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- The Bell Witch Haunting (Movie Review) July 10, 2014
What movie is playing? Is it Paranormal Activity? Or maybe The Blair Witch Project? Actually, it’s a carbon copy of both films combined into one. The Bell Witch Haunting is one of the latest releases from The Asylum films, who constantly release awful horror flicks ranging from Abraham Lincoln fighting zombies to Nazi’s in the center of the Earth. Everything in this film seems copied from a lot of excellent horror movies. It’s another release in the found footage genre that’s nothing special and offers nothing new the the genre.
The film is supposed to be based off actual events that took place, but just how authentic the film is is suspect. The police release some video that was found recorded on the Sawyer families camcorders, laptops and cell phones. The video depicts the family being haunted in and around their home by a poltergeist in connection to an old folklore tale in Tennessee.
The Bell Witch Haunting uses different film techniques, like being filmed on camcorders, camera chest mounts, police dashcams among other techniques. Some of which is actually convincing at times. The opening scene, which takes place at a backyard party, was the best because it was the most convincing and entertaining. Oh, and some hot toppless women. But after that, everything starts to slow down and sometimes get boring. There are a lot of pointless scenes that have no business being in the film.
Character development isn’t the worst in the genre, but there’s still a lot to be desired. After some characters start to die, they begin to investigate a possible reason and discover that it might be a demon. Usually at least one person will play the skeptic, especially about two hundred year old folklore, but everyone pretty much agrees a demon is responsible except for the dad. He is perhaps the most optimistic man on the planet. Toward the end, after he’s hurt twice and several family friends mysteriously die, he doesn’t believe anything supernatural is happening.
There’s so much “found footage” yet a lot of it doesn’t add anything making it less realistic. Nobody films just for the heck of it. The acting isn’t awful but it’s not great. One scene was particularly ridiculous where two guys go into the woods to try and film the demon when one of them is attacked by a spear through the stomach and the other dude runs away. Literally the next day (every new day is documented) he goes back to the spot he died to pay his respect. No police investigation or anything. And the thing responsible for his death is still loose in the woods. Take a guess at what happens to him.
The ending is a mixture of The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project and is unconvincing. The only scary scenes in the film are when the demon appears out of the darkness. But music starts playing two seconds before the action so we usually know somethings about to pop out. There’s nothing special about this film that makes it worth seeing. It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t scare or create anything new.
MOVIE RATING
Reviewed by Ivan Karhoff
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