The Haunting of Helena (2012) User Reviews

Deserves a little more credit!

[foreversmom · 6/10 · 5 October 2013]

I read most of the reviews regarding this film, and truly expected it to suck enough that I would have to fast-forward. That is how I view most low budget "horror" films. However, I didn't fast-forward the film once. I am a huge horror fan, and though this one didn't give any real scares, it didn't bore me to tears either. The plot of the story was interesting, and I (like many other viewers) didn't see the end coming until right before it happened. I can't say the ending was great, but it was at least interesting. If you have a little time to spare, and have watched pretty much everything else that has come out recently, then give this one a shot.

This could have been so much better. It is unpredictable however.

[smileybug-356-78305 · 5/10 · 24 June 2013]

The first half of the movie, involving the mother and her daughter moving into an old apartment with a spooky past, is good. Creepy and suspenseful. The idea of the tooth fairy, and plot of the story is a good one. The special effects are very good, and the gore is minor, which I actually like. The scene where you finally see the "tooth fairy" is really good, scary and well directed. Then however, the movie takes a turn for the worse. It is slow moving and boring to some degree. The whole storyline within the mental hospital is disconnected to the first half of the story. It loosely ties into the history of the apartment, but kind of goes off the rails from there. It is unpredictable which is refreshing, the ending was not what I expected. The mother is the only person in the movie that you have any real connection with. The daughter is unpleasing, and a bit scary looking to begin with. I think I would recommend this if you like spooky movies that are not run of the mill, and low on gore. Good story, just kind of seemed like to parts that didn't tie in well together.

Worth a look if you cant think of a DVD to get

[brassic · 5/10 · 16 January 2013]

For starters, I'm no film critic so feel free to flail me for this as its my first attempt at a review. I've just watched this thoroughly expecting it to be Corny as hell but in fact its not bad. I don't usually go for these sort of films but I was bored had nothing to watch. As it happens it was OK, the acting's a bit wooden and you don't really get to know any other characters other than the lead but the story's not bad, not too predictable.The special effects/CGI is done well and not too over the top with the blood and gore. Also it seems to be shot in Italy as there seems to be some Italian writing on newspapers and things with quite fast and very hard to see subs. All in all, its worth a look if your into the thriller/horror films.

Little girl, "I see the tooth fairy".

[myloveincruz · 5/10 · 17 January 2013]

Sophia's (Harriet MacMasters-Green) daughter does not say this but you get the idea. Wanted to get into it but ended up hoping it would not disappoint me too much with the ending.

On the bright side, it is definitely not Hollywood but on the dark side, it has a hackneyed plot with lose strings and mediocre acting. This is a mother and daughter story. I admired the mother's beauty but felt distanced by her acting. The daughter, bless her heart, is not eye catching or endearing. The story kept me guessing and always swayed away from horror formula stuff but felt a bit like a bunch of horror movies tossed into a blender, resulting in a herky jerky plot, full of distractions and leaving you guessing at lose strings. Still the ending I did not expect since I not at all confident I know how it ended, felt it would have been better if it ended at the last scream.

Maybe the acting was the result of bad directing. In any case, I would not recommend it unless you are in the mood for a thriller/mystery/horror with an artsy Italian flavor that is not hung up on making too much sense.

5 for being unconventional but too chopped up.

A horror committing suicide.

[Patient444 · 4/10 · 20 January 2013]

This movie simply started...GREAT! I loved it, it seemed a bit rushed, but dunno, maybe it wanted a new approach, trying to get us into the story faster so it can offer chilling thrills and stuff...but NO.

Started nicely to get our attention and then, what goes up, must come down. It sucked, it really sucked, I mean dear God, how can a movie just kill itself like that? The acting was getting worse by the minute, the uber cool "twist" already explaining itself to us, and the killings made pretty much no sense to be honest. Ofc, one might say (as i did when the time came), "this ending is the only one that could save the movie a little", but still, I mean you see it coming a mile away so dunno about you, but i for one, felt bored as heck from min 20 i think.

Therefore, I should recommend "Darkness falls", "Sinister", "Dead silence", if you want to watch a horror with a tooth fairy/a haunted house/ a too good of a twist. All in all, i say avoid this one, not much to see, i mean seriously, the camera work, dialogues, acting, logic...bad...so BAD. And now consider yourself warned! Have fun!

This was a horror movie...?

