The Jailhouse (2009) User Reviews

The Plot Point Makes the Movie Pointless and Senseless

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 1 November 2013]

In Colton, Deputy Seth Delray (C. Thomas Howell) is hired by Sheriff Hooper (Phillip Troy Linger) and he temporarily moves with his wife Grace (Siri Baruc) and their two children to an old jailhouse while the constructor Calvin (David Schifter) repairs their house. When the local prison has a problem, six inmates are transferred to the soundproof jailhouse that is considered cursed and is located on the second floor of the house. Seth finds the badge of the former sheriff that was murdered in the jailhouse and soon he is possessed by an evil spirit and starts killing the inmates.

"The Jailhouse" is a movie where the lead character performed by C. Thomas Howell is a rip-off Jack Nicholson in "The Shining". The plot begins like many other possession movies, with a family man being possessed by the former jailer. However, the plot point makes the movie pointless and senseless. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Detenção do Mal" ("Detention of the Evil")

Tedious indie

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 12 January 2019]

GHOST CAGE is another cheapo indie about a haunted jail cell. The story plays out in two different time periods, separated by centuries, with a modern owner finding himself possessed by the spirit of a predecessor. A down-on-his-luck C. Thomas Howell shows up for a story devoid of scares, wit and warmth; instead, it's just another tedious indie.

Horrible

[draftdubya · 1/10 · 9 November 2018]

Was this supposed to be a comedy? I just wanted every single one of these morons to die.

Not all that spectacular and pretty unremarkable

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 20 August 2012]

While his new house is repaired after a storm, a cop is forced to live below a haunted jail with inmates of the overcrowded nearby prison but slowly becomes possessed by the former guards and begins to torment and brutalize the inmates, forcing them to rise up against him.

Not really as great as the plot sounds since the possession is really only hinted at and then figured out through the actions taken, despite the fact that it's never directly stated but rather implied, meaning that this one has just a long amount of time with nothing all that interesting going on. The attacks are brutal and bloody, but because we spend a lot of time with the inmates rather than the cop, lowering the film even more so and making it harder to get into. That, as well as a last-act twist that just makes the entire film a pointless endeavor and is utterly infuriating all the more-so lower it even more and makes it almost worthless.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

haunted (jail)house thriller

[Stephaniedepue · 7/10 · 16 May 2010]

A haunted (jail)house horror/thriller, bearing some resemblance to "The Shining." Although, of course, Billy Lewis isn't Steven King, who wrote "The Shining, and C. Thomas Howell, who stars in "The Jailhouse," isn't Jack Nicholson, who starred in "The Shining." Nevertheless, Howell carries the picture pretty well,he's in almost every scene.

The film's a low-budget indie made in southeastern North Carolina. According to an article in local newspaper, Wilmington Star News, writer-director Billy Lewis was inspired by existence of creepy old jail house in Burgaw, N.C.; wrote and made film around jail,in which it is more or less the villain. Produced by Heath Franklin,locally cast, aside from Howell. A short, tight, quick film that moves pretty well, is not as bloody and gory as most films in this category: no brains splashed all over the place, nor eyes hanging out. I was able to get into it pretty quickly. Think it might do well, even in non-English speaking markets, the plot can be followed easily enough without the understanding of English.