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Film: An American Haunting [PG-13] 91 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $9.50
Where Viewed: Metropolitan Metrolux 14, Loveland, CO
When 1st Seen: 6 May 2006
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Review Dedicated to: Mark T. of Chicago, IL
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DVD | soundtrack |
With claims of documentation in over twenty books, the Bell Family spirit is the source material for Courtney Solomon’s new major motion picture, An American Haunting—the film of the ghost story of the self-proclaimed “…only case in US History where a spirit or entity caused the death of a man.” In the first of what will amount to being remembered either as a series of miscalculations in the plot structure or flaws in the research for the script, the film utilizes a touch of historical liberty by capping the story of the 1817 Red River, TN Bell family with a present-day story of a woman and her daughter visiting the Bell estate, discovering some of the secrets of the story, and getting a glimpse of the haunting twist of the film. Then, flashbacks to 1817 and the Bell family residence with the comes-across-as-a-little-too- self-righteous patriarch John Bell (Donald Sutherland) and his family: wife Lucy (Sissy Spacek), daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and three sons comprise most of the rest of the film then. As the story goes, Mr. Bell had a land dispute with another local resident that led to him over-charging her an obscene 20% interest, against Church law, on money he loaned to her. Church elders resolved the matter returning the land to the woman but allowing John Bell to keep all profit, much to her chagrin. This causes her to curse Mr. Bell and his family for all eternity—though it would be pure speculation to assume that any of the remainder of the story or hauntings has anything to do with causing the original haunting. Nonetheless, a malevolent spirit enters the house and begins tormenting the family, especially the daughter, who is a constant victim of pranks, real hauntings, and terrible nightmares—the latter of which accounts for the second flaw of the film—it is very difficult to tell, at times, when what you just watched was a ‘real’ scene or a dream sequence.
After a couple of years of the haunting and tormenting of his entire family, John Bell dies (supposedly at the hands of the ghost) and with him any hope of ever getting to the truth. The film delivers a speculative ‘twist’ ending to the whole affair, which is the third major flaw. How does one, exactly, speculate as to the ending of a true story? This is, at times, a horrifying film. The director did a great job in heightening suspense and dramatic tension throughout the film. The acting, special effects, sets, make-up, costumes, etc. were also all superb. This was not a low-budget film in other words. Still, there are some serious flaws in the plot, as mentioned; but they do not reduce the impact of the stunning twist in the film nor it’s overall fright factor. Mr. Sutherland and Ms. Spacek, did stupendous jobs with their roles as did the relative, new comer Rachel Hurd-Wood, who was stunning as the victimized daughter. In real life, the events of the legend span over a decade. In this film, things open and close in the timeline in the neighborhood of two years. All in all, the film left me asking just one question? Why didn’t they just move to another house/town?
After a couple of years of the haunting and tormenting of his entire family, John Bell dies (supposedly at the hands of the ghost) and with him any hope of ever getting to the truth. The film delivers a speculative ‘twist’ ending to the whole affair, which is the third major flaw. How does one, exactly, speculate as to the ending of a true story? This is, at times, a horrifying film. The director did a great job in heightening suspense and dramatic tension throughout the film. The acting, special effects, sets, make-up, costumes, etc. were also all superb. This was not a low-budget film in other words. Still, there are some serious flaws in the plot, as mentioned; but they do not reduce the impact of the stunning twist in the film nor it’s overall fright factor. Mr. Sutherland and Ms. Spacek, did stupendous jobs with their roles as did the relative, new comer Rachel Hurd-Wood, who was stunning as the victimized daughter. In real life, the events of the legend span over a decade. In this film, things open and close in the timeline in the neighborhood of two years. All in all, the film left me asking just one question? Why didn’t they just move to another house/town?
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1 comment:
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