Bethany (2017) User Reviews

The haunting of memories

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 20 May 2018]

'Bethany' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing, if not exactly novel, idea and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

Found the film to be pretty weak with a lot more wrong than right. 'Bethany' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a few decent, even good, qualities in 'Bethany', at least it wasn't intelligence insulting or inept (unlike some films seen recently) though the potential was never lived up to.

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the very nice way it's shot. The music is suitably spooky and quirky and doesn't distract at all from the atmosphere, while not exactly enhancing it.

'Bethany' started off fairly spookily and the ending intrigues.

However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained. The more 'Bethany' progressed, the duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary it got, and too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it.

Acting is not good, though Zack Ward fares serviceably and it was interesting to see Ellen Gerstell, best known for voice acting, in a role. Stefania Estes is a lifeless lead though, while Shannon Doherty looks tired and disengaged and Tom Green playing it straight didn't turn out refreshing or surprising, instead it felt odd and without much personality.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense.

In conclusion, pretty weak but not unwatchable. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Tedious movie

[lynnbarr-72128 · 5/10 · 12 April 2017]

I read the reviews for this movie and i thought i was in for a treat, how wrong i was. Stefanie Estes the lead actress, who played the role of Claire give a mind-numbing performance, i realize she was portraying a troubled character,she was brought up by an abusive mother and returned to the house of her childhood after her mother died only to be plagued by strange occurrences. The relationship between her and her husband played by Zack Ward just didn't gel, i did not feel any romantic motions between them.The story of the twin haunting the living sibling has been done before and a lot better than this movie, there is a few creepy moments but overall i would not recommend this movie

You're not just some stinking zombie.

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 15 July 2017]

Claire (Anna Harr/Stefanie Estes) has an imaginary friend who lives in the wall. Her mother (Shannen Doherty) is obsessed with beauty and constantly enters Claire into pageants that Mom makes sure she wins. She inherits the home and moves in with her husband Aaron (Zack Ward). Claire starts to imagine things as it appears her once friend Bethany is now attempting to harm her. Claire appears to us as being crazy.

The explanation starts at about 70 minutes into the film. We were given horrible clues. The sound track was not good and Stefanie Estes turned a mediocre performance into something camp with her final cry scene. The film could have been a lot better with a sensible clue, soundtrack, and lead character.

Guide: F-word. Brief underwater nudity.

Bethany: Truly dire

[Platypuschow · 2/10 · 3 October 2017]

Starring and co-written by the underrated Zack Ward alongside Shannen Doherty and alarmingly Tom Green in a straight role this horror misfires on all cylinders.

Standard mish mash of common horror tropes, unoriginal storyline and unforgivable boredom Bethany is an utter mess.

It's one saving grace is it's ending (No pun intended) the twist and finale is actually quite clever but they even balls that up.

Do not be deceived by the haunting cover, you will not find scares here in fact you'll barely find anything at all.

The Good:

The twist is decent

The Bad:

Boring as hell

Everything is executed poorly

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Shannen Doherty clearly p*ssed off Hollywood for it to come to this

Tom Green without his usual wacky shenanigans is really bland

What a boring rip off of another crap movie.

[hnhnyc · 2/10 · 28 October 2017]

Boring, boring, boring, predictable, boring, and then, literally down to the mask and the kid hiding in the walls because the mother is ashamed of it, a complete copycat ending of 'The Boy', another one of the biggest failures in the history of horror movies. I'm surprised there's no lawsuit happening from one crappy writer to another. Who knows. Maybe there is. I bet that deposition would be more entertaining than this was. Skip it.

dear god

[annaleigh-11352 · 1/10 · 20 June 2018]

Please please please DO NOT watch this movie. i don't think i will ever recover. first of all, it took the ENTIRE movie to get to the action. all it was was her "visions" for the first hour, and the last 15 minutes or so was actually action. and the action wasn't even all that great. there was absolutely no chemistry between any of the characters, and half of the subplots made no sense and no contribution to the movie.

also, the ending....DISTURBING. that horrific scene (if you've watched it you'll know which one i'm talking about) absolutely did not need to go on for that long. it was awful. all and all it was a really boring movie that made no sense and i wouldn't even have finished if i didn't know there was an unexpected "twist". please. save your time and spare yourself.

