''House of Dust'' is a 2014

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film directed by A.D. Calvo. The movie had its world premiere on May 20, 2014 and focuses on a group of college students that become possessed by the ghosts of former mental patients. Filming took place in

Willimantic, Connecticut Willimantic is a city located in the town of Windham, Connecticut, Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It is a former Census-designated place and Borough (Connecticut), borough, and is currently organized as one of two Local gov ...

and

Mansfield, Connecticut Mansfield is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 25,892 at the 2020 census. Pequot and Mohegan people lived in this region for centuries before the arrival of English settler-immigrants in the late 17th cent ...

at the

Mansfield Training School and Hospital The Mansfield Training School and Hospital was a state school for people with developmental disabilities located in Mansfield, Connecticut, United States. It was active from 1860 to 1993. Its former campus, located at the junction of Connecticut ...

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

, and Eastern Connecticut State University during the summer of 2011.

Plot

1951 - Having already killed OCD patient Billy Brown (Michael Goodin) at the Redding House Asylum, a psychiatrist (

Stephen Spinella Stephen Spinella (born October 11, 1956) is an American stage, television, and film actor. Early life Spinella was born in Naples, Italy, to a father who was an American naval airplane mechanic. He grew up in Glendale, Arizona, and graduated fr ...

) experiments on simple-minded inmate Melvin Veman (Peyton Clarkson) and sociopath Levius Laitura (John Lee Ames). With Levius still alive, the psychiatrist has his orderlies put the bodies of all three men inside the crematorium to burn them. Present Day - Camden College student Dylan (

Eddie Hassell Lord Ed Taylor Hassell (July 16, 1990 – November 1, 2020) was an American actor. His most notable role was the 2013 film ''Jobs'', where he played the young Chris Espinosa. Life and career Born in Corsicana, Texas, Hassell grew up riding in ...

) tells his girlfriend Gabby (

Holland Roden Holland Roden is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Lydia Martin in MTV's teen drama series ''Teen Wolf'', Zoe Woods in Syfy's horror anthology series '' Channel Zero: Butcher's Block'', Bridget Cleary in Amazon Prime Video's h ...

) and his roommate Kolt (Steven Grayhm) about the now abandoned asylum's haunted history. New student Emma (

Inbar Lavi Inbar Lavi ( he, ענבר לביא, born October 27, 1986) is an actress. She is known for portraying Raviva on the 2012 MTV series '' Underemployed'', Vee on the 2014 Fox television series ''Gang Related'', and Sheba on the Fox series ''Prison ...

) moves in as Gabby's roommate and Kolt takes a liking to her. However, fellow students Allyson (Alesandra Assante), Christine (Nicole Travolta) and Blythe (

Joy Lauren Joy Lauren Jorgensen (born ) is an American producer, director and writer and former actress. She is known for playing Danielle Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series '' Desperate Housewives''. Life and career Lauren was born Lauren Joy Jo ...

) do not. Dylan, Kolt, Gabby and Emma break into Redding House after a party to look around despite a warning from campus security guard Clyde (Justin James Lang). Emma has strange experiences while exploring on her own. The other three knock over a container of cremated ashes and inhale the dust of the three men burned there in 1951. A recovering psychiatric patient herself, Emma begins experiencing haunting visions upon returning to the dorm. The behavior of the other three students gradually changes as Billy possesses Dylan, Melvin inhabits Gabby and Levius takes control of Kolt's body. Allyson is killed by someone unseen while doing laundry. Christine is later killed while taking her dog outside. Suspecting that the disappearances and the odd behaviors are related to the asylum, Emma tries to go back to Redding House, but Clyde prevents her from going inside. With Levius in full control of his actions, Kolt attacks Emma. Emma eventually flees into the asylum and confirms her suspicions when she examines patient records and finds the empty urn knocked over by the others. Emma then finds the dead bodies of Allyson, Christine and Blythe (who was killed off screen). Kolt captures Emma, but Dylan knocks him unconscious (he also knocks Emma unconscious as well) and traps Kolt in the crematorium with Gabby. Emma recovers and frees Kolt and Gabby from the fire, which releases everyone from their possessions. Dylan coughs up Billy's spirit as well. The four students escape Redding House with Clyde's assistance. The crematorium dust goes through the chimney and into the air, ultimately possessing a little boy (Anthony Scarpone-Lambert) playing in the park with the other children nearby.

Cast

as Emma *Steven Grayhm as Kolt *

as Dylan *

as Gabby *John Lee Ames as Levius Laitura *Peyton Clarkson as Melvin Veman *Michael Goodin as Billy Brown *

as Psychiatrist *Justin James Lang as Clyde *Alesandra Assante as Allyson *

as Blythe *Nicole Travolta as Christine *Anthony Scarpone-Lambert as Boy

Reception

''HorrorNews.net'' panned ''House of Dust'', praising the movie's cast while stating that the movie "didn’t bring anything new to the table and was just lackluster and forgettable overall".

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...

gave a mixed review and commented that while the movie was "no classic", that "A.D. Calvo directs the action well and gets good performances from actors lacking much experience" and that it would appeal best to fans of independent horror or films set in mental institutions.

References

External links

* * {{A.D. Calvo 2013 films 2013 psychological thriller films Films set in Connecticut American independent films American ghost films American supernatural horror films Films about psychiatry Films set in abandoned houses Films set in psychiatric hospitals Films directed by A. D. Calvo 2010s English-language films 2010s American films