Not growing up in Tennessee, I feel I was more fit to review this movie on its own merits as opposed to the local legend that has been embraced by most of the Middle Tennessee community. I had little to no knowledge of this story until the movie came out.
The story itself is fascinating. The Bell Witch appeared out of nowhere. It then attaches itself to a family for several years, making them grimace in horror for years to come. The only peace they would find would be in death. The poltergeist tale of the 1800's does not have a happy ending. The truth of the story has been validated by both scholars and camp fire tales. The movie would embrace both of these things.
The movie was surprisingly better than I anticipated. It had many of the major pitfalls to over come right from the start. A period piece, with several child actors, working on a low budget...these things were set aside to make a wonderful debut film from director Ric White. The story follows reporters looking for confirmation of the book written by John Bell's son.
They come across an old hermit named James Johnston (played by director Ric White) His performance is subtle, you can see a built in madness much different from the younger Johnston you will meet in the flashbacks. White seemed to know how to play a man before and after he had seen things to change his outlook on life.
The story is told mostly in retrospect from this point on. We meet John Bell (played by Doug Moore) whose performance is straight on. A God fearing man who lets the haunting persist until he fears harm may come to his family. There is a beautiful shot of open Tennessee fields to start this picture off, at this point I knew we weren't going to be dealing with a low-fi ghost story. You are given your first hint at the haunting when a shot hits but doesn't bring down the ghost of a large animal.
As the story unfolds James Johnston and several associates come to the aid of the Bell family with little help for their well being. The ghost attacks on physical and mental tirades. It appears only briefly and the movie never lets you see enough of the ghost to get a good feeling what it is. They leave that to your imagination.
The Bell Witch haunting takes another route not usually associated with low budget horror movie making. It is surprisingly clean. The blood and gore is kept to a minimum, and the profanity is non existent. It refuses to hide behind the same old marketing tool of the sexy hack and slash ghost story. It holds your interest through storytelling, always wondering what's next gets you through the two hours.
The witch is confusing and irritable, such as the legend proclaims. You can't be sure of who it was and what brought it to the Bell family. The movie embraces this and leaves you with no explanation of its menacing hauntings. They also end the witches story with the Bell family, and leave the rest of the stories to be told with marshmallows and hot dogs.
All in all the film is a must see for fans of the local legend. It has many great merits and few pitfalls along the way. The story of the Haunting has survived almost 200 years, and this film is just another chapter in a long complex legend that gets better with age.
The story itself is fascinating. The Bell Witch appeared out of nowhere. It then attaches itself to a family for several years, making them grimace in horror for years to come. The only peace they would find would be in death. The poltergeist tale of the 1800's does not have a happy ending. The truth of the story has been validated by both scholars and camp fire tales. The movie would embrace both of these things.
The movie was surprisingly better than I anticipated. It had many of the major pitfalls to over come right from the start. A period piece, with several child actors, working on a low budget...these things were set aside to make a wonderful debut film from director Ric White. The story follows reporters looking for confirmation of the book written by John Bell's son.
They come across an old hermit named James Johnston (played by director Ric White) His performance is subtle, you can see a built in madness much different from the younger Johnston you will meet in the flashbacks. White seemed to know how to play a man before and after he had seen things to change his outlook on life.
The story is told mostly in retrospect from this point on. We meet John Bell (played by Doug Moore) whose performance is straight on. A God fearing man who lets the haunting persist until he fears harm may come to his family. There is a beautiful shot of open Tennessee fields to start this picture off, at this point I knew we weren't going to be dealing with a low-fi ghost story. You are given your first hint at the haunting when a shot hits but doesn't bring down the ghost of a large animal.
As the story unfolds James Johnston and several associates come to the aid of the Bell family with little help for their well being. The ghost attacks on physical and mental tirades. It appears only briefly and the movie never lets you see enough of the ghost to get a good feeling what it is. They leave that to your imagination.
The Bell Witch haunting takes another route not usually associated with low budget horror movie making. It is surprisingly clean. The blood and gore is kept to a minimum, and the profanity is non existent. It refuses to hide behind the same old marketing tool of the sexy hack and slash ghost story. It holds your interest through storytelling, always wondering what's next gets you through the two hours.
The witch is confusing and irritable, such as the legend proclaims. You can't be sure of who it was and what brought it to the Bell family. The movie embraces this and leaves you with no explanation of its menacing hauntings. They also end the witches story with the Bell family, and leave the rest of the stories to be told with marshmallows and hot dogs.
All in all the film is a must see for fans of the local legend. It has many great merits and few pitfalls along the way. The story of the Haunting has survived almost 200 years, and this film is just another chapter in a long complex legend that gets better with age.