An American Haunting (Unrated Edition)
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Features
• Color
• Dolby
• DVD-Video
• Widescreen
• NTSC
In Theaters : 05 May, 2006
DVD Release : 24 October, 2006 |
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An American Haunting (Unrated Edition) description
With its brisk 83-minute running time, An American Haunting is compact enough to be recommended as an occasionally spooky sampling of historical horror. Based on Brent Monahan's novel The Bell Witch: An American Haunting, which in turn was inspired by the only known case (from 1818-20) in which the U.S. government officially acknowledged a death by supernatural forces, writer-director Courtney Solomon's film is a well-crafted 19th-century case study involving Tennessee land-owner John Bell (Donald Sutherland), his worried wife Lucy (Sissy Spacek), and the terrifying abuse of their daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood) by a malicious poltergeist. Intensified by excessive sound effects and a nerve-jangling score, these nightly hauntings won't scare anyone who's seen The Exorcist, and they grow increasingly repetitious even as Spacek and Sutherland make the most of their underwritten roles. Solomon (who previously brought Dungeons and Dragons to the big screen) seems more interested in visceral terror than fleshing out the details of this interesting story of dark secrets and child abuse, and his over-used bag of tricks includes time-lapse footage, flashes of negative images, black-and-white (to signal an imminent haunting), and a variety of physical effects designed to keep your adrenaline flowing. It works, to a point (although the present-day framing scenes are completely unnecessary), and An American Haunting makes a good double-feature with The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a far better film with similar subject matter. This good-looking, bleakly moody fright-fest is also noteworthy as the next-to-last screen credit for Adrian Biddle, the esteemed cinematographer of such high-profile hits as Aliens, Thelma & Louise, The Mummy, and V for Vendetta, the latter completed just prior to Biddle's fatal heart attack in December 2005.--Jeff Shannon |
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An American Haunting (Unrated Edition) Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
A Supernatural Tale from American History
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When an early 19th century Tennessee family becomes plagued by an invisible entity particularly focused on tormenting the teenage daughter, Betsy, they automatically assume it is the result of a curse placed upon them by a local woman who is commonly believed to be a witch. The family, with the help of their children's school teacher and other friends, repeatedly attempts to outwit the unseen forces that also seem to be driving their patriarch to the grave with a mysterious illness, but the solution proves to be as evasive as the true cause.
Based upon actual events that resulted in the only official case of a death caused by a spirit in the United States, "An American Haunting" provides an intriguing if not very accurate account of the legendary Bell Witch haunting. If you are just seeking a "spooky movie," you will likely be satisfied with this film. If you are seeking a realistic and historically precise take on the Bell Witch, you will likely be pretty frustrated. "An American Haunting" chooses to explain the supernatural events of the story with one of the many theories of the Bell Witch case. It's a fascinating but also rather slanderous one to be presented without historical evidence (if there truly IS any, I have not read of it). The film is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality. At times, the effects can feel like those of a TV movie, and there is a bookend storyline that takes place in modern day which I personally feel is entirely unnecessary and very "Lifetime Network" in style. The acting performances vary, but that is the case with most films, and with Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland in leads, you know there's some great acting to be enjoyed. On top of that, we get Rachel Hurd-Wood as Betsy, easily one of the most captivating and gorgeous actresses of our day. The film also creates an excellently haunting atmosphere, and is well worth at least one viewing from anyone who enjoys haunted house or exorcism themed films.
Always choose the unrated versions. The DVD is widescreen and includes a ton of alternate and deleted scenes, including alternate endings that I think I would have preferred a bit, especially without the modern-day bookend story. There are also trailers and TV spots, an interview with Sissy Spacek, a very different Director's Video commentary (which is actually a car ride to and from the director Courney Solomon's office as he gives his take on making a film and dealing with critics), some internet promotion videos, and English and Spanish subtitles.
"An American Haunting" is a film that you have to see to know whether or not you'll want to own it, and there can be a wide number of reasons why you would choose to. If you decide you enjoy it, you may also want to check out, "The Exorcist," "Exorcism of Emily Rose," "The Amityville Horror," "The Blair Witch," and the documentary "In the Grip of Evil," among others.
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An American Haunting (Unrated Edition) dvd movie.