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:

Haunting | Tennessee | Curse | Schoolteacher | School

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)

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:

Revealing mistakes: When the bed sheet is being pulled up over Betsy, right when the lightning flashes, a string or wire is clearly visible.

Quotes:

Richard Powell: This... enity... do you believe that it can read your mind?
John Bell: No. But I do believe that it can hear our conversations, that’s how it knows our every move.
Richard Powell: But it is only on this property!
[Richard raises eyebrows suggestively, showing that if they leave without saying a thing, the entity probably wouldn't know, nor follow]

Movie Connections:

References Monster (2003)

Terrifying....

I thoroughly enjoyed "An American Haunting". The story flowed nicely and the performances were fantastic! I was a little wary at first, though. I had seen Courtney Solomon's first film, "Dungeons & Dragons" and was extremely disappointed. Solomon more than makes up for his past failures with "An American Haunting"! The film keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek are joys to watch, as usual. But the real star is Rachel Hurd-Wood. She gives the best performance of her short career. She is wonderful as a young girl in the clutches of pure evil. While the film is not perfect, it is fun and chilling. I highly recommend it.