An American Haunting (2005)

Director:

Courtney Solomon

Writers:

Brent Monahan (novel)
Courtney Solomon (writer)

Release Date:

5 May 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Possession Knows No Bounds

Plot:

Based on the true events of the only case in US History where a spirit caused the death of a man.

Plot Keywords:

Tennessee | Haunting | Curse | School | Schoolteacher

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	John Bell
Sissy Spacek	...	Lucy Bell
James D'Arcy	...	Richard Powell
Rachel Hurd-Wood	...	Betsy Bell / Entity Voice
Matthew Marsh	...	James Johnston
Thom Fell	...	John Bell Jr.
Zoe Thorne	...	Theny Thorn
Gaye Brown	...	Kathe Batts
Sam Alexander	...	Joshua Gardner
Miquel Brown	...	Chloe
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Elder #1
Shauna Shim	...	Anky
Madalina Stan	...	Ethereal Girl
Philip Hurd-Wood	...	Partygoer (as Phillip Hurd-Wood)
Vlad Cruceru	...	Richard Bell (aged 6)
Alin Rosca	...	Joel Bell (aged 10)
Andrei Serban	...	Joel Bell (aged 6)
Isabelle Almgren-Doré	...	Jane
Susan Almgren	...	Elizabeth Powell - Mother
Howard Rosenstein	...	David - Father
Lila Bata-Walsh	...	Little Ghost Girl
Courtney Solomon	...	Entity Voice (voice)

Directed by
Courtney Solomon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Brent Monahan		novel "The Bell Witch: An American Haunting"
Courtney Solomon		writer

Produced by
Andrei Boncea	....	co-producer
Francis Delia	....	co-executive producer
Alessandro Fracassi	....	associate producer
Simon Franks	....	executive producer
Zygi Kamasa	....	executive producer
Matthew Kuipers	....	line producer
Nelson Leong	....	co-executive producer
Robert Little	....	executive producer (as Robbie Little)
Lawrence Steven Meyers	....	executive producer
Christopher Milburn	....	producer
Julien Remillard	....	executive producer
Maxime Rémillard	....	executive producer
André Rouleau	....	producer
Courtney Solomon	....	producer
Allan Zeman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Caine Davidson

Cinematography by
Adrian Biddle		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard Comeau

Casting by
Gary Davy

Production Design by
Humphrey Jaeger

Costume Design by
Jane Petrie

Makeup Department
Adina Andrei	....	assistant makeup artist
Camelia Borcan	....	assistant makeup artist
Cristina Chilu	....	assistant makeup artist
Andreea Dardea	....	assistant makeup artist
Réjean Goderre	....	key hairdresser: Montreal
Manuela Grosu	....	hair stylist
Nicky Hamilton	....	makeup artist: Montreal
Florina Oprescu	....	assistant makeup artist
Lucia Simonescu	....	assistant hair stylist
Edwina Voda	....	assistant makeup artist
Mircea Voda	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Nathalie Brigitte Bustos	....	co-production manager
Pierre Laberge	....	unit production manager
Misu Predescu	....	production manager (as Mihai Predescu)
Andreea Stanculeanu	....	executive in charge of physical production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pierre Bouchard	....	second assistant director
Ingrid Cristea	....	first assistant director
Theodor Halacu-Nicon	....	first assistant director: second unit
Adriana Itu	....	third assistant director
Larry Maronese	....	first assistant director
Cleopatra Medvetchi	....	second assistant director
Dave Norris	....	first assistant director (as David Norris)

Art Department
Dana Andreianu	....	art department coordinator
Cornisor Cosmin	....	assistant property master
Annie Gilhooly	....	props buyer: UK
Liviu Marcu	....	sculptor
Ilie Mihai	....	construction coordinator
Andreea Popa	....	assistant art director
Vlad Roseanu	....	draftsman

