The Penrod family moves to a small town where they soon find an extreme haunted house run by a charming retired surgeon. Sure, things seem great at first, but then they learn that he’s the kind of person that just keeps pushing things down a darker and more evil path.

Directed and written by Alexander Boyd Watson, I wanted to write this off originally as Jorgenson’s followers wear masks that look right out of The Purge while there are also found footage-style moments and asides of other torture moments throughout the town, but I stuck with it and was rewarded. I loved the end of this which keeps twisting and turning and changing and becoming darker and more sinister with each passing second.

There have been quite a few “extreme haunt” films in the last few years, such as The Houses October Built, Haunt and Hell Fest yet Bundy Manor earns its place at the head of them through its devotion to telling an emotional and personal story about how difficult keeping a family — even one of devoted followers — together can be.

This movie was part of the Another Hole in the Head film festival, which provides a unique vehicle for independent cinema. This year’s festival takes place from December 1st – December 18th, 2022. Screenings and performances will take place at the historic Roxie Cinema, 4 Star Theatre and Stage Werks in San Francisco, CA. It will also take place On Demand on Eventive and live on Zoom for those who can not attend the live screenings. You can learn more about how to attend or watch the festival live on their Eventlive site. You can also keep up with all of my AHITH film watches with this Letterboxd list.