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 17 January 2013]

"Fairytale" was somewhat of a semi-disappointing experience, especially because the synopsis of the movie seemed interesting and the movie's poster was appealing. However, the movie just didn't deliver a well-placed punch that carried any weight. The movie was neither scary nor thrilling, but it did have the occasional moment here and there that was good enough.

The story in "Fairytale" is about a mother living with her daughter, and they have just recently moved into a new home. However something very tragic have taken place in the very same home in the past, and the innocent believes of the daughter in the tooth fairy has awoken the spirit of the past, and the spirit is far from friendly.

Sure, the storyline was good enough, although it didn't really carry anything much to offer the genre. It was basically all something that had been seen before. However, the two things that appealed to me in the movie was the car accident scene, as it was really nicely constructed, and the twist of events with the psychiatric hospital - which leaves you with something to think about.

Effects-wise, then "Fairytale" was fairly tame, as it didn't really made any use of neither CGI nor special effects. It could be discussed whether or not this was a good thing, but personally I would have liked to have seen more usage of today's technology.

And as for the acting, well it was fairly all-round adequate, except for Harriet MacMasters-Green who came off as rather unenthusiastic and lacking motivation in her role.

Like an annoying toothache ...

[Coventry · 3/10 · 15 April 2013]

Don't you just hate it when a film doesn't live up to even a minor 10% of its own great potential? "Fairytale" easily could have been an old-fashioned sinister and atmospheric fable, but due to a variety of reasons (most of them relating to lack of talent) it turned out to be yet another sore disappointment. The film premiered at the annual Brussels Festival of Fantastic Films, and what mainly lured to me to theater was the plot synopsis mentioning the tooth fairy. Personally, I think there's great macabre potential in this theme, but so far this hasn't resulted in any good or even half-decent movies. There's an adequate episode of "Supernatural" devoted to the theme, but the only long-feature horror movie I recall is the mediocre "Darkness Falls". Like that one, "Fairytale" starts off promising but doesn't manage to retain the viewer's attention through lousy character development and inept usage of the splendid set pieces and filming locations. Harriet MacMasters-Green, who's a stunningly beautiful lady but a very implausible concerned single mother, moves into an ancient apartment building with her daughter Helena after her husband left them. The jerk went off to Hawaii for a life of partying and flirting with young gals, in fact. Naturally, the new house comes with an eerie and secretive old wardrobe and a nasty neighbor who claims they shouldn't have come here. After the single worst car crash ever staged on film, which leaves both mother and daughter miraculously unharmed, the house slowly unfolds its mysteries. Helena becomes disturbingly obsessed with the tooth fairy, who actually lived in the building and left her marks inside the wardrobe, but is she really a good spirit … or a restless and tormented soul roaming around? The entire film, or at least the first 75 minutes or so, drags endlessly and everything (acting, direction, coherence …) gradually gets worse. It's almost like a toothache that gets more painful because of infection and lack of care. The denouement brings some improvement, even though the twist ending is still somewhat derivative and predictable. Tales about mythical night creatures and fairies gone ballistic shouldn't be boring. Especially not if they are made in Italy. Whatever happened to this country's awesome horror reputation? And now that we're on the subject, why does everyone speak lousy English instead of plain normal Italian? They read their newspaper articles in Italian, so why don't they speak it?

Glad I gave it a chance

[Dave_douell · 7/10 · 4 January 2019]

I can't really understand the low rating, I'm just glad I gave it a chance. The acting was very good, nothing looked low budget to me. I've seen nothing but bad horror movies lately and this was a nice change. Don't let the low ratings keep you from watching. I think you will be glad you watched!

OMG - This was so awful!!

[coyle-ciaran · 1/10 · 23 January 2013]

Im not one to generally write reviews here i'd rather read them if you know what i mean but the reviews here so far, albeit still low-ish at 4-5 stars are way too generous! the whole movie reeks of amateur acting and equally poor sound effects which makes for awkward viewing and thats before i even touch the storyline - its so scattered and pointless. This is time wasted from my life that i'll never get back but hopefully this saves someone some of theirs!!!!

And I'm not even a hyper critical person when it comes to this genre, I'm quite willing to give films a fair crack especially horror films but this just sucked the life straight of of both itself and me

Disregard negative reviews! A contemporary "Darkness Falls"

[Topaz1922 · 8/10 · 5 December 2013]

Despite the negative reviews, I found this movie watchable. Some may have felt that it was only worthy to be watched as a last resort movie, but this is not true.

