By Vanessa Martin Guidon

Editor’s Note: A girl can’t be everywhere at once, so from time to time I call upon my fabulous friends to help me out in the review department. Meet Vanessa Martin Guidon, who is giving you a far better assessment of this film than I could have.

Firstly, I should tell you that I love horror movies.  Always have.  I saw my first scary movie at age five and I’ve been hooked ever since.  I love the good ‘leap-out-of-your-seat’ sort, not the slasher kind with blood and guts and gore. I love the FREAK OUT feeling you get as the suspense builds slower and slower, where you want to yell aloud to the stupid teenager not to go down that dark hallway or through the old door to investigate…and then POW, you jump, in spite of knowing full well what’s going to happen. Now that’s my kind of movie!  My parents suffered when I was a child–I made them check closets and under my bed before I would even think of shutting both eyes and laying myself down to sleep. Now my husband has been given the honor of checking out a foreign sound after dusk and doing a runner for me if I left something downstairs, whilst I remain in the comfort and safety of our bed.

The Gallows did not disappoint…entirely.  It is complete with stupid teenagers doing things they shouldn’t be doing and taking you along for the build-up ride and then delivering the punch that gives way to some air between you and your chair – even if it is ever so slight. You hate yourself for doing it, but hey, at least you’re not completely tainted!

The story begins with a video of a high school play called The Gallows, performed 20 years ago, in which one of the main characters, Charlie, is accidently killed during his performance. Fast forward to today and the same school is re-staging the play as sort of an homage – that’s pretty creepy in and of itself!

In today’s play, the good-looking football star, a la Tom Cruise, Reese, (Reese Mishler) is the lead in the play, but he feels he is definitely the weak link and doubts his ability to do the play justice. He doesn’t want to let anyone down, especially the female lead, Pfeifer, (Pfeifer Brown) whom he has developed feelings for. Pfeifer is the annoying girl we all knew from high school that would get practically every lead in the school plays because she was good, yes, but mostly because she cared more than anybody else. Then there is Reese’s best friend, Ryan, (Ryan Shoos) who is the smartass kid with an answer for everything and who just happens to have a hand-held camera as a sort of appendage. He roams around getting in everyone’s faces while filming the antics of high school life. Of course he dates the cute, blond cheerleader named Cassidy (Cassidy Gifford). Are you twigging to the character name/real life name element?

But ah, Cassidy Gifford. What a smart choice the writers/directors Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing made in casting her. If all else failed, they could at least get her doting mother, Kathie Lee Gifford, to get the movie some traction. Perhaps her mother knew someone at Warner Bros. that owed her a favor? Warner Bros. picked up the summer thriller and it is Cassidy Gifford alone, albeit with her adorable and sunny persona, that is out promoting the movie on her mother’s morning network show and elsewhere.

The acting is good from these 20 something “teens” and the ending has a decent twist that makes you glad you stayed. But if you want my advice, don’t even think about shouting out the name “Charlie!”

Rated R

1 Hour 27 Minutes

Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

THE GALLOWS Review — It All Hangs On Cassidy Gifford