In HEILSTÄTTEN, a remote and gloomy sanctuary near Berlin a group of YouTubers illegally access the ominous surgery block for a 24-hour challenge they hope will go viral. They learn too soon that they are not alone and not welcome.

When you’re young, the consequences of your actions don’t matter because the mistakes you make serve as a lesson that could turn you into a better person. This basic idea is used to motivate the characters of the feature film Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten (2019) when they decide to take a 24-Hour challenge inside the infamous Beelitz-Heilstätten sanatorium in Brandenburg, Germany. But do they learn anything?

The cast is composed of 5 characters: claustrophobic vlogger Marnie (Sonja Gerhardt), beauty vlogger Betty (Nilam Farooq), viral video duo together known as ‘Prankstaz’ Finn (Timmi Trinks) and Charly (Emilio Sakraya), and finally Theo (Tim Oliver Schultz). Together they spend the night inside a sanatorium supposedly inhabited by the souls of those who died during the experiments carried out during World War I. Among these paranormal inhabitants is Patient 106, whose story makes the vloggers question spending the rest of the night in the sanatorium.

The storyline is built around an urban legend told by the locals of the town of Beelitz. But, is an urban legend that few have heard about enough to write a paranormal film about? No. If it weren’t for the few scenes that show medical equipment, you could easily forget the setting. The dialogue isn’t much help either aside from  an effort at the beginning and end. The character introduction was crafty and clear in setting up motivations.

The location, the stories, and the legends are real. It’s a decent film to explore how other countries portray their urban legends. But is it scary? Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten can take you to the edge of your seat, but that could be all the movie will do for some since it falls more into the category of thriller, rather than paranormal horror.

In an era where fame is ephemeral and the audience is more demanding,Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten arrives in a found-footage style in which some elements could be interpreted as a social commentary instead of a found-footage horror flick.