Although this movie left some questions unanswered (such as what is the main character's job and why is she teaching in Italy but speaks English to her Italian students? or why are the subtitles so small where you can't really tell what really happened until the truth comes out in the end), it has a few great scares that made me jump and a great twist ending that explains what REALLY happened! If you rent this movie, don't do so out of boredom or as a last resort, do it because you like a great movie. If you liked movies such as They, Boogeyman or Darkness Falls, this is the movie for you.

One time watch only!

[atinder · 4/10 · 4 July 2013]

This is odd one, I thought it some really good ideas in this movie,

I loved some of scenes in this movie, it there really well made but they didn't seem to have that Creepy feeling to see,

I thought the plot was really good and the movie didn't flow that well, it felt some scenes in the movie felt bit strange in bad way.

I actually liked the last scenes in this movie and I would have it a bit chilling then it was but that could have been a really good chilling moment,

Another probable with this movie was some of the acting was really Wooden at times in this movie but some scenes there was decent acted scenes.

Not great movie but worth watching a least once 4 out of 10

Acting so bad it made me want to pull me own teeth out.

[jennine-hill3 · 4/10 · 20 July 2014]

Picture this, a blockbuster employee locked in an immobilizing state of flux. Poised between genres, DVD in hand. Then he takes the first tantalizing steps, he is no fool. For he has actually watched "the haunting of Helena" and is not swayed by the devilishly frightening front cover (that which pulled me in I'm afraid) Carefully placing the DVD upon the shelves labeled "comedy" The Blockbuster employee walks away, satisfied at a job well done.

The haunting of Helena is not an awful watch really, that being said it is not at all a horror. It fits into a category better described as "horredy". A horror so poorly conducted that it causes genuine hilarity and thus through a great accident manages to become mildly entertaining.

The protagonist, so memorable her name is in fact one of the only character names I cannot recall, is (for want of a better description) a big wet lettuce. She whines so much it's no wonder her life is in danger all the time, I wanted to kill her too, I would have at least put a measure of effort into making my crimes somewhat scary. The film starts in a promising way, I was impressed by the first scare tactic which took away from the typical "false scare real scare" that is so over used these days. But generally there are a lot of unnecessary over-complications to the plot. I am still unsure as to why the militia were ever involved in anything? Also. Who cut that child's hair? Now that's truly horrendous.

Why can't there be a fairy who collects bad horrors?

[natashabowiepinky · 4/10 · 21 August 2013]

There is a very arresting sequence in this film, when a young child cowers under a table as bloody teeth rain down from the ceiling. And that's about it. Stuffed full of ugly actors (the main woman with her huge facial mole could be a female Chesney Hawkes) who also aren't very good thespians, and with some very silly death scenes involving mosquitoes (?) this is a huge disappointment. The plot shows promise, but then it gets overtaken by tedium and the end result is just a waste of time. In a better film, the ending might have stood out, but here you're just glad the dross is over.

And AGAIN the name change... In the UK this film is known as Fairytale. Perhaps the makers are ashamed of their efforts, and are seeking to dissociate themselves from the final product? Have these people ever heard of CREDITS?! DOH!! 4/10

Not sinister enough haunting

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 4 June 2018]

Saw 'The Haunting of Helena', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.

Giving 'The Haunting of Helena' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'The Haunting of Helena' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.

'The Haunting of Helena' started off quite well, the first twenty minutes or so starting the film off on a promising, unsettling and atmospheric note that really does intrigue.

Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere.

The setting is effectively spooky and some of the acting in support was not bad. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull. The direction doesn't feel phoned in and the storytelling in the first half does intrigue.

However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, some dropped soon after being introduced, go nowhere or serve much point.

Ending is unsatisfying, on top of feeling hasty there are too many loose ends hanging in the air. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising enough.

Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a bit of cheese going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. The two leads' acting is even more problematic than the second half's storytelling, at best it was poor and too often terrible.

Overall, better than expected but not great still. 5/10 Bethany Cox

All too familiar Italian ghost chills

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 28 September 2015]

THE HAUNTING OF HELENA (bizarrely retitled FAIRYTALE on the version I saw) is a ho-hum Italian ghost flick masquerading as a British film (everyone here speaks with strong British accents, although whether this was dubbed for UK release I don't know). It tell the usual tale of a mother and daughter who move into a new home which turns out to be haunted, and when the daughter loses one of her teeth in the night all hell literally breaks loose.

