AN AMERICAN HAUNTING
Director: Courtney Solomon Stars: Donald Sutherland, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Sissy Spacek
Reviewed by PETER MALONE
While the look of this horror story is quite impressive – a recreation of 18th century rural America – it is the comprehension of the plot that is the difficulty.
It begins in the present, the device of a young girl having strange dreams, and then reverts to the past to try to indicate who the spirit is that is haunting the girl. The film purports to tell the true story of a family where the daughter was tormented by an evil spirit. The family try to cope. The elders and citizens are condemnatory and various attempts at an exorcism rite are attempted. In fact, it is really a historical-movie variation on the exorcist films.
The cast is quite strong. Donald Sutherland is the father who suffers most during this episode. Sissy Spacek is the mother. The tormented girl is Rachel Hurd-Wood who played Wendy in the recent Peter Pan.
Everybody appears anguished. There are some spooky happenings. Romanian countryside stands in for the US. However, it is all a bit unsatisfyingly puzzling.