Dark Summer

This modest US horror offers another spin on the haunted-house story by having geeky teen Daniel (Keir Gilchrist) electronically tagged so he can’t escape the ghost who wants him dead. Daniel and the ghoul have history: he’s on the naughty step after his online stalking of an emo-girl classmate, whose suicide is clearly the reason for these bumps in the night. This small-scale movie spends most of its short running-time in the suburban bungalow where Daniel lives with his mum (who’s away on business) and where a succession of sudden loud noises, weird domestic anomalies and an occasional hooded figure at the back of the frame offer fairly meagre chills. Still, the script has a few inventive – if not necessarily credible – moves up its sleeve, the direction never runs out of steam and some scenery-chewing appearances from a probation officer (Peter Stormare) raise a smile. London-born Gilchrist (decent enough) is also in ‘It Follows’. This has its moments, but offers a significantly weaker call on your time.