The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer

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kish b ★★★☆☆ The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer is a curious little prequel oddity that works better as a creepy footnote to Rose Red than as a standalone film. Released in 2003 as a tie-in "found diary" movie, it tries to explain the origins of that endlessly growing, soul-eating mansion, and it mostly succeeds at being atmospheric late-night cable horror. The 1920s setting is lush, the production design is genuinely gorgeous (those expanding hallways and impossible staircases still look great), and Lisa Brenner does a solid job as Ellen slowly descending from neglected trophy wife into full-blown haunted-house co-dependent. It’s dripping with Gothic melodrama: adulterous oil barons, mysterious African artifacts, disappearances, kinky séances, and a house that seduces its mistress the way other haunted houses possess people. If you love slow-burn period horror with a side of soap-opera scandal, you’ll have a decent time. That said, it’s undeniably thin. The plot is basically "rich lady gets ignored, house starts eating people," and at 88 minutes it still feels padded. Some of the scares are cheap, the ending is abrupt, and without the context of Rose Red it loses half its punch. Three stars: one for the mood, one for the production values, and one because I’ll still put it on every October when I want more Rose Red universe vibes without committing to the full miniseries. Perfectly serviceable spooky background viewing, just don’t expect greatness. 🏛️📔 Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/17/25 Full Review M M The acting is stiff and unnatural. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/18/25 Full Review steve d Slightly better than Rose Red but not by much. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved it. Can't believe all the bad reviews Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member I found the movie to be a good introduction to the miniseries Rose Red. In many ways, I prefer it to the first part of the miniseries. I just wish I had watched it prior to Rose Red. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member As good as Rose Red was. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer

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