Based on the legend of The Bell Witch, An American Haunting has all the characteristics of a classic haunted house film thanks to next to no CGI, a historical time period and one of America’s most famous ghost tales as its backdrop. Unfortunately, all those elements fail to combine to make a truly classic horror film, and instead the movie comes off as just mediocre.
Clocking in at a fast 90 minutes (the PG-13 version is about 83 minutes), the film is fast paced enough to keep your interest and give the spine a tingle from time to time. All the build-up goes to waste in the final minutes of the film – where the truth (which might leave more than one viewer scratching their head) is revealed. The film is based on the Brent Monahan's novel The Bell Witch: An American Haunting – which drew its inspiration from the only known case of an officially acknowledged death by supernatural forces and was recorded in the 1800s.
The film was directed by Courtney Solomon (the genius who brought us the big screen adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons) who also co-wrote the film with Monahan. The film’s strength lies in its great cast including Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Matthew Marsh, and James D'Arcy. Much of the “spookier” moments of the film can be credited to cinematographer Adrian Biddle – who died Dec. 7th, 2005. Biddle had a hand in a string of Hollywood hits including Aliens, Thelma & Louise, The Mummy, and V for Vendetta. His eye for angles truly helps save this movie from being just another run of the mill ghost story.
Since the movie does have a bit of a twist ending, I don’t want to go into too much detail about its plot. At its core, An American Haunting is study into the haunting of Tennessee land-owner John Bell (Sutherland), his worried wife Lucy (Spacek), and their daughter Betsy (Hurd-Wood) – who is abused repeatedly by an unseen poltergeist.
The film does jump back and forth a couple of times between the past and present - where a new family is living in the Bell home and discovers a manuscript written in the past. Solomon keeps much of its focus on the Bell family. The movie is also a good look at the time period where people were more superstitious by nature and quicker to blame the supernatural for their problems. When Bell cheats a woman believed to be a witch, he has a reason to blame all the evil that has infected his home, and a person to punish for the troubles his family is suffering. The truth is far darker, but when it is revealed the result is almost laughable.
Much of the abuse the Bell family suffers is delivered on Betsy (another reason some might scratch their heads when the truth is revealed). The poor girl begins to experience strange supernatural attacks at night. They start mild, but grow more violent as time progresses. Friends of the family and clergy are brought in to clean the house, and to help Betsy. The clergy elements might remind some of a weaker version of The Exorcist, but it never drifts too far in that direction.
For me, the strength of the movie was in its spare use of special effects and instead heavy use of sounds, a great score, haunting camera angles, and solid lighting. Unlike many horror films today, An American Haunting goes light on CGI special effects (I am not sure if there were any at all), and instead lets the actors and other elements of movie making create the chills. Sutherland and Spacek once again demonstrate why they are two of Hollywood’s greatest actors, and never get too carried away in the roles. Sutherland walks a fine line between a good performance and one that could become campy and wasted.
The unrated version of the film does contain a few minutes that were cut for the theatrical release, but I am not sure how noticeable they truly are. Many PG-13 movies have a few minutes simply put back in so the makers can slap an “unrated” sticker across the top and sell a few more copies. The film lacks anything that would make it feel unrated or that would truly warrant a rating above its theatrical release. Regardless, I always go for the “unrated” over the PG-13, but that is just me.
The DVD does come with several special features including a video commentary (I am not sure a normal one would have been better) which features Solomon in the recording studio talking about the film. It plays in the corner of the movie, and is actually kind of annoying and distracting. The DVD also includes a few alternate and deleted scenes, but nothing to really add to the final cut of the movie. There is also a quick interview with Solomon and Spacek, but is more promotion than information.
The sad thing is that the DVD lacks any information on the Bell Witch story. It would have been nice to have some more details on the actual legend, interviews with historians, or even a look at how that legend has inspired other ghost haunting tales. Maybe that will happen further down the line with re-release of the film.
Even with its faults, An American Haunting is an entertaining film, and one that fans of haunted house or ghost stories will enjoy. I wish it could have had a stronger ending. The film is worth taking the time to watch, but don’t expect the greatest ghost story ever told. This one is just a good old fashion tale.
An American Haunting (Unrated Edition) is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
USA
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