Lacks focus

[M85ALIVE · 4/10 · 27 May 2018]

I've seen interviews with the writer/director and my hat is ff to him. He seems like very mature and passionate filmmaker who appreciates constructive criticism brought to his work. My respect to you sir!

I thought the camera work and lighting had some nice touches, creative and moody. The film didn't get sucked into the ocean of other films with jump scares every 2 minutes. This film went the creative route, though the "child living in the walls" thing and whispering off screen is a tad cliche.

This film needlessly bogs itself down in complexity, where I honestly didn't know what the threat was. The film was busy spinning many plates; the memories of her abusive mother, this bethany person who haunts her, the strange visions she keeps having, her self inflicted paranoid injuries. I kept saying to the screen in front of me "make up your mind, film. Choose one!" Its trying to go in too many directions, it ended up that none of them provided a scare factor, I was just confused the whole time rather than frightened....BUT, having said that, by the end of the 3rd act I had all the necessary information that should of been setup in the first act, built in the second and payed off in the 3rd. In the film the payoff is the setup, thus all the confusion.

For me the film kicked into gear about an hour or so into the film, when her husband believes his wife and the presence of Bethany. Though this script needed obvious work, I'm aware from interviews with the director that he is given insane deadlines to write a feature film before principle photography begins, so this could be the case here. The plot points in the third act where we learn what happened to her twin sister, how she was tortured and abandoned....thats the setup to the film aka the first act, what is this doing in the 3rd act?? Its not some big reveal, as I mentioned its essential context that could be used to set the stakes and provide some depth to the character and organic motivation for her moving home again, because there really isn't one here.

And a final question, Tom Green playing a psychiatrist?:)....really?

She will bore you to death...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 21 April 2017]

As much as I love horror movies, then there was no reason for me not to sit down and watch "Bethany", especially since the synopsis for the movie did seem interesting.

However, I didn't even get to the end of the movie, not even to the half of the movie. I gave up on "Bethany" after mere 35 minutes. Why? Well, because it was some very, very boring and long 35 minutes where nothing, absolutely nothing happened in the movie.

I am not even sure if the movie would have picked up pace at some point after the 35 minutes, and I have no intentions of going back to find out.

There was nothing appealing to the story, as director James Cullen Bressack managed to muster an incredible slow pace that utterly killed the atmosphere of the movie, and there was no tense build-ups of suspense or dread. Essentially, there was nothing aside from Zack Ward and Stefanie Estes sitting around in an old house trying to come to terms with something through means of slow paced dialogue.

As for the acting, well I can't claim to be impressed with what I saw during the 35 minutes that I managed to endure. I am not familiar with Stefanie Estes, so I don't know how she usually performs. As for Zack Ward, well he wasn't really putting on what could be ranked among his top performances here.

For a horror movie, then the only thing truly frightening about "Bethany" was how slow paced and how devoid of anything even remotely scary or frightening the movie turned out to be.

If you enjoy a good horror movie, then "Bethany" is not a great pick.

Worth A Watch

[blood-lust666 · 7/10 · 7 April 2017]

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. There were some legitimately unsettling scenes that unfolded throughout the course of the movie (particularly the fingernail scene and the sewing on of the mask). As the movie progresses, we see more glimpses of the abusive nature of Claire's mother. This psychological plot point was handled well. The pacing of the movie was good, and the ending was satisfying. The story of Bethany/Mallory unfolded nicely as well. The main actress, Stefanie Estes, did a great job. Some of the flaws of the movie: Honestly, I just didn't enjoy the acting of Zack Ward. His performance felt one dimensional and unrealistic, and I wish they had gotten someone else to play that role as Aaron was such a central character. There were also a few things that seemed out of place/disjointed. One of my smaller grievances is the fact that nobody seemed the smell the decaying body that was trapped within the house. I can forgive this a bit because it a horror and we are to suspend some disbelief. My biggest grievance would be the death of the psychiatrist. It just didn't fit, and I don't like how it was handled. Very unsatisfying.

