Review: 8213: Gacy House

Genre: Horror/Found Footage
Directed by: Anthony Fankhauser
Released: September 28, 2010 (direct to DVD)

THE GENERAL IDEA

John Wayne Gacy murdered at least 33 young men from 1972-1978 and buried 26 of them in his basement and 3 in the back yard. During the original police investigation his home was torn down whilst looking for Gacy’s victims, so in the late 70’s or the early 80’s a new home was built on the mass grave. On May 15th 2004 a group of ghost hunters entered the house on 8213 West Summerdale to search for John’s ghost, The Des Plaines Police Department found this footage.

THE GOOD

The actors (yes they are actors) for the most part do a decent job and there are a few moments where the tension is almost good.

THE BAD

Where to start? The Aslyum Home Entertainment team spend so much time trying to convince the viewer that this is real footage that even before I watched it I knew it was fake. But even with their attempts at making it seem like real footage fail there are many more problems. I’ve listed 6 of the biggest ones that bothered me while I watched it.

Problem #1 On the back cover of the DVD it says that this movie contains strong sexual content and extreme violence. Now forgive me if i’m wrong but how many professional ghost hunters decided to have sex in the house that essentially was John Wayne Gacy’s?
Problem #2 Don’t have an IMDB.com page where I can see the actors work listed that was filmed/released after this film was supposedly shot.
Problem #3 Found Footage is not official crime scene footage, no matter what you say. Crime scene footage is typically shot by the police department after the crime has been committed, not video of the crime occurring.
Problem #4 Ghosts tend to haunt 1 or 2 things, first they haunt the place they died, second they haunt a specific person and follow that individual. Now if the production team hadn’t said this was real I could understand the change in the ghost rules but they claim its real.
Problem #5 If you say your filming at the Gacy house then actually film there, I did a quick google maps look up and the house they use is not the Gacy house, it’s not even in the same neighbourhood.
Problem #6 The house they shot in is supposed to be from the late 70’s or early 80’s but watching the movie you can tell the house they used was much older, it is designed like a very old farm house that has changed over the years. Having the entrance to the attic being in the bathroom being the most notable example. I grew up in houses that are about the age of the house they supposedly used and they don’t have you walk through rooms to get to other rooms. Like I said it looks like an old farmhouse that has been updated over the years.

Aside from those problems the actress (again all people in this are actors) who plays the psychic is just horrible. This team claims that this isn’t their first job as a ghost hunters, but they don’t seem very prepared after they set up, they leave things all over the place instead of holding on to them, they show up to the site at night instead of setting up during the day to name a few problems with the teams actions.

The FX’s are very low budget which isn’t the main problem. My issues with the FX are that they use some way to simple ones to often. The main problem is when they have doors slamming. The shots of doors slamming (there are a lot) are only showing about half the door (always the top half), which means that either someone is just out of the camera’s view or a string/rope that the camera could see did the dirty work of slamming the doors.

I could go on and on but I think you all get the point.

OVERALL

This is a movie that wanted to be more than it was but the team that made it didn’t know how to get it there. Sadly this film had two things going against it before I even watched it, this first is that it was made by The Asylum and second they spent to much time saying it was real footage. The best way to release a found footage film is to do what the Blair Witch movie did, release it and let the audience try and figure out if its real or not.

I give 8213: Gacy House a 3 out of 10

Comment with Facebook

50 thoughts on “Review: 8213: Gacy House

  1. You dummy. Lmao. Texas Chainsaw was loosely based off of Ed Gein. WHO WAS A SERIAL KILLER IN WISCONSIN. lol please at least do your research before you go on here lying. There was no Leatherface or a cannibal family.

    1. @LMFAoSusie I don’t recall the comment section allowing people to get flamed for their opinions. Obviously she didn’t know what she was saying but that doesn’t mean you should hop on her for it…

    2. @LMFAoSusie Ed Gein was not a serial killer. The FBI definition of a serial killer requires the killer to have killed at least 3 people, with “cooling off” periods in between to indicate that the murders are motivationally distinct (as opposed to mass and spree murders). Ed Gein only killed two people, so he doesn’t technically qualify as a serial killer. Just saying.

