Review of Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour (2007) by Timothy S — 06 Sep 2011

I'm not sure where "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour" came from because there were no trailers, no advance notice and no screenings. It just showed up in a couple of theaters for a week, and then it disappeared as quickly as it came. Apparently, pre-teen girls know who Sarah is because she's the star of a popular series of mystery novels for young adults, and as her film debut closes she hints at more movies to come. But if the box office receipts for this one are any indication, this is the one and only Landon film we're likely to see and because of that, movie lovers everywhere should rejoice.

It's not so much a bad film as it is a bland and forgettable one with a lackluster cast. Considering how many surnames that appear more than once throughout the credits, nepotism was running rampant here. But it's also a shining example of why hiring your family may not help your film any. Newcomer Rissa Walters stars as Sarah, and she's a pretty enough girl but is seriously lacking in screen presence. The script is real goody-goody despite a few mature details of the story, and that helps to make the film a little more bearable. The unintentional laughs also help, but not enough.

The central mystery that makes up the movie's plot is not totally without interest, but in the same respect, it could have easily been lifted from a decades-old Nancy Drew book or a mediocre "Scooby Doo" episode. "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour" is a curious film that is no better or worse than the recent big-budget "Nancy Drew" film. Anybody other than pre-teen girls should have something better to do.