"American Poltergeist" (2015)

Rating: NR

Genre: Drama

Directed By: Mike Rutkowski

Written By: Mike Rutkowski, Nicole Holland

Runtime: 93 minutes

Studio: ITN Distribution

Summary:

Strange events plague a group of friends in a haunted Massachusetts house.

Review:

This was actually good! I’ve seen it get woeful feedback on the internet but I don’t think it deserved that.

What’s probably the biggest offence people have taken is the acting. On this, I have to agree. The actress who plays Taryn (our lead) is probably the best of a bad lot to be honest. The actress who plays Diana, god love her, she’s seen to try. Her character is a few cards shy of a full deck, so it’s almost a case that she’s so bad she’s good. As for the rest of the characters, well, they all have their tuppence worth to give to the story. They’re not all there for the sake of being present, and generally not as dim as their character-type might have you initially expect after first impressions. Let’s just say it should have been harder to differentiate between the actors and their characters while the movie was playing, but on this occasion, I think, to phrase it tactfully, their sowing machines seemed to be out of thread…

This snag aside I have to disagree with the bad reviews already out there. Admittedly the scares are cheap in hindsight but for first time viewing I found them well done. The suspense and tension were built well. Some of the scares were so subtle and that’s what made them so strong. From a creepy lady standing well in the background nonchalantly, to full on jump moments, I was pleasantly surprised by how thrilling the film turned out to be. I was looking through my fingers for a lot of the final third – I am not someone who feels the need to do this often.

As for the overall story…Well, it’s plausible. To the film’s credit, it did try to put more emphasis on this as opposed to overkilling the scares. It’s a little bit far-fetched in how they created their twists but not so much that it feels jarring while watching it. There have been better but by gawd there have been worse. The haunted house doesn’t look like a typical haunted house at all. There’s a creepy basement but as far as horror clichés, that’s about it. Everything else is all modern and in complete working condition. The odd thump in the night doesn’t go amiss, but you have to allow them something! 

I enjoyed this more than I was anticipating. I got quite a few jump scares. A surprisingly good psychological horror I would recommend to those who like that genre.

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