The Haunting at Jack the Ripper’s House (2025) (UK)

aka Viral Haunt

⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a title. Just roles off the tongue. Hey, it got me to press play. Ghost hunting YouTubers (they’re always just begging to be slaughtered) are hellbent on squashing the rumors that they fake their videos. They go about this by… uhm… making another video (shrugs in social media influencer). The group of paranormal-hunting friends (Haunt Hunters) are currently at odds with one founder (Richard) leaving the team as he’s beginning to question the path the channel is going down, all while they have just booked a spooky hotspot in the home of Jack the Ripper. A UK hideout of suspected Ripper Aaron Kosminksi. We already know the place is dangerous because of the two youthful dopes who get their asses murdered by some dark figure in the well-kept house. The other founder (and certified assbag) Jake carries on with the production even after being warned about how spooky it is by the sinister current owner Victor. Hell, even his ex-partner tries to warn him to stay the fuck away and he shouldn’t give two shits. They’re the first team being allowed to film inside and the money is gonna be good. Haunt Hunters usually fake their encounters because it’s the best way to get them clicks but it looks like they won’t be needing to on this little jaunt. There’s something in these digs and it has no problem whatsoever knocking off obnoxious YouTubers… or is the threat more human than supernatural? Jake becomes more of an assbag and the team has trouble recognizing the actual paranormal because the tech team has set up scary tricks. Victor pops up a few times to offer cryptic warnings to the team and provide some attempted jumps before the actual ghosts get off their spectral asses and begin tormenting. As soon as the shit hits the fan, the team wants to get the hell out but their dick-head leader says no. Shockingly, it’s not pure found footage as it jumps around but mainly keeps itself in non-shaky-cam territory. We do get some camera POV and clips to fill in the story along with flashbacks and such. The lovely Danielle Scott shows up as a podcaster who lets the team deliver some exposition and just generally grace us with her presence. The rest of the cast takes everything serious and gives it their all (sometimes more than necessary) so nobody is taking the piss, which is appreciated. Indoor fog, poor choices, vaguely attractive protagonists, a blown out head of hair, a man in overalls, knife violence, a possession and everything else you’d expect to see in a late-eighties Italian haunted house flick… wait, oh that’s why I’m enjoying this! It’s nonsense but there’s enough of the kind of nonsense that filled my video renting nights with laughs and disbelief. It’s a solid bit of social media dinks biting off more than they can chew with a villain we have yet to oversaturate in our budget-conscious horror films. That’s probably not true, I just may have missed a bunch of Jack the Ripper movies. I know for a fact there’s an Amityville extended universe one featuring ol’ Mad Jack I have yet to watch and that’s so far up my garbage alley, it’s practically in my backyard. No, that’s not a euphemism for butt stuff.