AN AMERICAN HAUNTING

AN AMERICAN HAUNTING
By Larra

SHHH!!!!......Was that a groan from an unseen entity? Nah, it was just me yawning…..

Based on true accounts, An American Haunting tells the story of the Bell family and their terrifying ordeal. John Bell (Donald Sutherland) is a staple in his community of Red River, Tennessee in 1817. Until he defies the church by swindling land (through extortion) from the local ‘witch’ Kate Batts. Upon a trial (of sorts), Witch Batts says some nasty things to the Bell clan that include some ‘bestowing of pain and suffering’ and a few ‘may you be cursed’ phrases upon the Bells, but mostly directs her rage at his eldest daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood). After being banished by the church for his greed, Mr. Bell and his wife Lucy (Sissy Spacek) have nowhere to turn, when strange occurrences begin happening in their home.

As coincidence would have it, the Bells are overcome by the typical bangs and chills that accompany any good poltergeist, but poor Betsy gets the brunt of the supernatural wrath! She is slapped, dragged by her hair and groped by the unseen force. Could it be that the local rumors are true and Kate Batts really is a witch and cursed the Bell family? Or is there some demonic monster that has been lying idle until now?

What could have been a fantastic ghost story or even The Entity of the 1800’s; An American Haunting was sadly anti-climactic. Sure the soundtrack intensified the suspense and made for some great jumps and scares but the ‘twist’ in the plot totally destroyed the ‘haunting’ experience.