I'm Haunted All Right
An American Haunting / Phillip Stephens
An American Haunting starts off by getting right to the point: little girls getting pestered by ghosts. After briefly announcing that the setting is present-day Tennessee, we watch as a poor young lass gets chased and harassed by some unseen malevolence. She manages to outrun Casper and escape to her bedroom, where Mother comes and gently chides her for running away from a demon.
At this point the story does some “Whoa, hold up a second, dude”-style backpedaling. It turns out Mom is a writer, or something, and she just happens to be rifling through some old family manuscripts, which document — wouldn’t you know it — a haunting of the house way back in 1816.
Cut to frontier Tennessee, where Paterfamilias John Bell (Donald Sutherland) lives with his wife (Sissy Spacek), young daughter, Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), and some other family members who aren’t really worth mentioning. After Bell runs afoul of a witch-like character, she seemingly curses him and Betsy, and sure enough, weird things start happening thereafter. In the vein of The Exorcist meets The Entity, i.e., all personal-haunting films, including last year’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the girl is beleaguered in her bed by sounds, voices, and finally, molested by a poltergeist.
Everyone is suitably chagrined, but damned if they are of any help. They yell, look worried, and pontificate once in a while from the Bible, but someone always ends up leaving her alone and in bed when the ghost shows up to torment her, and this happens no less than 200 times throughout. At first, it seems like the witch, or Satan, or maybe some kind of location-bound spirit is responsible for the trouble, but when the movie finally unfurls itself in the last five minutes, it opts for a much stupider explanation. I’ll get to this later.
Courtney Solomon, who hasn’t made much of a case for his directorial prowess after this and Dungeons & Dragons, doesn’t seem to know the cardinal rule for ghost-stories: Don’t bore the shit out of your audience. Haunting has an absolutely flaccid pace and no arc whatsoever — Girl gets shoved about by spirits, then gets pimp-slapped by spirits (I’m being perfectly literal here. Seriously.), girl screams, family looks flummoxed and posits stupid theories, rinse, repeat. And poor Betsy’s encounters with the entity don’t waver particularly from instance to instance, giving no sense of peril or mystery. Solomon also doesn’t have anything to offer in the way of imagery, just standard trappings: Creaking doors, vague whispers, and a couple of gross faces at random intervals. Generally, though, Solomon relies on the old have-stuff-jump-out-and-scare-you-with-loud-noises approach, which, after 20 times or so, gets pretty annoying.
The film does its best to anchor performances around Sutherland and Spacek, who are the only practiced veterans here and at ease with their roles, but there’s simply too little to do in order to make interesting characters out of them, and Hurd-Wood isn’t a particularly compelling actress to revolve the plot around. And yet the film still had potential, given its bucolic setting and post-colonial atmosphere, to induce a unique ambiance of a time and place where witchcraft and spirits were very much a part of the culture. It doesn’t. For all we know Sutherland wandered off the set of Pride & Prejudice in costume and Solomon decided to have an Antebellum setting just so he wouldn’t have to change.
Yet, for all its faults, I didn’t want to completely discount this film, given that in the right time and place it might evoke the slightest of creepiness at the drive-in. But then we arrive at the world’s dumbest denouement and everything goes to pieces. So, for the few of you out there who haven’t been dissuaded so far into avoiding this crap, now is the time to get lost before I unload on this whopper of a moronic spoiler.
In the end, we finally learn the source of the disturbing attacks: Papa Sutherland raped Betsy, and the repressed memory itself became the violent force that assaulted her and the family! You read right, an honest-to-God avenging molestation angel. This revelation is also the reason why the 2006 girl is having demon-related crises. The problem with this is twofold: 1.) Forgiving the fact that people seem to be able to create psychokinetic ghosts willy-nilly, why would such a force turn on Betsy herself? 2.) That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.
Ultimately, any psychological metaphors one could possibly draw from this ridiculous idea are pointless, because it’s pretty clear that Solomon (who produced and wrote, in addition to directing) has thrown in his lot with the super twist-ending just for the purpose of unpredictability, yadda yadda yadda. The only thing notable about this particular twist is how hopelessly bad it is, and borderlines insulting real victims of molestation to boot.
Don’t dignify this crap with your money, even for comedy’s sake.
Phillip Stephens is a movie critic for Pajiba.
United 93 | | Notorious Bettie Page, The
Comments
OMG. I saw it this afternoon (bc the previews looked AWESOME) and we came out like w...t....f... I chose the critical three "daddy raped betsy" moments to go take my pill. When we finally figured it out, coming kind of close to your explanation, we decided it was worse than "Silent Hill".
I hated that, also, because there was NO foreshadowing of Sutherland's molesterliness (except the "precious Betsy" stuff") and Sutherland's character was otherwise badass throughout the movie.
In short, fuck that shit.
Posted by: RMJ at May 14, 2006 9:54 PM
And furthermore, this was promoted as "Only once in American history has a ghost physically caused someone's death."
