>
Well, it looks good. But wasn't it supposed to be scary? Read critic reviews
What to know
You might also like
See More
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
The Grudge 2
The Fog
Dreamcatcher
The Condemned
Where to watch An American Haunting
Rent An American Haunting on Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, or buy it on Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video.
Rate And Review
-
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
-
Fandango
-
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
-
Cinemark Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Regal Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Theater box office or somewhere else
An American Haunting Photos
Movie Info
Landowners in 1817 Tennessee, John (Donald Sutherland) and Lucy Bell (Sissy Spacek) experience strange and terrifying events after fellow parishioners find John guilty of loan-sharking and his victim curses the Bell family. The incidents culminate in the daughter's (Rachel Hurd-Wood) apparent possession by demons.
-
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Material|Intense Terror Sequences)
-
Genre: Horror, Mystery & thriller, Drama
-
Original Language: English
-
Director: Courtney Solomon
-
Producer: Courtney Solomon, Christopher Milburn, Andre Rouleau
-
Writer: Courtney Solomon
-
Release Date (Theaters): wide
-
Release Date (Streaming):
-
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.3M
-
Runtime:
-
Distributor: Freestyle Releasing
-
Production Co: Media Pro Pictures, Christopher Milburn Production, Remstar Productions, Midsummer Films, After Dark Films
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for An American Haunting
Critic Reviews for An American Haunting
Audience Reviews for An American Haunting
-
Clichéd horror film that had the potential of a truly great experience, An American Haunting is one of those films that looks very promising, but fails to deliver on a truly great idea. What we have here is a bunch of bland, mindless predictable jump scares mixed with poor performances. This is one movie that really should have been a wonderful horror film, but it fails due to the fact that its ideas presented on-screen are things that we've seen many times before in other, better genre films. Here we have a good cast wasted on a poor script, and it's a shame because An American Haunting is a very good looking movie, but there is simply no substance to back up the nice atmosphere and tone. What we have here in terms of a horror film is a big disappointment and it just doesn't have enough going for it to make a good movie, the film lacks in genuine chills and thrills and like I said just recycled ideas that we've seen with no care on creating a truly tense, riveting horror film that is engaging from start to finish. The tone of the film is quite ridiculous and if you want a great horror film, you won't find it here. This awful to mediocre horror and it is a movie that fails to really grab your attention the way a film in this genre should. Don't go into this one expecting great things from it, it's a film that just doesn't have anything going for it, and despite the casting of Donald Sutherland, it simply doesn't have any memorable moments of sheer horror, and the film ends up being a lazy affair that is a missed opportunity to make something really stand out.
-
*1/2 out of **** "An American Haunting" doesn't get a single thing right in regards to being a good, scary, or engaging horror picture. But there is one thing that earns it a few points, makes it slightly more watchable, and earns the movie an extra half a star from what I would have initially rated it had it not bared this quality: excellent, often times lush visuals. The special effects are so-so and therefore quite far from actually being good looking, but the cinematography is often seductive and darkly whimsical. I just wish that there were things to praise aside from the look of the movie. In the 19th Century, a man named John Bell (Donald Sutherland) is taken to Church court, where a woman named Kate Batts has accused him of stealing land. The court decides to let him go over the fact that his good name might have been soiled if he did indeed steal the woman's land, which apparently is enough for both the people of the court and Mr. Bell himself, but nevertheless; the woman making the accusations is widely believed to be a witch, and it comes to no surprise that she puts a curse on John Bell and his family through words. John Bell returns to his home, his wife (Sissy Spacek), and his teenage daughter, Betsy Bell (Rachel Hurd-Wood). He isn't one to believe in superstition, so he doesn't take the words of Kate Batts into consideration. However, perhaps he should. Strange things start happening around the house and all around town. Mr. Bell is seeing wolves as black as night on his hunting trips that no one else accompanying him sees to see, his daughter is experiencing violent night terrors (or nightmares, rather), and last but not least; strange and ghostly voices fill the air. Is the daughter singularly possessed? Or is it a ghost that haunts the house? There are a number of possible outcomes, but one would think this would make the story more intriguing. Let me tell you: it is intriguing, just not particularly interesting due to a lack of communication in the writing and direction behind it. The film boastfully claims to be based on a "terrifying" true story; I wonder how true the movie is to the actual events, if they did indeed happen. Director Courtney Solomon (Dungeons and Dragons) has access to the best special effects and technical equipment that money can buy; and there were moments in the film when she is able to give us this slight, brief, yet unsatisfactory indication that she might have the skills to make use of what she's been supplied with. However, visuals alone cannot help to save a shallow story, and a horror film lacking proper scares. "An American Haunting" may not be cheap looking, but it's certainly got a poor script. The jump scares are lame, the effects on the ghostly apparitions are majorly outdated, and the acting is either "meh" or just-plain terrible, with Sutherland being the only actor who actually does some decent work. One thing I can't get off my mind was the fact that in a convoluted, unnecessary side-plot involving the legend of the central story as it lives on in present day, 21rst Century America, there's a photograph of two of the film's key characters. Everyone knows that back in the 19th Century, they had yet to invent cameras. So the taking of the photo was impossible. I know it's a small detail, but it bothered me throughout the movie; and made me wonder whether the filmmakers had taken into consideration that in order to engage and refrain from insulting your audience, accuracy is key and absolutely, positively essential.
-
Like many other movie goers, I've avoided this film for the longest time, seeing how low the rate this got, I wasn't interested until me and a friend decided to watch it just for the sake of it! And, I was right from the beginning. An American Haunting is based on true story, but the movie itself was based from a novel that has different story (I guess) than the actual event. The movie started out great, but turned out to be weird and boring when the twist was revealed. The 'twist' killed the movie, we are supposed to see a 'haunting', prolly done by witch which was suggested in the beginning, but at the end you feel 'cheated' and ended up giving the movie low score for its stupidity. 5/10.
-
A very interesting paranormal ghost story.
Verified