An American Haunting

The legend of the Bell Witch gets an airing in this hysterical ghost story that offers little more than nice period detail and exceptionally loud noises. An 18th century Tennessee family are blighted by the apparent possession of their teenaged daughter, with patriarch Sutherland suspecting a neighbour's curse. Cue lots of strange sounds and breaking windows as they try to get to the bottom of the mystery. With capable filmmakers, stories of this type can be very effective, but 'An American Haunting' provides no atmosphere, no scares and a truly idiotic modern day framing device. Worse yet, tedium and predictability set in very quickly - shake the bed, slam the door, fling the girl around the room, lather, rinse, repeat. [Paul Greenwood]