When reading the DVD box for The House with 100 Eyes and seeing comparisons to both American Psycho and This is Spinal Tap I admit to getting a little bit sceptical. Making an effective mockumentary is a fine art that seems to be reserved for the likes of Christopher Guest (Best in Show) and you rarely see it in the horror realm with the vastly underrated Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon the only one that stands out to me. There's none of the documentary feel of that sub-genre here and it's just an odd way to market a movie with a set up more in line with found footage movies that plays out like a collection of completely f*cked up home movies.

An opening text crawl tells us what we're about to see is taken from fifty-eight unmarked video tapes and DVD's that director Jay Lee received in the mail. Our introduction to Ed (Jim Roof) is a tight close-up of him singing "Hello, My Baby" - I instantly think of the Alien spoof in Spaceballs every time I hear this song - being filmed by his wife Susan (Shannon Malone). They look like your typical American couple but we discover right away they're not only murderous but that they've been filming and selling snuff films for quite some time using the moniker "Studio Red".

Looking to boost their business, and add some excitement to what's become stale and routine to them, Ed and Susan decide to not only install tons of cameras in their house in order to give their audience/customers more of a personal experience but also to do something they've never been able to do before: chalk up three kills in one night. Early on we're treated to a bunch of dark humour as our couple act like you'd expect a married pair to as Susan makes a Bundt cake on camera and Ed is concerned about coming across as an asshole. It's during these 'normal' moments that we first glimpse Ed's short-fuse of a temper as well as Susan's desire to be a faithful wife and make everything better.

After some failed attempts to pick up their next victims they luck out and find a trio willing to come home with them thanks to the promise of drinks, drugs, and cash to star in an amateur porno. What follows is a gruelling night of manipulation, torture, and unhinged behaviour that's only made to feel sleazier due to the fact our victims just look so damn young and fresh-faced. This is a tale with morbidity flowing through it and it works simply because Ed and Susan could easily be someone who live next door to you - everyone has their secrets, theirs just happens to be serial killing. On the way to the finale there are acts of violence that aren't pleasant to watch and the use of sharp static during the footage only helps make things feel even bleaker. Add into all this a disturbing masturbation moment early on and completely messed-up pet carrier surprise and you have a compact and unsettling effort.

It's the highest compliment you can give an actor in a genre flick when they manage to creep you out and that's exactly what Roof does. He just has this charisma to him but also an underlying tension due to Ed's unrestrained and violent outbursts. Malone balances this well coming across as a regular homemaker a lot of the time but not afraid to get her hands dirty either. They're my favourite psychotic couple to grace low-budget horror since Trent Haaga and Brandy Little in 2004's Suburban Nightmare. As our unfortunate victims Larissa Lynch, Liz Burghdorf and Andrew Hopper all are convincing with Burghdorf taking the brunt of the punishment as the virginal Crystal.

On top of taking on the lead role, Roof also wrote and co-directed The House with 100 Eyes and, while it's definitely not for everyone, I found it to be an engrossing 76 minutes that takes something (found footage) that's becoming old hat by now and spins it off enough to stand apart from its peers. I'm definitely interested to see what he can come up with next. He's helped here by Jay Lee who prior to this brought us the highly entertaining The Slaughter and Zombie Strippers! with the Ms. 45 inspired exploitation of Gutter Slut coming soon.

Recently released on DVD from Artsploitation Films with a good looking transfer as well as a handful of decent extras in the form of trailers, a gag reel and sizzle reel from the viewpoint of our Ed character, and a decent commentary by Roof and Lee. (Chris Hartley, 6/23/15)

Directed By: Jay Lee, Jim Roof.
Written By: Jim Roof.

Starring: Shannon Malone, Jim Roof, Larissa Lynch, Liz Burghdorf.