I had looked forward to watching this film ever since I first learned that it was being produced locally in the Great Smoky Mountains. And I finally got to watch it at a screening in East Tennessee yesterday. But I was sorely disappointed.
The story of the Bell Witch is a very interesting tale based upon certain documented events, of an apparently supernatural nature, which transpired in Middle Tennessee during the 19th century. There is a lot of room in the telling of this tale for drama, suspense, and horror, but unfortunately, first-time feature film writer/director, Shane Marr, managed to deliver very little of any of these.
In fact, the script for this film was, at best, amateurish. It failed to develop any of the characters clearly enough to elicit audience sympathy and failed to move the story forward at a compelling pace. Also, it was never quite clear to me from whose point of view the story was attempting to be told. My suspension of disbelief was constantly being destroyed throughout the film by the unbelievable dialog, illogical events, and unrealistic reactions of the characters to the bizarre circumstances surrounding them.
And unfortunately, the director's inexperience did not help this film any. For example, closeups of the actors that might have revealed hints of genuine emotion on their faces were virtually non-existent. And way too often, the point-of-view would gratuitously shift to that of the witch, first-person, and from a high, wavering vantage point. These witch-cam shots would always include a certain annoying green blur effect which was much more suitable for a fictional Indiana Jones-type adventure than a supposedly-true rural, 19th century ghost tale. And dare I comment on the variety of comic-bookish digital wipes used as scene transitions when the director was unable to come up with anything more creative?
With a few exceptions, the acting was not very good. A cast of very talented local and regional stage actors made up a large part of the cast and, quite honestly, I felt embarrassed for them. I hope they were paid well because it appears that they were hung out to dry artistically by the inexperience of the director. Several performances by otherwise respectable actors were ruined by the inappropriate use of stage acting techniques instead of the more subtle techniques which are appropriate for film. And this causes me to believe that the actors must not have been receiving any meaningful direction, which is a real shame.
But before you decide that everything about the film was bad, I will share with you its few redeeming points. The East Tennessee scenery was spectacular, the costumes and makeup were very good, and the lighting and camera work were top tier. But the best part of the film was actually its soundtrack, a collection of both original and traditional tunes performed by a handful of unique local professionals who know very well how to move an audience. The soundtrack was, quite frankly, among the best I have heard in any film.
So unless you are a film student who could use a quick lesson on how NOT to spend $3.5 million on your first film, I would recommend that you perhaps just buy the soundtrack and skip the film. Then you can save the rest of your money for a vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains and still have plenty of cash left over to make a truly entertaining movie.
The story of the Bell Witch is a very interesting tale based upon certain documented events, of an apparently supernatural nature, which transpired in Middle Tennessee during the 19th century. There is a lot of room in the telling of this tale for drama, suspense, and horror, but unfortunately, first-time feature film writer/director, Shane Marr, managed to deliver very little of any of these.
In fact, the script for this film was, at best, amateurish. It failed to develop any of the characters clearly enough to elicit audience sympathy and failed to move the story forward at a compelling pace. Also, it was never quite clear to me from whose point of view the story was attempting to be told. My suspension of disbelief was constantly being destroyed throughout the film by the unbelievable dialog, illogical events, and unrealistic reactions of the characters to the bizarre circumstances surrounding them.
And unfortunately, the director's inexperience did not help this film any. For example, closeups of the actors that might have revealed hints of genuine emotion on their faces were virtually non-existent. And way too often, the point-of-view would gratuitously shift to that of the witch, first-person, and from a high, wavering vantage point. These witch-cam shots would always include a certain annoying green blur effect which was much more suitable for a fictional Indiana Jones-type adventure than a supposedly-true rural, 19th century ghost tale. And dare I comment on the variety of comic-bookish digital wipes used as scene transitions when the director was unable to come up with anything more creative?
With a few exceptions, the acting was not very good. A cast of very talented local and regional stage actors made up a large part of the cast and, quite honestly, I felt embarrassed for them. I hope they were paid well because it appears that they were hung out to dry artistically by the inexperience of the director. Several performances by otherwise respectable actors were ruined by the inappropriate use of stage acting techniques instead of the more subtle techniques which are appropriate for film. And this causes me to believe that the actors must not have been receiving any meaningful direction, which is a real shame.
But before you decide that everything about the film was bad, I will share with you its few redeeming points. The East Tennessee scenery was spectacular, the costumes and makeup were very good, and the lighting and camera work were top tier. But the best part of the film was actually its soundtrack, a collection of both original and traditional tunes performed by a handful of unique local professionals who know very well how to move an audience. The soundtrack was, quite frankly, among the best I have heard in any film.
So unless you are a film student who could use a quick lesson on how NOT to spend $3.5 million on your first film, I would recommend that you perhaps just buy the soundtrack and skip the film. Then you can save the rest of your money for a vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains and still have plenty of cash left over to make a truly entertaining movie.
