The Gallows (2015)

On October 29, 1993, Beatrice High School student Charlie Grimille is accidentally hanged and killed after a prop malfunction during a presentation of the play The Gallows. His parents, along with the whole audience, witness the tragic event.

Twenty years later, on October 28, 2013, the school attempts to put on a new performance of The Gallows. Football jock Reese Houser auditions for the play, only because this will give him a chance to grow closer to his crush Pfeifer Ross, who will be in the play. Surprisingly, he gets the lead role, which is more than he bargained for. He needs a way out of the play, so his friend Ryan Shoos comes up with the idea to vandalize the set to sabotage the play. That night, Reese, Ryan, and Ryan's girlfriend, Cassidy Spilker, sneak into the school and begin to dismantle the set, only to hear Pfeifer in the hallway. The four try to leave but find that they have been locked inside, and there is no cell phone reception. Disturbed, Cassidy admits to Pfeifer the trio's real reason for being in the school, which angers her.

When they return to the stage, the group sees that the set has reassembled. An old television switches on by itself, playing a tape with the news coverage of Charlie's death, including an interview with his girlfriend Alexis. They discover that Charlie was not supposed to have performed that day, and was on stage only because he was the understudy for the lead actor, who turns out to have been Reese's father, Rick. The group becomes separated. Alone, Ryan sees various things, such as a hidden room with a bed frame and mattress, and a hanging body. When the group is reunited, Cassidy is yanked into the air by seemingly nothing, leaving her with burns on her neck that look like rope burns.

They return to the stage, where Pfeifer points out an air conditioning duct they can escape through. Ryan is thrown off the ladder by an unseen force, and his leg is broken. The group becomes locked out of the stage where Ryan lies helpless. They eventually get back, finding only Ryan's phone. The audience then sees footage from the phone.

Ryan sees a figure holding a noose. Ryan is then pulled away by the neck by a fly rig. As the night progresses, Cassidy is killed by Charlie dressed as the Hangman, a character from The Gallows. Reese and Pfeifer end up on the stage, where the spirit begins to choke her. Realizing Charlie wants them to act out the final scene (in which Reese and Charlie's characters are hanged), Reese and Pfeifer reenact the scene. However, when Reese puts the noose around his neck, he is hanged and killed by Charlie. Once he is dead, Pfeifer and Charlie, now appearing as an adult, both bow, and Alexis, who was watching the performance, gives a standing ovation.

The police enter the house where Pfeifer and Alexis are living and watching footage of Charlie's death, showing that Pfeifer is the daughter of Charlie and Alexis. When they attempt to question them about Charlie, Pfeifer warns, "You shouldn’t say that name". The officer witnesses his partner being dragged by a noose, killing him. Charlie then attacks and kills the policeman, as the screen cuts to black.