An American Haunting;
This has been somewhat abused by critics and IMDb members. Not many seem to like the film, maybe a select few from a list of 100 give it an average of above 6/10. While I can whole-heartedly see why... this really isn't AS BAD a movie as they make it out to be. It's not great, hell no, but 0-3/10 is a little harsh. It's... eh, well... alright. I said I wouldn't do ratings anymore. If I did, a 5/10 would be sufficient. It's not the worst I've seen, and it's definately not the best, and it's not even in the middle. But hey, if there wasn't movies like this - what would our standards for "good" movies be? I'm being nice with this one, if you can't already tell.

Getting away from some negative comments, I'll mention the costumes, set-design and select scenes. They were all very well pulled off. The costumes looked authentic to the period, and not so perfect-and-pristine as they appear in other films set in this time. They look worn, used, what they should appear like. The set pieces are equally excellent, and look stunning. The scenes, mainly of the hauntings, were average but a few did suprise me. Pardon if they have been overused, but I did like them in this specific film. The scene in which the bible rips open and pages are flung from it's bindings one by one, the cross flying to another side of the room, and the wax candles melting instanely. Oh, and that carriage flip was just insane, hehe.

For the bad, the main point to make here is... the story, eh, no. It was so confusing, and I don't even know whether that's my fault for just not making things click, the film's fault for jumping around too much, or whether it's just simply confusing or doesn't make sense / features multiple plot holes.

There are some spoilers here, but hey, there are in all my reviews. It's a ghost story, and an entire family + teacher witness these ghostly encounters. But later scenes in the film imply it was not a haunting but rather the father who had been raping his little girl in the middle of the night. This is one big plot hole in my eyes. Like, if they made it so the girl just experiences the hauntings, or certain individual members through a slightly opened door (such as the Mother witnessed the girl's back-arch). But no, apparently there was some sort of ghostly apparition? I'm just fully confused and don't know how the hell to figure this out. Sorry, but I'll try...

So, the hauntings were maybe the girl's imagination (she imagine it all), as a way of dealing with his father's abuse of her. Or maybe the family witnessing it didn't see the father doing it and thought it was a ghost? Doubtful... Okay, how about... the ghostly apparition was on part of the girl who was trying to torture herself for not doing anything about it, as well as the father who commited the actual crime. Still, this lacks sense. Any sense at all, and I find it ridiculous.

Blegh. That's the main gripe for this specific feature. CONFUSING AND I DON'T GET IT AT ALL. Was there a Ghost? Wasn't there? Was it rape? Wasn't it? CONFUSION MAKES YOU THINK AND IT IS GOOD IN SOME CASES BUT NOT HERE. Baaah.

I'm glad it stuck to the 90 feature-length minimum runtime. it was tedious and somewhat repetitive. But an ace for this was the final scene in which the Mother in present-day re-enters the house after sending her daughter with her divorced-husband for the weekend. She sees the ghost of the girl after just reading the journal entry, and rushes outside only to see her daughter's worried face, biting her nails, peering through the window as they drive off in to the distance.

I liked that, a lot. If only the rest of the movie was good. :(

I bought the Sleepaway Camp "Survival Kit" for about 15$ the price was right.As for part 2 and 3....lets just say they don't live up to the first installment but Pamela Springsteen does a good job as a comical quirky Angela.


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I just watched Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. I love it because of the music. The actual movie isn't all that, but the songs are beautiful. The melodies blend together perfectly, and if you've ever studied music you know what I mean. The song arrangements make my eyes tear up, and I still wish I had seen it on Broadway when I had the chance. Unfortunately, my parents weren't too keen on my musical aspirations, and I wasn't allowed to go. Narrow minded bible thumpers...

Sorry. But who would I tell, if not strangers I'll likely never meet?
I could have been a great singer. Now I scream out my frustrations in garage bands....and it's doubtful they would appreciate Andrew Lloyd Webber:)

Dagon -

Impressive and pacy, yet a bit bleak. Maybe direction was not on par, or maybe the plot-holes in the script. Nice effects, some good jumpy scares. A decent watch IMO, but not the best adaptation of Lovecraft's work by any stretch of the imagination.

06/10

The first story of Kwaidan: The Black Hair.

I really enjoyed it, and I'm hoping the rest are as good or better. You nerds keep suggesting good horror movies like this, and I'll have to keep eating Ramen;)

i think it did capture ther lovecraftian sense of doom and helplessness better than any of the others ..
i found it to be creepy and foreboding...the rain .. the setting .. the type of threat presented ..

i thought it was probably the best reperesentation of the atmosphere of lovecraft - if not the exact literary representation..

They really are all that good.:)

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"Click"

I thought it was a really good movie. A few parts were so sad... :( It's definitely more of a movie than people think, not just a dumb comedy.

bah. ignore this post

What?! you're crazy. :p Best slasher movie, hands down.