Fertile Ground (2010)

Starting off with some unpleasantness that makes you get your hopes up for what’s to come, Fertile Ground quickly turns into a predictable, disappointing horror movie full of nothing more than lame jump scares. It’s like a mix of The Amityville Horror and Rosemary’s Baby without the atmosphere, quality or technical accomplishment of either.

Nate Weaver (Gale Harold) and his wife, Emily (Leisha Hailey), move out to an old family estate to start a fresh period of their life after a traumatic experience. Nate is eager to get back into his painting while Emily gets busy making the house into a home and, of course, finding bits and bobs that hint at a dark past. Her paranoia and concerns are made worse when the full history is revealed to her by local man Avery (Chelcie Ross).

Co-written and directed by Adam Gierasch (who also provided horror fans with the enjoyable Night Of The Demons remake), Fertile Ground contains all of the major failings of modern horror. The acting is okay, I guess, but everything else is severely lacking. No logic, no tension, no atmosphere, nobody to really care about (Emily just doesn’t do enough to get herself out of the house before things get too “scary”) and not even enough gore and nudity to at least please viewers on a shallower level.

The fact that the movie is interspersed with a number of unnecessary title cards, making it feel like some strange offshoot of Frasier, doesn’t help either. Nope, this is one to avoid. 
3/10