Applewood: House of Secrets (2025) is one of those films that wants to be everything at once—and ends up being less than the sum of its haunted parts.

I picked it up because I hadn’t watched a new-ish B-movie in a while, and why not roll the dice on a Southern gothic ghost story? Shot almost entirely in Augusta, Georgia—inside the decaying Thomas–Clay House, a mansion that once hosted President Taft and now looks like it was built for an indie horror set—the film already had me curious. The production even rewrote parts of the script just to fit the house. That’s commitment. Or desperation. Hard to say.

The story follows Kaitlynn Harris, a newly widowed woman who inherits the mansion and suddenly discovers she can psychically glimpse the past by touching objects. At first, the premise feels fresh: she sees through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl who lived in the house 130 years earlier, and the trauma of the past bleeds into her present. Done well, that could be chilling. Instead, the film swerves—hard—into Southern gothic fantasy, and the tonal whiplash is real.

And here’s where it falters. The script (penned by producer Amy Rhinehart Bailey, though some sites miscredit the actors themselves) can’t decide whether to under-explain or over-explain.

The characters make baffling choices. Sure, let’s move into the murder house because hubby loved it. Let’s invite strangers in, even though the place is clearly cursed. Self-preservation? Never heard of it.

By the end, I cared less about the characters’ fates and more about why Amazon Prime had me stuck with the 1h49 “long cut” when Rotten Tomatoes swears there’s a 1h20 version floating around.

Performance-wise, it’s rough. Kate Dailey (in the lead) is earnest but weighed down by overwrought dialogue. The rest of the cast—largely local talent—struggles to elevate the material. And while Penka Kouneva’s score lends a professional sheen, the film can’t decide if it’s a character-driven ghost story, a moody period piece, or an indie horror flick. It ends up being all three, and none.

Here’s the odd thing: despite its flaws, I was entertained. The historic setting gives it atmosphere money can’t buy. The title itself is slippery—sometimes just Applewood, sometimes with the subtitle House of Secrets. The festival version may well have been a different cut. The release year is anyone’s guess: shot in 2021, screened in 2022, marketed in 2023, released to streaming in 2025. Even the metadata is haunted.

So is it good? No. Is it the worst? Also no. It’s a film that keeps promising one thing, then veers into another, until you’re left checking your watch and wondering how many minutes are left in whichever version you’ve got.

But if you like your haunted house movies with a real crumbling mansion at the center, at least Applewood delivers that in spades.

Where to watch

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0wAhIyOQbQ

Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100040439/applewood-house-of-secrets

Fawesome: https://fawesome.tv/movies/10702344/applewood-house-of-secrets

Prime Video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0K7NABRTGQTGCCGKT84DRXCZCW/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

movies@piefed.social