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Movies / On DVD / An American Haunting
An American Haunting

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An American Haunting (2006)

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Reviews Counted:67

Fresh:8

Rotten:59

Average Rating:3.6/10

Consensus: Well, it looks good. But wasn't it supposed to be scary?

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Based on true events that took place in Tennessee during the 1800s, An American Haunting tells the story of the only documented case in U.S. history (validated by the State of Tennessee) in which a... Based on true events that took place in Tennessee during the 1800s, An American Haunting tells the story of the only documented case in U.S. history (validated by the State of Tennessee) in which a spirit caused a person's death. With over 20 books written on the subject, and a town that still lives in fear of the spirit's return, the story of "An American Haunting" is terrifying. Between the years 1818-1820, the Bell Family of Red River, Tennessee was visited by an unknown presence that haunted the family and eventually caused the death of one of its members. What started as small sounds around the farm and the sighting of a black, yellow-eyed wolf escalated into physical brutality against certain family members and general psychological and physical torment. The attacks grew in strength, with the spirit slapping, pulling, dragging, and even beating the Bells' youngest daughter. Though no being could be seen, its effects were evident. It began to communicate with the family aurally, eventually through multiple voices that sounded like the wind. One message it communicated was a promise that one day it would kill one of the family members. The Bells searched for rational explanations and ways to rid their house of the evil chimera, but its presence persisted. Fearing that the haunting was caused by a local woman who had been branded a witch, the Bells tried desperately to find ways of undoing what they thought to be the woman's curse, presumably placed upon the family in retaliation for a land dispute. Despite their efforts the attacks escalated. It was not until a manuscript of the local schoolteacher, who lived on the property during the disturbance, was found in 1998 that the horrifying and shocking answer to what caused this haunting would finally be unveiled. [More]

Starring: Rachel Hurd-Wood, Sissy Spacek, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Marsh

Starring: Rachel Hurd-Wood, Sissy Spacek, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Marsh, Howard Rosenstein, Lila Bata-Walsh, Miguel Brown, Shauna Shim, Thom Fell, Sam Alexander, Gaye Brown

Director: Courtney Solomon

Director: Courtney Solomon
Screenwriter: Courtney Solomon
Producer: Christopher Milburn, Courtney Solomon
Composer: Caine Davidson
Studio: Freestyle Releasing

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for An American Haunting

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
06/03/06
Andrew Pulver
Andrew Pulver
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unoriginal and unrelenting, this gothic ghost story invests too much time in banging doors and billowing drapes and not enough in its characters.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/03/06
Matthew Leyland
Matthew Leyland
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Disappointing horror film which fails to generate any suspense or horror and is occasionally downright laughable.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/03/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

This allegedly true tale of demonic possession is weighed down by period detail and ponderous storytelling, which soon get the better of its Exorcist-inspired levitations, flying crucifixes and noisy poltergeist activity.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/03/06
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A collection of cheap jump-scares and tacky clichéd imagery that we've seen a million times before.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
06/03/06
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

Writer-director Solomon simply can't generate any actual suspense. Although he certainly tries.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/18/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Despite flaws and compromises, it's ballsier than The Sixth Sense, less laboured than The Others ...

Full Review Source: Film4 | comment Comment
05/03/06
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Film4
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
05/13/09
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

The frights are few and the moment of horrific revelation is a big letdown in writer/director Courtney Solomon's cinematic treatment of Brent Monahan's novel "The Bell Witch: An American Haunting."

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/19/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

it becomes haunted by the unwelcome presence of heavy-handedness, making it seem more like a busy domestic melodrama (with a ghost) than a truly unnerving chiller.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
07/02/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

Takes the most documented ghost story in history and doesn't create one truly scary moment.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
UGO
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
02/03/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
12/30/06
Los Angeles Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is proof that it doesn't take lots of bloody gore, big special effects or jump-at-you moments to scare jaded audiences.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment 1 Comment
08/23/06
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Hollywood.com

Although [director Solomon] has some great ideas, they are limited, and we are therefore treated to repeats of the same basic scenario over and over again until the effect becomes tedious.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
06/03/06
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Director Courtney Solomon’s script is a catalogue of the standard Exorcist-style special effects, hammered home by Caine Davidson’s musical score, one of the most irritating and nerve-wracking assemblies of noise in movie history.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
06/03/06
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for An American Haunting

May 10, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: "28 Weeks Later" and "Georgia Rule" To Battle For #2 Spot
In what must be a first at the box office, an aerobics queen takes on killer zombies in a vicious battle for the silver medal during what no doubt will be another mammoth... More...

August 23, 2006: Without gore and cheap scare tactics, An American Haunting is a well-told tale based on the much-documented legend of the Bell Witch in Tennesse Opens in new window
More...

August 23, 2006: Without gore and cheap scare tactics, An American Haunting is a well-told tale based on the much-documented legend of the Bell Witch in Tennesse Opens in new window
More...

August 23, 2006: Without gore and cheap scare tactics, An American Haunting is a well-told tale based on the much-documented legend of the Bell Witch in Tennesse Opens in new window
More...

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