Sound Department
Andi Arsenie	....	boom operator
Petra Bach	....	sound effects editor
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Keith Bilderbeck	....	sound designer
Pierre Blain	....	location sound mixer
Michel B. Bordeleau	....	supervising sound editor
Mario Choquette	....	sound effects editor
Jérôme Décarie	....	foley artist
Ed Douglas	....	sound designer
Denys Dufresne	....	assistant sound editor
Natalie Fleurant	....	dialogue editor
Marc Gagnon	....	sound effects editor
Martin Lemieux	....	sound effects editor
Derek Marcil	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lemieux Pedro Martin	....	sound effects editor
Mireille Morin	....	adr editor
Miguel Nunes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sylvain Richard	....	assistant sound editor
Jonathan Rimas	....	adr mixer
Lionel Strutt	....	adr supervisor
Eric Raber	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Nick Allder	....	special effects coordinator
Ryal Cosgrove	....	special effects coordinator: Canada
Ricky Farns	....	special effects floor supervisor
Melvyn Pearson	....	special effects technician
Adrian Popescu	....	special effects technician
Marc Reichel	....	special effects technician
Mark Roberts	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Simon Allmark	....	visual effects editor
Kris Anderson	....	digital effects artist
Jeremy Appelbaum	....	compositor
John Attard	....	visual effects producer
Robin Beard	....	digital effects artist
Joseph Bell	....	visual effects coordinator: Digital Dimension
Gavain Browne	....	digital compositor
Simon Carr	....	visual effects supervisor
Adam Christopher	....	digital colourist
Tom Collier	....	digital compositor
Richard Collis	....	digital effects artist
Peter 'Beak' Cvijanovic	....	lead Flame artist
Chris Del Conte	....	visual effects producer: Digital Dimension
Pascal Favron	....	senior flame artist
Simon Frame	....	visual effects supervisor
Antoine Gagné	....	I/O supervisor
Sébastien Gagné	....	Flame artist
Benoit Girard	....	visual effects executive producer: Digital Dimension
Tom Hocking	....	digital compositor
Matthew Jacques	....	digital artist
Isaac Layish	....	digital compositor
Pier Lefebvre	....	matte painter
Jesse Lehrman	....	software developer
Jesse Lehrman	....	systems administrator
Sean Looper	....	pipeline technical director: Digital Dimension
Landon Medeiros	....	visual effects production assistant: Digital Dimension
Jerome Morin	....	visual effects executive producer: Digital Dimension
Jean-Francois Morissette	....	tracking
Peter Murphy	....	visual effects production assistant
Tom Pegg	....	digital compositor
Kate Porter	....	digital compositor
Pablo Renedo	....	digital compositor
Chris Ryan	....	digital compositor
Paul Saint-Hilaire	....	Flame artist
Jean-Sébastien Savard	....	CGI production manager
Tammy Sutton	....	visual effects
Antonin Messier Turcotte	....	CG artist
Sebastien Veilleux	....	digital compositor
Joan Collins Carey	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
Kevin Phelan	....	film recording producer (uncredited)
Leandro Visconti	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Aurel Boata	....	stunts
Ricardo Cruz	....	stunt coordinator (as Ricardo Cruz Moral)
Kelly Dent	....	stunts
Serban Gabriel	....	stunts (as Gabriel Serban)
Mihaela Elena Oros	....	stunts
Rasvan Puiu	....	stunt coordinator: Romania (as Razvan Puiu)
Eugenio Alonso Yenes	....	stunts
Dicu Aurel	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Mihai Ionita	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alin Luchian	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Teodor Andreescu	....	best boy
Lupsa Armand	....	electrician
Adam Biddle	....	cinematographer: second unit
Andrei Cretan	....	assistant camera
Mathieu Décary	....	assistant camera: "b" camera, Canada
Pat Garrett	....	key grip
Cristu Ghigiu	....	video assist operator
Clive Mackey	....	first assistant camera
David Mackie	....	second assistant camera
Sorin Nainer	....	still photographer
Ben Perry	....	assistant camera
Tony Rowland	....	best boy grip
Jaromir Sedina	....	director of photography: second unit
Bogdan Stanciu	....	Steadicam operator
Bogdan Stanciu	....	camera operator: "b" camera
David Worley	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Domnica Circiumaru	....	casting: RO

Editorial Department
Simon Allmark	....	digital intermediate on-line editor
Mathieu Berube	....	assistant editor
Ryan Helsley	....	assistant digital intermediate producer
Curtis Lindersmith	....	digital intermediate editor
Tiberiu Teodorescu	....	assistant editor
Andy Thompson	....	post-production coordinator
Alex Panton	....	digital intermediate producer (uncredited)
Kevin Phelan	....	film recording producer (uncredited)

Music Department
Mikael Carlsson	....	executive soundtrack producer
Caine Davidson	....	conductor
Darren Fung	....	orchestrator
Benoît Groulx	....	lead orchestrator
P.J. Hanke	....	composer: additional music
Robert Houston	....	assistant scoring engineer
Jamie Luker	....	music scoring engineer
Malcolm Luker	....	score producer
Malcolm Luker	....	scoring mixer

Transportation Department
Cristi Chitu	....	unit transportation coordinator

Other crew
Cristina Benu	....	assistant to cast
Jo Cameron Brown	....	dialect coach
Adrian Codoi	....	assistant to location manager
Raul Cosma	....	key set production assistant
Steven Edwicker	....	production accountant
Christopher Gallagher	....	assistant production accountant
Zoltan Horkai	....	head animal trainer
Gabriela Iacob	....	production coordinator
Peter Ivanyi	....	head animal trainer
Max Kuipers	....	floor runner
Mariana Lina	....	script supervisor
Amalia Morar	....	cast accountant
Geneviève Ouellette	....	production secretary: Montreal
Russell Owen	....	assistant to producer
Maria Pampu	....	assistant to director
Iulian Pana	....	location manager
Gyorgy Szabo	....	animal trainer
Andy Thompson	....	production coordinator: UK
Judith Windsor	....	voice coach

