The Gallows - D

Rated R, 81 minutes

When someone is going through a tough time, it's common to say "hang in there" to help them along. Not so with the unoriginal new found footage horror film "The Gallows," a silly entry for such an overused, contrived genre. In 1993, a student of Beatrice High School named Charlie Grimille is killed in a horrific accident during the small town school's play, The Gallows. Twenty years later, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honor the 20th anniversary of the tragedy - but a few students (Reese Mishler, Cassidy Gifford, Ryan Shoos, Pfeifer Brown) break in at night to hamper the production and soon discover that some things are better left alone for good. Co-directed and written by Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing and produced by prolific horror movie producer Jason Blum ("Insidious," "Paranormal Activity"), "The Gallows" is peppered with a few jumpy moments, but its muddled, far-fetched story is a stretch even for a horror movie. For one, it's not terribly original, especially since all the main characters first names here mirror their own real names, not to mention it becomes obvious watching "The Gallows" that it was done quickly and on the very cheap, with camera work that will surely make you dizzy. Once the plot is revealed, it's not all that shocking, but more confusing as to who or what is exactly behind this, since that's never fully explained - and even more baffling is why this is Rated R - there's very little blood or violence to speak of and the original accident is so badly staged and blurry it doesn't really seem all that shocking. "The Gallows" ends up a tangled mess and a lousy excuse for its young stars to wander in the dark and make really stupid decisions (the final one is a doozy: all I have to say is dude, you were literally home free); one of the stars of the movie is Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford's daughter Cassidy - if I were her I wouldn't be exactly proud of this - but hey you have to start somewhere. You're better off hanging around anywhere else than at the movie theater seeing the awful "The Gallows," which is mostly a waste of your time a reason to put a noose around the found footage genre.