    3. @bellemont  Serial killing means killing multiple people. A so called ‘cool off period’ is not need to be qualified as a serial killer btw. And Ed Gein DID kill multiple women and kept their body parts as trophies. They searched his house and found 4 noses and a belt made of nipples among other things. I’m sorry, that means he killed more than 2. Am i right or am I right? Plus he wouldnt be featured on serial killer sites and documentaries if he wasn’t one. Just saying.

    4. @LMFAoSusie  “Serial killing means killing multiple people.” – Thank you, Captain Obvious. A cooling off period IS necessary to define a serial killer because, as I previously stated, it distinguishes these killers from mass murderers. Ed Gein DID NOT kill multiple women, only TWO. The reason there were body parts of multiple women in his house was because he was a “body snatcher” – he went to the cemetery and dug up the graves of multiple women and exhumed their corpses to obtain those body parts. So, you are wrong and you are wrong. The fact that he was featured on serial killer sites and documentaries just means that there are other ignorant morons out there like you who decide to make claims without doing their research first. But at least they do not have the audacity to go around unjustifiably patronizing other people and acting like they are an expert in the field. Why don’t you go do some research or at least Google the information before you reply this time. K thanks.

  2. Based On a true story, not real footage in the movie, they made the movie by finding real footage in the house. They wouldn’t be able to show the really footage to the public. You people are so dumb !

  3. after looking into this movie from the start is was fake on the walls of the home that they used there was a few family pics of the people the owned the home the house there were using was not even the Wayne gacy not even in the same area and for real you this movies was to put some hot girls on tv so they can get the start of fame thats all this movie was plane a simple 

  4. It was a fictional ‘found footage’ film – based on an evil fuck! These films are ten-a-penny now. Personally I wish I hadn’t watched it (felt a bit uncomfortable about the young guys autopsy report!)I’d rather it had been about a fictional serial killer.

  5. I can explain the autopsy reports…..THEY WERE FAKE!!!!! Have you ever seen a real autopsy report? A real one looks nothing like the ones in the movie. I liked the movie but come on people use your brain a little bit sometimes. If this would have really happened at THE GACY HOUSE of all places it would have been all over the news. ITS JUST A MOVIE!! Just like paranormal activity and blair witch. Use your heads sometimes people!!

  6. HOw can you say that the movie was fake when at the end there were autospy reports of the people that were in the movie. Even though they might of been acters in the movie but what happened to the people that were actually there. can you explain how they all died.

  7. I just watched this movie and it’s no doubt fake just look at the scars on the girl
    They look fake and the van scene were the girl gets taken I thought isn’t the house
    Sapost to be haunted and not the front yard. And the young guy performed the best out
    Of all the actors he acted like the stuff was really happening but it all ended when
    He floated up in the air and had his pants ripped off and uasslly when someones
    Raped there undergarments ripped off too even if the young guy was handsome

  8. @ Rodney: I agree with Chad in that you were harsh on this film. For one thing, I think you were a bit confused maybe because some of the problems you listed were not problems at all. For instance, problems 2 & 3 in particular. To me they make perfect sense.

    In problem 2 you complain that there is no IMDB page for you to look at to see the actors experience and backgrounds. This was likely to have been the strategy of Global Asylum all along. They don’t want people to be able to go to a web page and easily confirm that the film was shot with actors and not real. Once a person confirms 100% that a film like this is fake, it takes all the creepiness away. That’s also probably why there were no credits at the end of the film. I can remember back to the first time I watched the Blair Witch Project at the theater. By the end of the movie, I was struggling with myself trying to determine if it could possibly be real or not. Part of me was saying “no way” but there was another part of me that was still intrigued. But once the credits began to roll, my questions were immediately answered.

    In problem 3, you stated that found footage was NOT official crime scene footage. Yes, normally the official crime scene footage is shot by the police during their investigation, however with this footage being found where the crimes took place, and alongside the six bodies, it becomes evidence and can be submitted and used as official crime scene footage.

    Overall, I think Global Asylum did a fantastic job considering the actors were obviously inexperienced. But they just couldn’t use experienced actors because some viewers would have seen them before and that would immediately give away the fact that it was indeed a scripted movie.

    I do admit that I was rather suspicious about the validity of the film being real footage or not because it looked as if they were trying to act in several parts but I still had that little sense of wonder in the back of my mind. When the end came and there were no credits, I was stunned. That made me wonder enough to get on the internet and confirm if it was faked footage or not. That’s how I ended up here.