And NO GHOSTS KILLED PEOPLE. SISSY SPACEK KILLED THE SUTHERLAND.
Posted by: RMJ at May 14, 2006 9:56 PM
THE STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER WATCHED....i was like "thats it???!!??!" what a waste of money!!!
Posted by: nada at May 17, 2006 7:56 PM
Je l'ai aimé beaucoup parce que je pense que Donald Southerland est très magnifique. BrAvO! Je veux se coucher avec lui.
Posted by: Jeanne at May 29, 2006 11:33 AM
it sucked balls!!
the end
but seriously i was really just confused.
Posted by: sagi at June 14, 2006 1:20 PM
based on a true story? hmmm i dont think they've invented psychological ghosts yet...
what a fuck up... no plot,no message, no actual hauntings(yet she manages to fly), and one fucked up story
rubbish, rubbish, rubbish...
Posted by: jalrah at July 2, 2006 4:02 PM
well.... how weird and a wolly of a plot, at first I didn't understand this at all, thinking why would a ghost, that has been created by the young girl herself (if I Have that right??!!) hurt her for being raped by her own father????? WHAT, WHY, HOW this seems rather a silly idea!!
other than that the music and camera motion was rather good, it gave good presents and invloved the viewer well.
Posted by: Miss puzzled at October 13, 2006 10:19 PM
There went 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
FUCK that movie.
Posted by: JB at October 31, 2006 12:29 PM
Your review was too funny!!! I was in stiches reading it!!
It was so true though.
Posted by: Nancy at November 4, 2006 12:29 PM
I'm getting tired of all the recent scary movies that make you think there's gonna be some kind of intelligent, "oh ya" twist that ties everything together but in the end the writers can't do it. So instead the storyline falls back on an ending so far fetched and bizzar that it complicates the movie even more and leaves everyone in the audience unsatisfied and asking themselves, "that's it?" WTF?
Where do the wolves come into play? Why does John or Betsy see wolves? Why is there a little girl that Betsy sees? Sure it was suspensful having those things but in the end nothing is explained. It's just left wide open. The ending was left so wide open that I still don't really know what happened? So did John rape betsy? Did he rape the evil Betsy? Is John the ghost that pulls back covers sometimes? Did the Mom actually see John raping or just kissing his daughter goodnight? Or was she dreaming about John raping Betsy? I didn't get the ending and it sure didn't tie anything together.
In conclusion, it appears people go to these scary movies to be scared with sudden spikes in volume and don't really care about the plot whatsoever. And it appears scary movie writers and creaters know this and therefore tailor the movies to just scare people. So I guess my ranting about the plot is in vein and inconsequential.
Posted by: Andy Newcomb at November 10, 2006 7:42 PM
So I tried watchin this movie twice thinkin I must have missed somethin because it didn't make any fuckin sense. But then I watched it AGAIN..and it was still unreal stupid. Now because of my stupidity for watchin this shit not once but twice!!that ghost should slap the piss outta me too...
Well now Tennesse looks just as stupid as us for them setting Silent Hill in West Virgina..haha
Posted by: Kayla at November 11, 2006 12:59 AM
That movie was confusing... I dont think john rapped betsy I think that the ghost had everyone fucked up in the movie to think that... Well I gotta say the gost didnt only fuck all the cast up but it fucked me up too... I still feel like I dont know what the fuck happened... That hasnt happened since eraserhead for me... Overall this movie was bullshit and it didnt make any scense... I dont understand how directors as this one can get funding to create garbage... lets face it, the bank would be better off giving my cock 20 million to direct the movie, since my cock is a better director then this chick dorothy...
Posted by: chris at November 12, 2006 11:17 PM
The movie did suck with no movie really in it...
but the thing is that there are theories of ghost of living people...Ghost are to be made of a spirit which is embezzeled with emotion...If such an emotional event occurs then the feelings and emotion can cause a paralel spirit to the real one and it can only feel the emotion that created it in this case anger and sorrow...thats why it took its agression out on betsy so that it would plague John Bell... Sissy didnt give the guy the poison it never showed...and the only thing im confused on is why the room caught on fire and betsys counter spirit was burnt...
but they never show it for real...the movie basically sucked
Posted by: scott at November 19, 2006 10:56 AM
test
Posted by: d@pajiba.com at November 30, 2006 7:00 PM
Yep. Just saw this one and wondered why the hell I wasted my time. Do directors realize that working people actually have to pay to see their shit?
I'm actually embarassed for Sissy & Donald. What the hell ever happenend to movies that weren't trying so god damned hard to be cerebral?
