13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2010: Night #9 An American Haunting (director's cut)

Last night we had a pretty scary haunting movie. Well get ready for a much more impressive haunting. I won't mislead you, this is more of ahorror movie, which I think to a degree lessens the scares, but your mileage may vary. An American Haunting is loosely based on the real life haunting of John and Lucy Bell, played by Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. The true story is one of the more infamous hauntings and fairly well documented given the time frame. The ghost was referred to as the Bell Witch. In 1819 General Jackson--yes later President Andrew Jackson--was even witness to the handiwork of the witch. Of course that isn't a part of the movie but wow, a U.S. president with an account of not only a ghost but a ghost witch. For reference as the title says I'm going with the director's cut. I cannot speak to the theatrical version.

Rounding out the cast is Rachel Hurd-Wood as the daughter Betsy Bell, and James D'Arcy who appeared in Exorcist: The Beginning (released just the year before)--that was the good prequel with the doctor and the hyenas--as the local schoolteacher. The general premise is that John Bell's house is haunted shortly after a land dispute with a woman considered by many to be a witch--FYI the witch woman had died before the real historical haunting. Betsy receives the worst of the torment from the very active ghost. The movie also opens and closes with scenes from the modern day. These scenes are a point of contention among some viewers. They are part of a small secondary plot added to the movie--at least I'd never heard it conjectured of the real story--which in itself sits unwell with some fans. I don't let it detract from the rest of this movie.

Just a final FYI, the real Bell Witch was frequently referred to as a poltergeist even though it spoke, among other vocal things, claimed the identity of the dead woman, and acted more intelligently, not to mention maliciously.

Mood: eager.

Music: Wake The Dead by Alice Cooper. MP3s

13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2009: Night #10 Carrie

The movie for tonight is the classic, Carrie. It is based on the book by Stephen King. It is a story very close to me since I consider it the first adult horror novel I read. Sure there were those creepy book series but they were young adult, as good as they were, which was quite good. I even wrote a paper in English class on Carrie--as the only person in the class allowed to use King because I got around and found reference material on him and his work. For a short novel there is a wealth of material for discourse. There is great depth to it and not much of it lost in translation to the movie even with the differences. Brian DePalma was a good choice of director. The composer who wrote the score is Pino Donaggio who also scored The Howling.

Carrie has immensely talented main cast with Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie who are both just incredible. The fact that Nancy Allen stands out as great too really says something in the shadow of the other two. The movie also boasts John Travolta in a really early role, and let's not forget P.J. Soles who later showed up in Halloween. Who doesn't remember P.J. in Carrie with that hat on her head even while wearing her prom dress? That's commitment to a hat. Speaking of incongruous, what about the tuxedo rental scene where De Palma speeds up the film and sound to leaven an already light scene? The climax of the movie is a double one and it's only too bad they couldn't have pulled it off the way that they intended special effects-wise.

Mood: slack.

Music: Bucket of Blood by Pino Donaggio off of Carrie (soundtrack).