Like I said, overall I did enjoy the movie as a whole. It's definitely worth a watch if your a fan of psychological horror/haunted house horror fare.

Mixed feelings about this one

[RandomTard · 4/10 · 22 October 2021]

This isn't a bad movie. They had some budget, decent actors and fine effects. Even the story was ok. But somehow they managed to sabotage the film with some weird brainfarts. I mean like the thing about hallucinogens - they just forgot about it completely and never talk about it? And what was wrong with that hospital? Were they all completely incompetent there? And the strange doctor/friend/whatever dude, what was his major - witchcraft? And finally, why did not Bethany use the door they used in the end?

These kind of a things just ruined the movie. Next time use more then 3 dollars into polishing the script or maybe try writing it sober.

Shannen Shines..as Always

[rmstickn · 10/10 · 18 June 2019]

Being a self comfessed #1 fan of Shannen Doherty my opinion may be biased but I do love her turn as the "Mommy Dearest" type in this cold atmospheric horror film. We follow Claire as she struggles to overcome her haunting past with a mother who we see many sides to making it all the more interesting. Learning the secrets hidden between the walls of her childhood home. Great use of effects and flashbacks to help jar the audience's perception of reality withca compelling and unique storyline.

Worth watching

[i_am_fng · 7/10 · 25 April 2017]

I don't expect much from any thriller/ horror movies nowadays. I just watch anything that comes out new. When it comes to Bethany, I thought it's a bit slow paced at start but it gets creepy and intense til the end. Well plotted, and casts were pro acted. Totally worth watching I must say 👍🏻

Coming home

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 3 November 2021]

Horror movies with a low budget do have quite the hard standing with fans of the genre. And even more so with the occasional viewer. If you are part of the latter group I don't think you'll find much worthwhile here - especially in the slow beginning.

It does take its time and is rather dull at first (some moments excluded). The actors are fine and the special effects are ok considering the budget. It does take up pace and has some interesting ideas towards the end. Again not sure if you'll be able to stick around or care after a certain point. Not really the worst I've seen, but also not as original as it may think it is. Still decent effort overall.

Don't pay money for this.

[kunginator · 1/10 · 18 April 2017]

I signed up for an IMDb account specifically to give this movie a poor review and hopefully save others the torture of sitting through this sad attempt at filmmaking.

The Plot: Unoriginal and blandly formulaic, which is even more disappointing as this is an indie title - you'd expect something more than Couple Moves Into a Spooky House and Troubled Woman's Past Comes Back to Haunt Her, but that's all there is. Seriously!

The Dialogue: James Cullen Bressack clearly missed the memo on SHOW, DON'T TELL. A film's exposition should never be crammed down your throat through fifteen straight minutes of poorly written, unrealistic dialogue. Yet that's exactly what Bethany did.

The Acting: There is zero chemistry between the one-dimensional lead characters played by Stefanie Estes (Woman with Dark Past) and Zack Ward (Skeptical Husband). I would chalk this one up to poor writing and directing.

The Editing: The shots were very nice individually - lighting, composition, etc. The rest of it is practically irredeemable. Jumps from shot to shot were jarring and terribly done (POV to extreme face closeup to POV? Why??), and the lighting is noticeably inconsistent within scenes. The editing actually disconnected me from the movie more than the acting and dialogue did.

In Summary: Don't waste your $3.99. There's nothing that makes this movie standout - cookie cutter plot, low-effort dialogue, forgettable acting, terrible editing. Your money is much better spent on a couple packs of gum or maybe a handful of chicken nuggets.