The tooth connection is a tenuous part of what is a very ordinary ghostly chiller with lots of CGI spirit stuff and not much in the way to recommend it in the scheme of things. As with many modern horror films, the whole thing has a dark and dismal look to it, and there are very few things which happen in the story which are well staged. It's not that this is particularly bad, or poorly made, because it isn't; it's just so passe.

Oh, it's one of THOSE types of horror films

[bowmanblue · 4/10 · 6 June 2014]

Over the last few years - and possibly spurred on by such bit hits as The Ring - there has been an influx in these types of horror films. Let me explain...

Step 1: Take a parent (normally a single mother) who lives with their child. Step 2: Child starts behaving oddly. Step 3: Disbelief. Step 4: Acceptance that something supernatural is happening. Step 5: Consult expert who just so happens to live locally. Step 6: Confrontation and conclusion.

Basically, Fairytale is one of those types of horror films. If you're a horror fan in general then you have probably already seen a dozen more like it. All these types of films follow the above plot points with only a few minor changes here and there. This one falls somewhere in the middle of them all. You'll have seen worse and you'll definitely have seen better.

One major downside to Fairytale is the acting. First of all the child is not a good actress. I know it's harder for kids to act and they should be given a little more leeway that adults, but she was just so unbelievable it didn't help an already shaky film. The lead actress isn't much better and the school teacher (thankfully only briefly in it) is the worst of all.

I can't really recommend Fairytale on account of it being so formulaic. Yes, there are a few scary/creepy scenes which pop up every twenty minutes or so, plus the odd plot twist, but there are so many better films like this out there, this one simply hasn't got the momentum to really stand out.

http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

The Haunting Of blah, blah, blah...

[themissingpatient · 4/10 · 19 July 2013]

Many will pass this film by simply because of the title. Every film with the title "The Haunting of..." has been a horrible embarrassment for the horror genre. The film was originally titled Fairytale and probably would have been better off keeping that title even if it's vague and just as generic. It is quite a basic and somewhat boring ghost story, so this review will be short and to the point.

The Haunting of blah, blah, blah is a low budget wannabe Asian horror film. This one tries to be the definitive tooth fairy tale and thankfully isn't anything like the 2003 train wreck, Darkness Falls. It's actually a very good looking film with decent performances. Some better than others. The practical make-up effects and cinematography are excellent while everything else is quite mediocre.

What really holds this dramatic horror film back is when the story just gives up on trying to keep any originality the movie might have had by just re-telling the last act of The Ring. Even though that is somewhat still better than most films in it's genre, horror fans will find themselves bored as the final act feels as if it drags on forever.

Um...yeah..about this movie...

[ravenhair702 · 5/10 · 3 September 2013]

Okay...while I will not say this not the best movie I've ever seen...I will say it was at least scary...in a few parts. I know there is NO such thing as a happy ending as far as horror movies go...but damn, this ending sucked. I'm used to a huge shocker at the end...or the crazed villain or monster still being alive after the end of the movie...but wow...this one takes the cake.

The movie wasn't too hard to follow and the acting was better than I'd hoped...given this production company was one I'd not heard of before...AND the whole film was made in Italy...but as far as recommending it to someone to watch....eh...I just don't think so...sorry guys.

Potential squandered

[hlebov · 4/10 · 27 August 2019]

Like many underachieving horror movies, it started strong but ended weak. Other than an intriguing premise and a clever twist, the bad acting and muddled plot overshadowed what otherwise could have been a good flick.

I always welcome a new or different interpretation of an old trope -- in this case, the "tooth fairy" -- but the film complicates itself unnecessarily and in such ways that did not ultimately pay off.

I can deal with B-list acting in low budget horror movies but one can only suspend disbelief to an extent. I hate to say it but I really had trouble looking past the mediocrity of the two leads' performances.

Again, I liked the story, it had potential, but it ended up as nothing more than a way to pass the time before bed, unfortunately. Cannot say I'd recommend but you could do worse, I suppose.

Same old story

[jfost75 · 2/10 · 22 January 2022]

This was one of those films where I watched it out of boredom, knowing full well that it would likely be awful.

