Before I get into this review I will finally go on record as actually making a stand in the movie theater and turning around to tell a bunch of thugs and their girlfriends to literary “Shut the Fuck up or get out of the theater” Those were in fact my exact words. It’s funny how these guys act all tough like they will take on the world by themselves, then an asshole likes me tells them to shut up, and they all go silent. I mean silent. I surprised myself and I think everyone in the theater thought I was nuts for saying something. But when I see a movie I want to be in the movie and I want to hear the movie. And because of these thugs I only took in about 1/3 of the first 20 minutes of this film. Ok! Enough on the venting.
An American Haunting reminded me of a good old fashion ghost film from the 1960’s. The whole time while watching this film all I can think of is that if Hammer Studios were still around this would of been a picture they would of released. Because to me it seemed like an up to date Hammer film. The problem with this film though is I saw a lot of shots that were from other films. A Nightmare on Elm Street comes to mind. If you haven’t seen this film or have seen it. Take a look at the scene outside the school when the kids are playing. Totally a Elm Street shot. I even saw a lot of Evil Dead in this film as well, hell this film screams “Evil Dead”. However the film is a basic ghost story based on the true story of the Bell Witch, which in fact is the only recorded encounter in history where a ghost has been known to kill a human being. Someone call T.A.P.S! Ok maybe not.
The film is about a family that kind of live like the folks from the old Television show “Little House on the Prairie” except the sister does not go blind, she gets her ass kicked by a ghost. Pretty much that’s half the film right there, however it is believed by the towns folk that a lady who name in the film slips my mind right now, is a witch and that she put a curse on the Bell family for taking some of her land away from her. The whole film then spirals back and forth between a haunting in 2006 and the past. However about 95% of this film takes place in the early 1800’s. The movie is based on true evidence found by a school teacher in 1998, in which she found a diary that contained the story of what happened to this family. In the film however they change that part of the story around, and in the final minutes of the film we find out the truth. Dam I’d really like to add spoilers in this review as to what the whole moral of this film is. Well, you’ll see for yourself.
I found An American Haunting to be an overall decent looking film. The production value was good, the costumes and the overall look of the film was good. The acting was great, but I did feel that it lacked in some areas, that I really don’t know where to point my finger. I mean some of the script was a bit lame, and the dialogue was at time pretty bad, character development was also nothing great. However I felt that the film did get it’s story across, although I can see how it confused the hell out of some people. In all honesty I think only a person with the education of the unknown and parapsychology in particular can really get the most out of this film. To the regular person I can’t see them really getting the whole gist of the flick.
Overall, An American Haunting is a decent 90 minute, but it has it’s flaws. My reason for leaning more on giving it three stars is that I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the film. But as far as scares go, there really no reason to be scared watching this film, as you can see them coming from a mile away.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