Bloody and boring

[nightroses · 1/10 · 20 May 2018]

This film doesn't have a story. What's it about? Exactly. There was no story, plot or even anything to this. A couple move into a house, that the woman once lived in as a child. She hallucinates. Husband knows about her past and mental illness, and she's allowed to be close to big sharp knives. Stupid. Stupid. There are annoying flashbacks into her past. Husband is always perplexed and sly faced. The therapist is described as "cool and modern" by husband but the therapist is a bigot. He never removes his cloth cap, which is rude. The spirit friend she had as a child is called Bethany and still lives there only now its more hostile and tries to kill her. I didn't wait anymore until the end, it was slow, rubbish, close up shots of faces are so annoying, and there is no story. It's only what the main character hallucinates.

MEH...Made it thru but barely

[grfulnfree-72649 · 4/10 · 28 October 2019]

I almost turned it off 6 times but I stayed with it bc I wanted to see what the big surprise would be...it wasnt that big. Plenty of other reviewers have given details so I'll just say that if you need a movie to fall asleep to, watch this one, if you want a thriller/horror, look elsewhere.

Skip it.

[carlospresents · 3/10 · 24 September 2020]

Really drawn out and dull. Some little scares. It's definitely horrific at times but overall it's very poor.

Nothing good about this one, NOTHING!

[deloudelouvain · 2/10 · 23 September 2021]

I've been lucky lately as it was a while since I watched a real stinker but luck never lasts forever. Bethany is in the category of movies I wished I never watched. There's not much positive to write about this movie, I can't think of anything actually. Everything was bad, the story, the actors, the special effects, the cinematography, even the soundtrack and sound effects, everything was mediocre. First rule to make an interesting horror movie, have a good soundtrack and avoid all that lame slow piano music. I don't get it that directors still don't get that. They all look like amateurs when using that highly irritating and numbing sound. Bethany is a movie I can't unwatch but I will for sure forget everything about it in the future. In fact, I already did, that's how bad it was.

A Claustrophobic Ghost Story

[ademitch · 7/10 · 12 April 2017]

'Bethany' is James Cullen Bressack's most recent film and is a return to his much-favoured horror genre. 'Bethany' is definitely his best film to date, although I really enjoyed 'Pernicious' too.

It's story of a woman returning to her childhood home, which stirs up memories of maternal abuse and fear. The full story of her past unfolds throughout and is not until the end that we find out the truth. The film has a very claustrophobic feel and we can really get a feel of the tension and pressure that the lead character feels.

The only drawback for me was that it is a bit dialogue-heavy in places and some of the genuinely good scares are kept for the final act.

However, it is definitely worth a watch.

Not a Bad Attempt

[Jackal75 · 5/10 · 30 April 2017]

Bethany is a horror movie about a couple that move into the childhood house of the wife where strange things start to happen. The wife starts becoming unhinged so what forces are at work? Bethany has decent acting and the ending explains the events throughout the film adequately. The pacing of the movie is okay but there are some boring segments in the movie. Bethany is a decent time but I would recommend watching this on DVD or free to air TV. It is better than some other indie horror films. My score 5/10.

Jackal

loved this creepy gem

[russ_banks · 10/10 · 11 April 2017]

Really enjoyed James Cullen Bressack latest movie, Bethany. Loved the performances by the whole cast and nice to see a new side of tom green. Shot well with a good score and creepy story. Warning you may be scared if you watch alone....Definitely recommend checking this one out so grab your popcorn sit back and enjoy.

Definitely worth a watch!

[simplegoodsgals · 7/10 · 13 April 2017]

Although it starts out slow paced, it gets better as it moves along. A few scenes throughout, made lasting impressions with me. I'm still thinking about it two days after I watched it and I can't say that about a lot of movies. Loved the gloomy aesthetics and of course, the Bethany makeup was incredible! I will watch this one again!

A noteworthy effort in the Psychological Horror Genre

[thenarcolepticsloth · 6/10 · 1 June 2017]

This was an interesting little gem of a horror film. The acting was great, it was decently edited, and overall I would say that it was a pretty well crafted flick. While I am sure that it was shot on a very low budget based on how many of the shots were tightly framed on actors this actually helped play into the psychological elements, as other reviewers pointed out, gave it a claustrophobic feeling. The low budget didn't seem too noticeable when it came to the visual effects as well. What practical effects were utilized were highly effective and actually made me squirm a few times, while its CG effects looked relatively seamless. While sort of a minor thing to point out I really did appreciate its effort in crafting the main characters, particularly Claire. I've watched many low/micro- budget horror films over the years and you'd be surprised at how many of them fail to even accomplish something as basic as this.

