An American Haunting 2005

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: This is the type of movie that you should be getting for free on television. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: This is one of the more annoying, irritating, obnoxiously un-scary scary movies in recent memory. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: It's never an encouraging sign when a horror movie based on a true story fatally lacks the verisimilitude of, say, Alone In The Dark. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: There's a dark, abiding mystery at the center of An American Haunting, and it's how on earth major stars such as Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek were talked into appearing in this film. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A standard, creaking, fake-spooky ghost story... Read more

Paul Malcolm, L.A. Weekly: This 'true account' of the Bell Witch haunting offers an encyclopedic rehash of spook films new and old, dressed out in murky period detail. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: Using alleged 'actual events' as a template, writer-director Courtney Solomon fashions a crafty mystery with a lot of joy-buzzer jolts sliding through its somber mood. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: There's thunder and lightning and wall-to-wall music. But it still doesn't add up to much of a movie. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: For anyone aware of this poltergeist tale, or who bothers to look it up, the victim's identity will come as no surprise, and a horror movie without a surprise is no horror movie at all. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Call it The Exorcist Meets Poltergeist, and head for the shelves at Blockbuster, where it will undoubtedly turn up soon. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Read more

Grady Hendrix, Slate: It's not a true story. If lying is the latest trend in American pop culture (cf James Frey, Kaavya Viswanathan), then An American Haunting is on the cutting edge. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: This allegedly true tale of demonic possession is weighed down by period detail and ponderous storytelling, which soon get the better of its Exorcist-inspired levitations, flying crucifixes and noisy poltergeist activity. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: A well-made, good-looking movie it is, but between the non-stop tumult and the sense of deliberateness about its period authenticity, An American Haunting produces a lot of screaming, crying and cruelty, but not much drama. Read more

Jim Ridley, Village Voice: A wasted opportunity -- especially since the events as reported scarcely need embellishing. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Read more