Opening in New Zealand cinemas Halloween weekend 2015
A curious YouTuber who tracked down a spooky house in central Otago has been branded "a nightmare" by producers of a Kiwi horror film.
Video blogger Ollie Langdon found the alleged haunted house which inspired The Dead Room, a horror due for release next week, and documented his experience on YouTube.
Producers of the movie have criticised Langdon for illegally trespassing on the property after they promised the homeowner they wouldn't reveal its location.
Langdon, a Wellington-based comedian and YouTube "vlogger", took it upon himself to track down the legendary Central Otago property without permission, recording his journey and posting his experience to YouTube in two parts.
He released part one of the video on Sunday, with a second instalment appearing today.
Langdon's first video shows footage of a local couple giving him a lift to the location which producers of The Dead Room contractually agreed not to reveal.
Watch the clips below (warning: videos contain explicit language)
Producers of the film say the homeowner - who didn't return Herald calls - didn't want a rundown house on his property to become an unwanted tourist attraction.
"It's our worst nightmare and it's [the landowner's] worst nightmare," The Dead Room director Jason Stutter said.
"We understand what he's doing. We are film-makers. We get it. But really he's created a problem for us ... it's illegal but also, we are not kidding, there's some stuff going on there."
The Dead Room is loosely based on legend about a desolate southern New Zealand farmhouse where two cynical scientists were sent to investigate claims of unusual happenings in the 1970s.
Those unexplained events continue today, with strange noises, locked doors opening and digital footage dropping out. The film-makers experienced those spooky scenes first-hand.
"When we went down we thought it would be nice to shoot there but [the landowner] was not into that. He gave us a key, but we turned up and [the doors] were all wide open," Stutter said.
"We were filming stuff ... I have never seen drop-outs on digital before. It was very strange ... In the end we decided to rebuild the house in Avalon Studios."
Langdon told The Herald he became curious and wanted to find the infamous house after seeing a trailer for the film.
"I started tweeting about it, saying how it was cool and then some people said I should go there and vlog it. It seemed like a good idea and I had a free few days before I moved to Wellywood myself and figured Queenstown is a sick place for a getaway anyway, so I took my girlfriend," he said.
After calling producer Kevin Stevens, who advised him to steer clear of the property, Langdon made a decision to go ahead with the search.
What he found was "genuinely pretty creepy".
"(It) had a pretty eerie atmosphere and there are some weird vibes. Some weird stuff happened too, like paintings moving and phantom knocks at the door," Langdon said.
"A coffee mug randomly smashed too but it didn't make it into the final video because it disrupted the flow and the footage was pretty dark unfortunately."