My issues with the film lie largely in its structure and plotting. being a slow burn, one would expect it to unravel at a certain pace, but there were moments where the film dragged to an excruciating crawl, or without warning sped up way too rapidly, as well as scenes that would have been better placed much earlier in the film. I don't want to give any spoilers or dive too far into the plot because this is a film that works better the less you know going into it, but when its payoff was unveiled It didn't really work for me.The exposition was rushed out in an unnatural way, and logistically it didn't make too much sense. instead of resolving issues it just created more. Also the score was really bad in some parts. There is a scene that clearly lifts the main theme from Tony Scott's True Romance and makes a few minor tweaks to make it different enough but it completely took me out of the film for the entirety of that scene.

I don't think a film should solely be judged by its ending which is why I would still recommend this. It has some truly effective scenes, and does work as a psychological horror film for the most part. Overall, I was impressed, this feels like a stepping stone towards something better, and I look forward to James Cullen Bressack's next effort.

Really enjoyable and thrilling effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 7 December 2017]

Having inherited her former house, a woman and her husband move in where she is immediately assaulted by the ghosts of her tormented past with her mother which begins to affect her relationship with those around her forcing them to help her find a way to get past her inner demons.

This here was quite the enjoyable haunted house effort. One of the finer points involved with this one is the intensely intricate and involved backstory that has a lot to like here. The complicated relationship with the mother, with her incessant belief in pageant work above all other forms of contact or interaction, forcing her to practice and prepare all the while turning everything around her into a potential way to keep her moving forward in her career which gives this a strong and healthy backstory that goes a long way to making this one engaging. The flashbacks to them going through the motions of preparing for the next pageant with them practicing the piano or applying makeup gives this one a healthy starting point for the later horror-based scenes to spring from strongly, as the hallucinations that emerge from these scenes such as the ghostly mother playing alongside her or the hair that she pulls out of her body while brushing herself are insanely creepy scenes. Other big horror scenes, from the freakout at the dinner table to the figure she sees around the house after getting out of the shower means this one has a very strong series of scenes that really play up the atmosphere within the house. That this one plays more as a psychological breakdown more than a traditional ghost story with these scenes is where this one really gets interesting as it moves along into the gripping psychologically-gripping final half where the full exploits of those around her give this a rather strong tone that keeps this one in truly dark realms. The revelations that occur here are quite striking and really move this into rather intense areas with the truth about her history and what's inside the house to the great scenes with them inside the walls of the house to finally put this to rest with some tense ideas. That this provides some creepy action inside the darkened corridors deep inside the house alongside the fine revelations of the past makes this one a really strong and potent ending that scores nicely. As well as some really nice realistic-looking gore when it needs to, these here really make this one fun enough to hold out over the few minor problems featured here. The main issue is the slow-burn pace that really takes a while to get going, as the lack of action and turning everything around into being her fault means this one does take awhile to become enjoyable. That this one is more psychological rather than overt in its hauntings means that very few of these actually scare which does go against the theme it's built upon. However, these aren't as bad as the more impactful positives.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity.

Unexpectedly nice movie

[funnycommentor · 6/10 · 21 December 2021]

The plot of the movie was basic, a woman returns to her mother's house and she's being terrorised by an "evil spirit". The characters weren't interesting, but they were well-developed. The location of the movie was ordinary, just an old creepy house. It wasn't scary and the jumpscares were predictable. The storyline was interesting. The cinematography and the visuals were so interesting, innovative and artistic. The plot twist was nice, totally unexpected. The ending scene was kinda silly. Also, the acting was really good. In my opinion, it was a nice, low-budget movie. I totally think, you should give that movie a chance, it's not that bad nor boring.