Posted by: Jason at December 16, 2006 5:22 AM
The "haunting" is guilt. On the part of the father and on the part of the daughter. The "little girl", that Betsy sees, is a self-vision of her innocence turned ugly or taken. In the end this vision became pretty again now that her father is dead and the fear is gone. I assumed the age of the child vision is the age Betsy was when the molestation started. Her mom knew all along and it haunted her as well. In those times no one speaks of such things as sex or molestation or any of that. They would view post traumatic stress disorder as a demonic possession, hence the family seeking the aid of the priest and tagging the neighbor a witch. I enjoyed the movie personally. It's a terrible ghost story but a good drama. =) Maybe 1/2 of you are to stupid to understand as Andy Newcomb was so eager to admit. :P
Posted by: jeff at December 26, 2006 2:27 AM
What? That movie left me wondering if I fell asleep and missed half of it because I was more lost in the end then I had been from the start.
Posted by: Amanda at January 2, 2007 1:49 AM
But! what happened in the end? what does the mom find out? (the scene in modern time?) that the witch slapped besty because she had been raped by her father? so the modern girl(forgot her name) was allso raped by her father?
wierd movie,
I WAN`T A LOGIC ENDING OF THIS CRAP!
I have to know Why And What the hell happened!
Posted by: Daniel at January 6, 2007 2:52 PM
i really liked that movie. i did get confused ther first time i saw it but after i saw it a second time i new what it ment. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I WATCH IT ALL THE TIME!!!!! :)
Posted by: chelsea at January 11, 2007 8:54 AM
The climax is almost incomprehensable (as is the spelling of incomprehensable). It actually has taken me six god damn days of thinking about it to understand what went on - the girls trauma at being raped by the bearded hulk of rage that is Sutherland leads to the manisfestation of a spirit of vengeance, which is again happening in modern times to the young girl going to stay with her father (I wasn't aware forceful incest led to the fukin' polterguist - maybe that's what happened to Carolanne). So someone in the fmaily or perhaps the teacher, wellI either can't quite remember or didn't understand who... Poisened Sutherland.
The ending; Yes it makes you think, but it's just stupid. They shoulda called it Keep It In The Family. I mean seriously, what's the obsession? Was the director a little unfortunate once upon a time when Daddy had a long hard day at work? People coming to see this want to see a ghost film, not a dirty metaphor. And since when could everyone manifest evil rape-avenging spirits at will? Still, not horrendous, just a lil' below par. 6 outta 10?
Posted by: Rodney Trotter at January 21, 2007 7:10 PM
We watched this last night, and aside from a few moments of genuine creepiness, I have to admit I was left with the same Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot feeling that others have expressed.
For one thing (SPOILER ALERT) why did the "witch" have the bloodied clothes belonging to John and Betsy? I also wondered how long after the molestation occurred that the "haunting" began. That blood looked pretty fresh.
I also fear that this kind of family relations probably took place a lot more often than we would want to think. Unfortunately, most raped and molested girls didn't have avenging spirits.
Posted by: Noelegy at January 24, 2007 10:20 AM
i saw the movie twice and i think its actually good. i happen to be a great fan of dean koontz. the author of books that talks about poltergeist and all sorts of manifestations. its probably the reason why i understood the movie the first time i saw it.
i think ill give it 8 out of 10 ;)
Posted by: gen at January 25, 2007 12:38 AM
What no one seems to be taking into consideration here, is that although the movie is based on true events. No one truly knows what happened in that house and why the "entity" showed up. According to the actual story, the entity did not want Betsy to marry Joshua Gardner (the boy that tried to kiss her in the beginning) they were in love and were engaged. The entity kept telling Betsy if she married Joshua, she would have no peace. The story still points to Kate being the one that cursed them, but also according to many of the stories, Kate Batts was dead when the haunting began. This is a great twist to the actual story, and at least gives a theory on what could have happened. There is no proof, however, that John did molest his daughter, the director just took a theory and made it into a movie. It would explain why in the beginning her father didn't quite approve of putting her teacher in an uncomfortable position when under the mistletoe. I enjoyed it.
Posted by: Donna at March 30, 2007 6:09 PM
So, me and my friend watched the movie. And afterwards, we sat there like, huh...okay....wait, what? We still don't get the whole wolf thing, but after reading the reviews we kind of get other things, such as the little girl with the black face (incase you missed that the girl was her "innocence"). But even after that, the movie leads you on the dead ends, and does things for the sake of trying to be creepy, good old fashion scare tatics.
After actually understanding the movie, is not half bad. But i would still like to be able to watch a good scary movie with out having to look on a website to figure out the ending, the plot, and the point of not one, but many things.
Our ratings:
after the movie: 3/10
after looking up the what happend: 6/10
Posted by: boosha at June 7, 2007 11:53 AM
Having no back history on this flick but being vaguely familiar with the Bell Witch legend, I watched this flick tonight on cable and thought it was (gasp) good. The cast, the art direction, and the explanation. Worked for me, although it did remind me of that episode of The Waltons late in its run where Elizabeth has a teenage poltergeist experience. Does that mean that John Walton fucked his ugliest daughter?
Posted by: Matt at July 19, 2007 11:12 PM