Based on a true state-documented case that took place during the 1800s. Between the years 1818-1820, the Bell family of Red River, Tennessee was visited by an unknown presence that haunted the family and eventually caused the death of one of its members. What started as small sounds around the farm and the sighting of a black, yellow-eyed wolf escalated into physical brutality against certain family members and general psychological and physical torment. The attacks grew in strength, with the spirit slapping, pulling, dragging, and even beating the Bells' youngest daughter. Though no being could be seen, its effects were evident. It began to communicate with the family aurally, eventually through multiple voices that sounded like the wind. One message it communicated was a promise that one day it would kill one of the family members. The Bells searched for rational explanations and ways to rid their house of the evil chimera, but its presence persisted. Fearing that the haunting was caused by a local woman who had been branded a witch, the Bells tried desperately to find ways of undoing what they thought to be the woman's curse, presumably placed upon the family in retaliation for a land dispute. Despite their efforts the attacks escalated. It was not until a manuscript of the local schoolteacher, who lived on the property during the disturbance, was found in 1998 that the horrifying and shocking answer to what caused this haunting would finally be unveiled.

Wow how easy would it be to just sit here and take pot shots at this movie and how incrediblly bad it could be at times. Actually that’s not too bad of an idea lets do it I say. First things first the plot. The plot is similar to many of those you may have seen or heard of, its your typical clichéd ghost story and or haunting where the characters of the house are plagued by an other worldly creature that is malicious in its attempts to punish them. Oh, we got some wrinkles of course about the modern day woman reading from a book about things that happened in the past that may be happening right now as well. Wait that isn’t a wrinkle that’s just your average every day plot technique to try and get teenage audiences to be involved in the story. If I were a teenager I would be insulted by such obvious and blatant attempts to curry my favor but sadly many teenagers haven’t yet come to realize that these are attempts at them and they just accept them as part of the story. So we got a weak plot that has been done before, some over-handed plot techniques that make the movie painful to watch and a movie geared towards a teenage crowd. I don’t know about you but none of these things are very appealing to me.

Now lets move on to the second major problem of the movie and that the unrealistic way every single character responds to every single unrealistic situation the movie throws at them. The room is being haunted, no not just haunted but terrorized by a malicious ghost who seems to have it out for their little girl and they keep locking her in the same room and going downstairs night after night after night. If I was that little girl and I was forced to be locked into a room with a ghost out to harm me, I think I might commit some violence of my own on my parents for continuing to lock me up with the ghost while they have tea and play checkers. But not the character of our little happy tale, no our character was thought up by some brain dead Hollywood writer who think moments after being attacked and screaming at the top of her lungs are character is simply going to go back to sleep in the same bed as if nothing ever happened. Feel free to throw popcorn at the screen when you reach this point of idiocy, I wish I had.

Now comes the last part that the movie failed so miserably at and that was its characters and it’s casting. From Donald Sutherland who plays the despicable father who seems to care about his daughter but still does the most unfathomable things in regards to helping her. It was hard to feel for him because even though he was tortured he just never pulled off the sympathy of the audience as he continued to do things that were unimaginably stupid. But while I never cared for Donald’s performance it was Matthew Marsh’s performance that made me want to slash some Hollywood writers tires. In the midst of these other-worldly events transpiring where all laws of physics and the natural order of things has gone out the window this dimwitted character keeps trying to find some scientific reasoning for all this. In an age of superstition and religious panic that was the 1800’s we have a character who despite everything that happens on the screen sticks to his theory that there must be some scientific reasoning for all this. If you buy this character, I got some marsh land that you need to talk to me about buying because this character goes beyond unrealistic which the entire movie is to sheer and complete idiocy and lunacy on the screenwriters parts. This movie isn’t worth the time it takes to watch it.

Grade: D