Firstly, the "ghost" consisted basically of a small creepy child dressed like a doll and a beautiful lady in makeup. I couldn't pretend to be scared because I kept thinking how hot the ghost lady was... The premise, a single mom moved into a haunted...apartment? House? They referred to it as a house but it seemed to be more of an apartment, haunted by the spirit of some hot Italian lady whose husband pulled out all her teeth and locked her in a wardrobe to die. The young daughter begins to communicate with the spirit and starts acting peculiar, doing things such as gathering her classmate's teeth to give to the "tooth fairy".

Been battling with her douche ex husband (who dresses like a wannabe 25 ur old GQ model) and dealing with her daughter's odd behavior, the single mom (who was VERY loosely portrayed as some sort of professor) unravels the story of this haunting and seeks to free her daughter from the hot Italian ghost lady's thrall and find the hottie Italian ghost lady's teeth so she'll go away.

I won't say this was the worst film I'd ever seen but it certainly wasn't good. Was the apartment haunted or the wardrobe? What was with the little ghost children? Why did every Italian person speak English like a Norwegian? These are questions that will haunt me, at least until I finish writing this review and put this movie completely out of my mind.

For the actors, it was a paying job, so I understand why they did it, but for the rest of us this was just an absolute waste of time. I appreciate the Italian's attempt to make an English-speaking horror movie, but it just wasn't good enough to ever recommend watching.

Wasted potential

[takato0524 · 2/10 · 12 February 2021]

Like most others have said, this started off great. But then 30 minutes passed and it became a mess of a whiny female lead, annoying doctor and husband, and a little girl with a bad wig. The ending especially was annoying. Good movie to fall asleep to

This was a wonderfully Creepy Movie!

[exstkbme · 10/10 · 10 March 2013]

Let me say first, this is actually a "foreign" film. It is in English 99% of the time, but the other 1% required subtitles for the written parts. The parts of the film such as newspaper articles were all in Italian. The speaking is not done with voice overs, thank goodness, hate that, but the written information that was subtitled was also tiny on the screen so it was hard to read and they swiftly disappeared making them hard to catch somewhat. As far as the acting, it was very common acting portrayal for Italian films so I can see how someone would assume the acting was bad, which it was not. If you are used to foreign films you would not think the acting is bad, you'd understand that emotional expressions by people in other countries do not necessarily equate with "American" standards of the US. As someone who speaks fluently and studied several languages and cultures this is a good movie. The creepy aspects are well done! Dario Argento fans would definitely be pleased or anyone who actually understands other cultures and watches foreign films regularly. If you are someone who only watches American films and "blockbusters" and rarely watch any kind of "Indie" film, you might as well pass and allow the more culturally competent film aficionado to enjoy this horror film as it stands in its gruesome frightening way.

A standard set of horror tropes

[jglrichey · 3/10 · 18 December 2017]

It's not a bad film. It's got some decent direction and some well-constructed scenes, even if it's got nothing new to add to the genre. However, the acting from the lead is so stilted and wooden that it undermines the entire movie. I'd have given it a watchable 5 apart from that.

Take a bite out of mime

[jet66 · 3/10 · 17 February 2014]

Hilariously awful, this dreadful march of wooden actors would sink under its own awfulness if it weren't for the bizarre lynch-pin: children's teeth. Yes, oral obsession seems to be the focus for the TWO directors of this otherwise tedious movie. The "story," such as it is, is almost Dada-esque with its disconnected narrative twists. And through it all, the audience is pressed to be frightened through profoundly cliché music and sound design (such as big musical explosions with quick camera movements). Meanwhile, the only element keeping the whole enterprise afloat is the one thing you can count on in movies today: good (though stylistically inconsistent) cinematography. All in all, a good drinking movie.

An emotional well acted movie

[chameleonaram · 10/10 · 22 March 2018]

I truly don't understand why this movie scores this low. I watched hundreds, maybe thousands horror movies threw the years. And from experience I know that a movie doesn't need to be too complex or with to much gore and all that. The acting, music, camera work and things like that drag you into it, and small things can scare you with all those things being printed inside you. The way this movie builds up is very satisfying. Just a nice flow where you feel that the makers put a lot of time into details, especially the music and wow, the acting and choice of actors. In my book this.movie is a classic. I really enjoyed it and was pleased with the ending since the twist at the end puts all the parts together in a logical way.

Do not believe the bad reviews, honestly, those people are after the terrible 80's horror movies, without emotion, content or anything. This.movie is my new standard and should be a warning to future horror movies, watch and learn from these masters. What a delight this movie is!!!