Mason McGuinness is the epitome of a slick salesman, skilled at selling anything and everything — except perhaps his own integrity. After losing his job and his wife due to his deceptive ways, Mason’s downward spiral leads him to a peculiar real estate opportunity: selling the notorious Scarlett Clay house, a place with a deadly reputation for anyone who lives there. Directed by Christopher Schrack, FOR SALE blends horror and humor as Mason, played by Andrew Roth, navigates his way through the eerie property and encounters supernatural forces that challenge his slick demeanor. While Roth’s portrayal adds a fun and comedic twist to the character, the film’s excessive length and the struggle to maintain a consistent tone distracts from its overall impact. In the end, FOR SALE offers a quirky take on the haunted house trope and delivers a mix of chuckles and chills, but at the end of the day, it overstays its welcome, like a stubborn houseguest.
As the film starts, we meet Mason McGuinness, the quintessential sleazy salesman with a knack for selling sand in a desert. Mason’s life takes a tumble when his snake oil ways make him too despicable to even sell used cars. The opening sequences of the movie establish the sleaziness of Mason, but also leads the audience into a false sense of security. Mason’s life, while unfortunate, is far from tragic, and gives no hint of anything supernatural. Even when he first arrives at the house and slowly walks through the rooms, you just know there is going to be a getting-things-cleaned-up montage.
Desperate for a fresh start, Mason stumbles upon an opportunity that seems too good to be true, and Mason steps into the shoes of a real estate agent, in an attempt to get his life back on track. The film sets us up for a down-on-his-luck type comedy, so we can expect to follow more of Mason’s shenanigans as he fixes up an old house and tries to reclaim some dignity. However, he finds himself in a house of horrors where every corner holds a chilling secret and every creaky floorboard seems to whisper, “Get out!” With his sales skills put to the ultimate test, Mason must navigate through a maze of ghostly encounters and spectral surprises, all while trying to sell a home that’s more nightmare than dream.
Soon, the house reveals it has a few spooky surprises for Mason that will make his job (and his life) just a bit more complicated. As he tries to flex his sales agent magic, whatever lives in the house breaks through Mason’s swagger and his well-rehearsed pitch, and now the overconfident swindler experiences one moment of cringe after another. While the mystery of the house starts to get spooky, the scares (which might elicit actual fear in any other film or with any other protagonist) cannot compete with Mason’s arrogance, so watching the usually confident and cocky character flounder creates a goofier tone. The film has some comedic moments and while these more humorous situations might not be laugh-out-loud funny, you will still get a few light-hearted chuckles or give a snort of derision directed at Mason’s struggles. Unfortunately, Roth’s acting and the humorous moments can’t sustain the film for the almost two-hour run time. And even more unfortunate, the significant tonal shift in the last part of the movie detracts from the comedic efforts established earlier in the film.
FOR SALE attempts to mix humor and horror, but like a house with a faulty foundation, it struggles to find solid ground. The film uses montages to show Mason’s bumbling attempts to clean up the haunted house, which are more slapstick than spooky. And while some of the horror creates a creepy atmosphere, Mason’s sleazy sales tactics make his misfortunes seem more like karma catching up with him rather than genuine scares. So while there are some chuckle-worthy moments, they aren’t enough to save the film from feeling like a fixer-upper that’s beyond repair. In the end, FOR SALE is more of a tear-down than a must-buy.
Tags: Andrew Roth, Bill Lord, Chardelle Moore, Christopher Schrack, comedy, Corinne Britti, Daisy Morrison, Ellie Torrez, Erik Alexis, Haunted Houses, Horror, Horror Comedy, Jordan Friedberg, Lalla Meera, Maria Christina Perry, Michael Shershenovich, Rachael Lubarsky, Steve Montague, Tony Brown
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