825 Forest Road, on Shudder

Unfortunately, neighborhood block associations cannot regulate against hauntings. Perversely, local ordinances protect Helen Foster, the wrathful spirit terrorizing this beleagured town. According to lore, if you find and destroy Foster’s house, you will eliminate the source of her uncanny power, but those old records were sealed. Unfortunately, Isabelle and her replacement family move into the cursed neighborhood in director-screenwriter Stephen Cognetti’s 825 Forest Road, which premieres this Friday on Shudder.

Frankly, Chuck’s realtor kind of stinks. First, he discovers the roof of their new home leaks like a sieve. Then he starts to learn of the town’s notorious history, starting with the previous owner’s suicide. Yet, she still wants him to film a video testimonial for her.

Of course, it was cheap and he thought they needed the space, since his younger sister Isabelle agreed to move in with him and his wife Maria, after their mother’s accidental death. Technically, it is four of them, if you include Martha, the creepy mannequin Maria insists on lugging around. She believes Martha has been a good luck charm for her YouTubing fashion-designing career. However, as soon as they unpack, Martha mysteriously begins to move around on her own. Must be a prank, right?

Soon, Chick learns the whole town lives in fear of Foster’s ghost. Searching for her address, 825 Forest Road, is their obsession, but everyone does it on the sly, because those who get too close wind-up dead. Foster wastes no time diving deep into the weeds of Foster-philia, even joining his next-door neighbor Larry’s support group for 825-seekers. Yet, he always acts skeptical whenever he comes home to the aftermath of a fresh round of supernatural mayhem.

Regardless, 825 is a surprisingly scary haunted house film. Much like Cognetti’s Hell House LLC found footage franchise (which also prominently features mannequins), it shows how skillful execution can elevate a relatively straightforward premise. However, in this case, the obsession with old maps and municipal records adds an element of old fashioned, tactile musty-smelling intrigue.

Frankly, Cognetti is a very skilled genre filmmaker, who sufficiently trusts his audience to slowly build big scares out of small but ominous background movements. We usually only see it coming shortly before the characters—at which point, it is too late for them.

The principal cast, Kathyrn Miller, Joe Falcone, and Elizabeth Vermilyea are all decent enough. Lorenzo Beronilla is a particular supporting standout, as their traumatized neighbor. However, Cognetti’s atmosphere and all his insidious little details really drive the terror. It is simple, but it works. In fact, it is one of the best straight-up movie hauntings in several years. Highly recommended for horror fan, 825 Forest Road starts streaming Friday (4/4) on Shudder.