Ever since he was young, Mason McGuinness has always excelled at two things: marketing himself and manipulating people into spending money even when it is unreasonable. Alas, that day finally comes when his chronic deceit leads him to be jobless and dumped by his ex girlfriend. When Mason finds a small realty company that needs help selling its only piece of land, the CEO asks him to sell a place everyone else calls “the house that no one would buy”. That house is the notoriously haunted Scarlett Clay house a house where the history is survives and those who step foot in the house die to mysterious reasons. Using a strange psychic as his new weapon, Mason goes on a desperate quest to reclaim his life while struggling to overcome his immorality… or die in the process.
For Sale is an offbeat entertaining horror comedy. This stars Mason McGuinness played by Andrew Roth (The Wire) as a stereotypical overconfident salesman that even during shady circumstances, won’t hesitate to close a sale. Due to his cut throat competitive nature Mason goes too far and loses his bed and employment. He has a chance to redeem himself if he is able to find a buyer for a house in the neighborhood which is quite infamous.
The argument of practical effects versus CGI will have its final say when there’s no one in the crowd to appreciate the nostalgic old school effects. Seasoned effects are a strong selling point in any good film but as for For Sale, it does not contribute much to that particular debate. Rather, it is a case of how effective rather than elaborate approaches can be.
For Sale has the dark hallways, flickering lights and other features of a haunted house so it’s only appropriate that there are ghosts in there, some unexplained events and even some strange visuals. Although nothing is as good as Asvini and the finances cannot support a gigantic computer generated extravaganza, the film is adept at subliminal scare tactics. Some great jump scares, and the shadow play is incorporated into the biggest impact moments. And when the ghosts haunting the house show up, they look incredibly cheesy, which is appropriate for the storyline.
The strongest point of the film might just be the charm. For Sale has been dominated by quirky music and music. Roth does quite well in the role of the dubious agent who will go to any lengths to make his trade. He seems to be present in most scenes and such a character will ensure that he won’t bore the watching audience. In fact, the movie is less about the frights and more about the evolution of the character.
Some of them could possibly consider it a defect. For Sale for the most part avoids any of the horror focus. It is not until almost the hour mark that the plot kicks in. Everything prior is a prelude. This would be okay and it is quite well structured except that there has been no mood set. For horror beaters it is not just about being tightly wound but even in the comedies there are no Howlers. And when the suspense finally gets the spotlight, everything comes to a stand still.
The ending also seems quite wild. At first, it seems like viewers are about to be given a rather wholesome ending with Mason learning a life lesson of sorts. Before eventually, a twist that puts such a conclusion in a very strange perspective that makes one rather cute and funny but feels more partial than anything else.
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