    I do thank you Rodney for your critique of the film even though I didn’t agree with a lot of your points. It’s all a matter of personal opinion and preferences anyway. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Thanks!

  9. @ Rodney, 3/10 is a bit harsh. I’ve watched about every supernatural / horror movie imaginable and I think this was at least a 6/10. It was entertaining, decent acting, had a great setting. The fact that they made an effort to make this footage appear real is just a bonus. You seem angry that people are questioning the validity of this film! If it has people fooled they must have did something right. Thumbs up, thanks for the fun movie.

  10. i just watched this movie last night and was told it was real i never believe it bc police cannot release footage like that but i watched it and laughed the whole time if it’s a haunting type of movie then stop trying so hard….not to mention it was supposed to be gacy’s house but im pretty sure that the only reason they claim to have done it at his house and use his name was to grab the attention of horror fans like me but then it was a demon haunting this house and gacy maybe idk just no good people no good

  11. i have not seen the movie yet but i know from the previous gacy movie that i saw they dont seem to be too on point with his story anyways. previously in the gacy movie made in early 2000s it stated john wayne gacy shot himself in the head and his last words were youll never catch me you bastards or something like that on the bridge he started dumping bodies off of as he was caught by the police. hollywood hollywsoods things up way too often and unfortunately it sucks for us hard core movie buffs who like movies based on true stories. i mean compare the real haunting in Connecticut with that bs movie they put out nothing like what actually happened. and even though i enjoyed them paranormal activity 1 and 2 were fake as hell but u add a few dates and say actual footage and people think omg its real but watch the end where it says not based on any actual true events.

  12. Just sow the movie 8213: Gacy house with my friend, I personaly liked it and it had us going wether it was real or not, aside the bad acting and fake human instinct reactions it was a little belivable if u don’t do your resarch, the story line is true but footage isn’t but either way give this movies a thumb up for fooling me there a sec., lol well off to watch another scary movie and recomend to watch this film to everyone who hasent seen it….

  13. ok, just watched this movie. Im a typical screamer but really? then to say that the ghost raped the younger guy….. when do ghosts have limbs and hes a little old for Gacy. If they are going to claim that its true then they should do their homework first.

  14. just look at the sex sence the camera turns back on??? think about it John Wayne Gacy is a sick f*** but they total f***ed up this movie by saying its real, texas chainsaw massure they said it was real just to get people to go see it I hate people that just say oh its real when it isn’t i just wasted about 45 minutes on this movie fast forward though half, if you want to know about John wayne gacy just watch the horror movie gacy on netflicks save your money
    peace

    1. Personally I just wanted ta no if it was real or not.. But yes it did look fake but the texas chainsaw massicare was very real yea obviously they had actors play in it.. But its completely based of a true story my family lives in texas and we drove there once to c if the house was real and it was and they had police tap all around it.. And all the police reports r true! But yes most movies tell u there real to get ratings but I can tell u that ones not

  15. this was completely fake! the story behind it could be real, but the movie itself was fake. the footage was fake and i knew that i had seen those actors before. Not only that, but if the Gacy was was destroyed after the murders and another house was built in its place, then it WASN’T the Gacy house. Nice tit scenes though. My thing is…. dont say this is real police footage when its obvious that it isnt real footage. Terrible movie!

  16. I’m sorry there is too much piling up for it to be real. Equipment is toexpensive to be just left lying around. Secondly in a real investigation no one if left alone. The buddy system is always used so there is a second opinion to what happen if something happens. Secondly the psychic was just plain out of left field with her shit. Usually If you suspect othet forces at work that are harmful an investigation is postponed. The safety of the crew is ahead of anything else. I’m sorry as an amateur investigator and field medium I was highly disappointed with the actors. They needed to do more research on the subject and the information given was just bad. The housr was rebuilt or so they said. So why did they hint at it being the actual house? Like the cage with noose? Im just saying

  17. I agree with you Rodney…Movie was awful. I thought the acting was bad too. I had hoped they would a better job with it. I still remember when Blair Witch had the documentary on the syfy channel about the “found footage” and everyone, I mean everyone, buzzing around the internet, argueing if it was real…I think I read somewhere that the FBI even had to write an offficial statement about the story, and a map was published of the so-called area…LOL. I bet Sarah still believes that story too…I used to be much more of a horror movie fan, but everything that has been done just lacks imagination, and I think that’s part of the problem. The scariest part of Blair Witch was your own mind, remembering spending the nights camping and hearing noises…I don’t want a movie to put eveything in front of you, blood and gore, etc…Takes all the fun out of it to me.