Thanks
Adrian Biddle	....	in memory of
Randy Solomon	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Allan Zeman Productions (presents)
• Midsummer Films (in association with)
• Remstar Productions (as Remstar Films)
• Media Pro Pictures
• After Dark Films
• Redbus Pictures
• Sweetpea Entertainment

Distributors

• Belga Films (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Freestyle Releasing (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Gussi Films (2007) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Odeon Films (2006) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Pandasia Entertainment (2006) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Take Off (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2006) (Thailand) (all media)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2007) (Japan) (all media)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Lionsgate (2006) (UK) (all media)
• Redbus Film Distribution (2006) (UK) (all media)
• Splendid Film (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Village Roadshow Greece S.A. (2005) (Greece) (all media)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates (practical on-set special effects)
• Big Bang Digital Studios (visual effects)
• Men From Mars (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded at
• All Deco International  sculptures
• Bank of Ireland  production financing provided by
• DDDecor  set construction
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Lip Sync Post  film recording
• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music performed by
• Marcella C. Public Relations  special publicity
• Mayflower Studios  adr recording studio
• MovieScore Media  soundtrack
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production

Also Known As:

An American Haunting - The Billwitch Story (Philippines: English title) (poster title)
Cauchemar américain (Canada: French title)
Apariciones (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
American Haunting (France) [fr]
Amerikan büyüsü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
An American Haunting (Finland) [fi]
Demon - Historia prawdziwa (Poland) [pl]
Der Fluch der Betsy Bell (Germany) [de]
I afixi tou daimona (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Maleficio (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense terror sequences and thematic material.

Runtime:

USA:91 min

Country:

UK | Canada | Romania | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | USA:PG-13 | Finland:K-15 | Malaysia:18PL | Indonesia:Dewasa | Taiwan:R-12 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | USA:Unrated | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

MediaPro Studios, Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Allan Zeman Productions

Trivia:

The movie is actually based on a true story. Andrew Jackson is quoted as saying, "I would rather take on the entire English Fleet than stay one night at the Bell House." He later formed a group of men to test the rumors of the Bell haunting. Their findings are documented in M. V. Ingram's 1894 book, An Authenticated History of The Famous Bell Witch. This movie was based on the book by Brent Monahan,The Bell Witch: An American Haunting the Famous Bell Witch.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In a night scene where the light from the candles and fireplace are systematically blown out, James Johnston immediately picks up his Bible and begins reading in the dark.

Quotes:

Richard Powell: But it is only present on this property!

Movie Connections:

References The Exorcist (1973)

A Predictable Semi-fiction

Acting. Thats the most noticeable thing you will find in this movie. All the characters have performed well and acted according to the period of the story. I haven't watched Bell Witch Haunting (2004) but I have read a lot about the original legend. Instead of retelling the actual event, this movie revolves around it, giving us an entirely different interpretation of the haunting. Also, it tells nothing about General Andrew Jackson who visited Bell's family during that time and later became the American President. Its worthy to note that he was once quoted as saying - "I'd rather face the whole British Army, than face the Bell Witch again".

Around 1818, a farming family living in Tennessee is haunted by a spirit, the most affected ones being the daughter Betsy and the father John Bell. While the father's health deteriorates, the daughter gets all poltergeistic treatment. Slowly, they suspect the woman (also witch?) Kate Batts who previously has some legal issues with John and curses him that he and his daughter will suffer for his deeds. The haunting gets worse and the family members try to fight back the ghost in their own ways. By the end, when they seem to have abandoned their faith, the spirit itself reveals the reason for its existence.

The scary scenes are predictable but good. The notable ones are the first major attack on Betsy, the swing encounter, Richard's questions, John's visions, the cave and the best of all is the chariot ride. Excellent cinematography. A few good things in this movie keep us on the edge and makes us wait for the best part. But that best part never comes.

The fictional ending, though unexpected and slightly shocking, is not conceived properly. The movie begins with a Night-Shyamalan-like atmosphere. Most of it feels like as if you are watching The Village. Later it goes on to remind us of The Poltergeist, The Exorcist, Child's Play and several others, even The Omen. The ending is tried in a Lynchian manner - just tried. Sadly, it doesn't register in us at all.

Overall, this movie has good acting, good cinematography, few honestly scaring scenes and a different interpretation to the original Bell Witch Haunting. Nevertheless, it has a confused screenplay, half-baked script and an overhasty direction. The slow scenes are empty and the fast scenes are packed. So the balance is knocked out and what results is boredom. Watch it for the good aspects but make sure to take lots of popcorn inside the theatre. You'll need them to stay awake.