Monday, December 1, 2014

An American Haunting (2005)

When John Bell loans money at a high interest rate to Kathe Batts, he is kicked out of the church, and Mrs. Batts curses his family.  Since she has a reputation as witch, Bell's daughter isn't happy at this news. Surprisingly, since it's the early 1800s, there is no repercussion for witchcraft.

That night Bell's daughter starts being tormented by some sort of supernatural entity. When her family responds to her screams, they find all sorts of supernatural activity occurring.  As they try to protect her, they are pushed away.  So they resort to screaming - at what they assume is a demon - to leave the poor girl alone. But you know how demons are. They don't really care.

The girl screams every night, and each night the parents ineffectually try to stop the torment.  This goes on for far too long, with no variations on the theme of the families night terrors.  While John Bell and his wife are played by talented actors Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek, we still couldn't take the monotony, and jettisoned this movie, never to darken our door again.  You're better off reading about the Bell Witch than watching this movie.

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