An American Haunting was a disappointment, for the most part. It had some good moments, but was overall ruined by two things: one, coming up with an explanation (which I won’t go into here), and two, an absolutely unneccessary and tacked-on frame story set in the modern day which ties into the explanation. Boo. I had high hopes for this one , too — I’m very familiar with the accounts which it was based on — but, as is the case with most of these things, the true story of the Bell Witch of Tennessee is far more interesting than the film ended up being. Too bad.
Silent Hill, on the other hand, is the first film based on a video game that I’ve seen that did not suck like an economy-priced hooker during Fleet Week. I expected it to be a minor diversion at best — a CGI schlock-fest, based on a video game I’ve never played, but good for an evening with nothing else to watch. Talk about exceeding expectations! Not only was this NOT a suck film, but it was actually genuinely disturbing and very, very cool. My estimation of the film grew even more when I took a look at the extra features and discovered that the creatures and special effects that I had thought were CG were actually physical effects and dancers in prosthetic costumes. Damn. If you haven’t had a chance, rent this. It’s worth it. I’ll probably have to check out the games now. If they’re anywhere near as creepy, I’ll end up a fan.
