental, comedies should make you laugh and, while we recognize that humor is extremely subjective, Haunted Heist simply didn’t make us laugh.
The film’s lack of wit places undue burden on the four stars to generate laughs. The actors do commendably with the material at their disposal and exhibit a clear commitment to making Haunted Heist work. Each of the friends has unique difficulties that they try to mask from the others. Haddish’s Shari is a failed influencer, harassed by her followers and forced to give up her integrity as she sells terrible products. Bachelor’s Ellis, meanwhile, has just been fired from the real estate company he started and does everything he can to make his old friends believe he is still wealthy. Howery’s character Ron finds himself reeling over a split from his wife (LaKeysha Edwards) and, finally, T has a health issue. All of them put up a facade to make it appear that their lives are put together, when they are clearly not. This plot develops rather predictably over the course of the film, but, surprisingly, converges on a somewhat moving conclusion.
While tackling their insecurities and one another’s combative personalities, the foursome contend with supernatural forces intent on doing them harm. Although Howery exhibits some dynamic directing and camerawork that could lend itself to a more light, energetic horror outing (akin to Haunted Mansion), the supernatural elements are woefully underdeveloped and underused. The film allows these elements to enter and exit as they please, meaning, at times, one can even forget that this heist is indeed haunted. The lore surrounding the ghosts and the ceremonial dagger is messy and generic, while there are no effective attempts at cultivating the kind of spooky, contained atmosphere a film like this desperately requires.
Following a disappointing resolution to the story, Haunted Heist sets up a sequel, although it is difficult to imagine who would be interested in watching a follow up to this story.
VERDICT: 3.5/10
The talented Lil Rel Howery makes his directorial debut with Haunted Heist, a horror comedy almost entirely devoid of scares and laughs. The film’s attempts at humor come in the form of constant bickering between the four leads, which quickly grows tired and lacks any semblance of wit. Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, Karlous Miller, and Andrew ‘King Bach’ Bachelor, who all play old friends desperate to conceal just how awry their lives have gone in the years since they last met, do commendably with the material at their disposal, although their collective talents are not enough to elevate the movie beyond its mundanity and dullness. While a somewhat moving conclusion to the friendship story imbues the film with much-needed heart, Haunted Heist features woefully underdeveloped and underused supernatural elements and never taps into the spooky, contained atmosphere its premise affords. Neither funny nor scary, Lil Rel Howery’s directorial debut misses the mark, despite the talent involved in its production.