credit: www.amazon.com
Lionsgate presents An American Haunting. Written by Brent Monahan and Courtney Solomon. Running Time: 90 minutes. Unrated. Originally rated PG-13 for intense terror sequences and thematic elements. Available at Amazon.com
Director:
Courtney Solomon
Cast:
Donald Sutherland..”¦”¦..John Bell
Sissy Spacek..”¦”¦..Lucy Bell
James D’Arcy..”¦”¦..Richard Powell
Rachel Hurd-Wood..”¦”¦..Betsy Bell
Gaye Brown..”¦”¦..Kathryn Batts
The Movie:
Question: When you see your daughter being suspended in the air and slapped by some unseen supernatural force, do you let her continue to sleep in that room? Then, when stuff starts flying around the house and bibles start getting ripped apart in front of you, why do you stay in the house at all? The Bell’s tried to leave. That just made the ghost mad.
This is a surprisingly decent horror film. You’ve got a story seeded in “historical fact,” and you’ve got some really terrifying moments of a young girl being beaten and dragged about by her hair by some invisible ghost. Even scarier is that when Betsy or John is being attacked there is nothing others can do but stand there and watch. When they do try to help they get thrown across the room.
The biggest problem is this; the story takes place in the early 1800’s. Why bother book ending it with scenes in the present? There’s really no point to it and it drastically distracts from the real story. That and the narration is really lame. This film also borrows heavily from Evil Dead with the evil spirits POV, however, as if this wasn’t obvious enough the put those shots in black and white, just to make sure you know it’s the ghost.
As the legend of the story goes, John Bell (Sutherland) screwed over one Kate Batts (Gaye Brown) in a land deal. She threatened him and his daughter and soon after the violent hauntings began. However when confronted, Batts denied having anything to do with it. This begs the question: If Batts isn’t responsible, who is?
There are some really heart pounding moments here. When young Betsy Bell (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is sleeping and her covers are pulled off her that first time, a chill runs down your spine. Then when the beatings start it’s down right scary. This film manages to have scares without gore which seems to be a rare thing in horror movies lately so it’s get extra points for that as well. It’s like an 18th century Poltergeist.
The acting is pretty good too. Donald Southerland is not in top form, but definitely the strongest actor here. His best moment comes when he’s trying to kill himself with his pistol and the ghost won’t let the gun fire. The torture that Rachel Hurd-Wood has to endure is tough to watch. At times she is being dragged across the floor and she digs her nails into the wood floor to try and stop it leaving tracks, it’s pretty disturbing. She’s really great in all here scenes.
Like with all horror films today there has to be a reason. An answer to why all these scary supernatural things are happening. Nine times out of ten when the audience learns the “why” they roll their eyes in grown. This time around the “why” is even more disturbing that the haunting itself.
John Bell sees the ghost.
STORY: 7
ACTING: 7
LOOK/FEEL: 7
ORIGINALITY: 7
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 8
FINAL SCORE: 7.2
The DVD:
The Video:
The film is presented in widescreen 1:85:1. Although the black and white to color is unnecessary, it’s well done. All the color in the film looks good in fact.
The Audio:
The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The soundscape of this film is very well done, from the score that only goes over the top a few times, to the eerie ambiance, it’s all good.
Extras:
Video Commentary by director Courtney Solomon: Solomon starts the commentary than says, “This is boring, me just sitting in this room talking. Why don’t we go out and see how this movie got made.” It’s a little more interactive that a regular run of the mill commentary and it runs about 16 minutes. It’s worth checking out.
Alt. & Deleted Scenes: Pretty pointless, it’s obvious why they chose the ones that were used in the film.
Internet Promos: These are little documentaries about the true story of the Bell Witch. They are interesting and add to the horror and mystery of the story.
Interview with Director Courtney Solomon and Actress Sissy Spacek: This is a short little interview with them, kinda interesting, nothing special.
The Inside Pulse
It’s got a slow beginning, but if you want a good scare and a decent movie to go with it, then this is definitely worth renting. Not an amazing movie, but a good time.
