Review of An American Haunting (2005) by Slickflix N — 09 Oct 2008

Between 1818 to 1820 young Betsy was possessed by a demon that tormented her family in a series of bizarre incidents. A well written about topic, the girl was apparently the target of the Bell Witch of Tennessee. If it was real or not is a subject of debate, but director/writer Courtney Solomon gives us his treatise on what actually happen during those dark days.

Opening in modern times a young girl is having a horrific nightmare, woken to be comforted by her mother. Finding some old letters and a spooky doll, we are whisked back to the 1800's through the reading of said letters. It is revealed that a girl was demonised, thrown around a room, levitated a bit, rolled her eyes and generally looked scary. By the end the reasons behind the possession are revealed, and we are returned to present day for a final insight.

There are a lot of words that could be used to describe An American Haunting. Bland, boring, predictable, lazy. But the most apt would have to be nauseating. It is atmospheric, but using children to put the frighteners on people is a tired cliche, we already have The Exorcist. The directors love of camera movement is OTT, and filming from the demons point of view is confused. Switching between black and white (I thought my DVD player was broken) is ineffective, while the camera movement brings on feelings of seasickness. The story is plodding, the acting harmless.

This could have been a much better movie, but Solomon seems to have lost the run of himself. What starts off as an interesting premise dives into a quagmire of bad directing and ridiculous story. No doubt some people will enjoy this movie. Not me, I only like turkey at Christmas.