    1. Maybe because they are ACTORS and not paranormal investigators.

      This is a fictional film of people investigating a house supposedly built on the site of the former Gacy residence.

      No one was killed in the Gacy house SINCE the investigated murders.

      1. Rodney, I thought the film was hokey from the very beginning. I was becoming bored and started to fast forward when I came to the Autopsy Reports, then I began to question. But even watching the rest of the film it just all seemed so ridiculous. Please give me your feedback on the Autopsy Reports.

  18. I’m sorry but fake or not.. i really quiet liked the movie. even if it was over done. it was still pretty good [well i thought so] i’m a hugee horror nut. i knew it was fake. but hey. there’s plenty of people who’d like to think it is real. [gotta have some sorta beliefes right?]

    1. this movie is not fake, i google the address of the house and its only like 12 mins where my great grandmother lived in Des Plaines, IL. These crew did it and recorded these video and see what is going on about that house when neighbors seeing and hearing, smelling strange of afterlife. And the house is still very active and dangerous. No one is allow to investigate that house because of what happened to these crew. The reason they broadcast this video is to let us how bad it is about that house.

      1. This movie IS fake. This isn’t “broadcast” to stop others from investigating. It’s a movie. It wasn’t even filmed in the town where the Gacy murders happened. No one else died in that house after Gacy’s actions.

        These are ACTORS with imdb pages.

        The house in the “found footage” was filmed in Woodbury Story House – a historical landmark in CALIFORNIA. Sorority Row and a couple episodes of Ghost Whisperer were also shot at this location.

      2. Okay, I’m sorry but I have to disagree with your “This movie is not fake” arguement with better supporting evidence than you could possibly acquire. Allow me to explain. I have no need to “google the address”. The address has changed. The village of Des Plaines changed it to avoid tourists, but were only able to change 1 digit for obvious postal reasons. Now, for my evidence that I mentioned earlier. I have personally been there (not inside, but drove by and stopped to gawk for a bit). First of all, His house was demolished and a new one built. The house that’s there now looks nothing like the one in the film. Second, in the film the house appeared very old, far from reality for the time the house was there. Third, there are people currently living on the property, so it is not off limits to the public. As i said, I havve been there, I know the new address and I’ve seen the house, but I’m not sure if the current resident is aware of the history. They have probably been informed, either by neighbors or the realtor who sold the property(as it is unlawful to withhold information for the benefit of a sale). Once again, the film is as fake as you can get. Also if it were real, the police dept. would have a record of the event. It was just a movie that wasn’t even filmed on location. Trust me, I live close to it.

      3. I find this movie to be fake first off it was not filmed at the original site I have not seen any reports or heard of any that 6 paranormal researchers were found dead yes the story behind john gacy is true no one is denying that but this was not based on actual footage

    2. i did not think think that the footage was the real thing, way too many mistakes were made. and the part where the psychic gets taken totally fake. nice rak though

    1. Yes this film is real, I read the article and its true, My great Grandmother lived couple miles when it happened in Des Plaines, IL Gacy is one sick evil bastard. Should never ever investigate a killers house, this stuff can happened.

      1. No. It didn’t.

        The “official investigators footage” shows actors that have appeared in other Asylum films. This is not “found footage”

        It was staged. Just like any other horror film.

      2. i think it is real also, and i dont think anybody would just only use the original footage because of lighting and angles and portrayal of the story so i think its better to use actors over the footage………..besides i rather not want to see someone actually die

  19. who really knows the rules of the paranormal? no one its just anyones opinion. so are the people that made the film really dead? after all i thought there were rules about saying something is true footage or true events weather if its fiction or non fiction. im not going to dissbelieve a persons blog that anyone can get wrong info from a not so perfect net info source nor will i take any advice from a person that has no experience in film of paranormal research of film what so ever.

    1. This shyt is fake boys and girl cuz the real killer (John Wayne gacy)is related to me threw mii mother it’s nothing to be happy over but the my friends is the truth

Leave a Reply