“Haunted Heist” is directed by Lil Rel Howrey (Uncle Drew, Judas and the Black Messiah), who also stars in the film alongside Tiffany Haddish (Night School, Girls Trip). This is also Lil Rel Howrey’s directorial debut. The film is about four estranged friends who reunite at a strange house. As one of these friends plans to rob an antique from the house, its ghosts force the friends to overcome their differences to survive.

We need more comedies in theaters. This is an imperative you are likely going to hear on this blog for who knows how long. It is not to say that there are no funny movies at all, it is just that most of the comedy found in today’s films come from projects that are not necessarily comedies. While “Haunted Heist” is not a pure comedy, it is still more of a comedy than most of the movies hitting cinemas. In fact, “Haunted Heist” features several people known for their comedic talents, including Lil Rel Howrey, who also serves as the film’s director.

This is not the first time in recent years we have seen people known for comedy diving into horror. Jordan Peele took a dive into the genre with “Get Out” in 2017, which won him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. That said, “Haunted Heist” is no “Get Out.” And I am certain the people making this movie acknowledge that. They know that this is not going to win any Academy Awards, but it does not mean the film is not entertaining. It contains a likable cast of characters who play off each other fairly well. The film is simple in premise, characterization, and for the most part, is all killer, no filler. It is not overly gory, but it can deliver on creeps and laughs at the same time.

This is a good, but not fantastic movie. It is one that I felt never once wasted a second of my time. It would have been shocking for me to feel that this movie wasted my time, especially considering the film’s runtime clocks in just under an hour and a half. This is a quick, easy, fairly mindless, fun watch. It does not insult anyone’s intelligence, but it also never breaks new ground. The scares are not exactly revolutionary, but they work from time to time. In fact, despite this movie having “haunted” in the title, I think the film’s comedy elements are slightly better than its horror elements. Whether or not this is a sign that you should see the movie is up to you. As previously highlighted, the cast contains a lot of people who are primarily known for comedy. Lil Rel Howrey…  Tiffany Haddish…  Andrew Bachelor… By the way, if you have never seen Bachelor do standup, do yourself a favor and find out if you can catch him at a show near you. I saw Jo Koy do standup in Portland, Maine, and Bachelor, or “King Bach” as he’s known on stage, opened for him. I split my sides from laughing so hard. Is he as hilarious on screen as he was on stage? Not quite, but he was still pretty funny. If anything, it is more of a matter of the material given to him as opposed to his presence. King Bach has a likable presence in this film, as do the other cast members, including the villains, who are undoubtedly two of the most racist characters in any movie I will probably end up watching this year. I am not complaining, these are the antagonists. If anything, as far as “bad guys” go, these characters were a perfect fit.

Despite what I just said, the film manages to deliver plenty of laughs, and I am not going to pretend I remember each and every one, but if I had to name a favorite joke in the movie, it is one involving a white person defending themselves for using the n-word. Although technically it is not so much the white person’s defense that’s funny, but rather a black person’s reaction to their use of the word. Between the timing of the dialogue, the shot selection, and the way everything was edited together, it was perfect. No notes. I am not going to spoil the whole joke. In fact, it is more complicated than it sounds.

The movie does have some problems, including the lighting. I get that much of this movie is set in a haunted house at night, and as a result, the movie is going to look a bit dark. There are some scenes that were a little too dark to the point where certain details felt underemphasized.

I also am not the biggest fan of the climax. Not that I thought the climax was the worst thing I had ever seen, but it felt a bit underwhelming, as if it were promising something bigger that we never got. The story did not conclude on the most satisfying of notes. While this film is well-paced, partially because of its quick and easy runtime, part of me is willing to argue that this film is a smidge too fast. If anything, it would have probably benefited from a slightly longer runtime just so the climax could aim a bit higher. You know how some people watch certain comic book movies and think the climax looks messy due to its sheer scale? This feels like the exact opposite. This is too small.

Another unique thing about this movie’s storytelling is that there does not appear to be a standout character. The film does in a sense put Ron (Howrey) and Shari (Haddish) at the forefront to the point where their characters are more fleshed out than the others, but the screenplay appears to give a nearly equal amount of time to each of the four friends so they can all have their moment. It balances out the cast to a degree, which is good, but it also keeps the characters from being a favorite or a least favorite of mine, which depending on how you look at the situation, could be a good thing or bad thing.

That may as well be a perfect excuse to segway into the fact that this movie kisses the line between good and bad. There are quite a few things I like about the movie, but also a nearly equal amount of things that I do not. But I am not going to pretend that at any point that this movie made me jump for joy or make me want to jab out my eyeballs. “Haunted Heist” is… Fine… Let’s go with that.

In the end, “Haunted Heist” is fun and energetic, but only to a certain degree. To my lack of surprise, the movie comes with some funny moments. But even though it has “haunted” in the title, I very rarely felt any sense of genuine terror or fear throughout the film. There are no scares that come to mind that I despise. Some tend to work. But I would be lying if I said the film made my skin crawl. Once again, this film is the directorial debut of Lil Rel Howrey. This is not the best debut, but I would not mind seeing another comedy done from his point of view. In a world where comedy and horror tend to be all about timing, the comedy was better-timed than the horror. This movie could have been better, but it nevertheless gets a thumbs up from me overall. I am going to give “Haunted Heist” a 6/10.

“Haunted Heist” is now available to rent or buy on VOD.

Thanks for reading this review! As a reminder, the next episode of the Scene Before original series, Movie Requests, is dropping on Sunday, August 23rd, and it is going to feature Amy Sedaris! You may know Sedaris from many projects including “Strangers with Candy,” “The Mandalorian,” “Elf,” and “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” the last of which is a show I highly recommend if you are able to watch it. It is one of the funniest things ever. The episode will be available to watch on Flicknerd.com and on my YouTube channel. Also, please subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell so you can see the episode as soon as it drops!

My next review is going to be for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day!” Stay tuned! Also coming soon, I will be sharing my thoughts on “I Want Your Sex,” “The Invite,” and “Cookie Queens.” If you want to see these reviews and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “Haunted Heist?” What did you think about it? Or, what is a movie you enjoy that you find to be scary and funny? For me, this is easy. “Ready or Not” and “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” are two bonkers, spectacularly written horror-comedies. Go check them out if you ever get a chance. Scene Before is your click to the flicks!