Believe

It's never easy being 14 years old, but it's especially tough for Ben Stiles. First, he can't seem to communicate with his absentee parents, diplomats who apparently live overseas. Then he gets kicked out of boarding school after pulling an imaginative but childish ghost prank on his classmates. He's forced to move in with an icy-tempered grandfather he barely knows. And finally he discovers his grandfather's estate is haunted by the eerie specter of a young woman in a red coat. Of course after the ghost prank, no one takes his claims seriously.

Ben (Ricky Mabe) is the point-of-view character of BELIEVE, a new horror film aimed at younger audiences and lensed by director Robert Tinnell, whose previous work includes horror fan favorite FRANKENSTEIN AND ME. Unlike FRANKENSTEIN AND ME, which was essentially a coming-of-age story with horror trappings, BELIEVE is designed to generate real chills – and it delivers. Even veteran horror fans should receive at least a few satisfying shivers from the picture.

As BELIEVE's story progresses, Ben quickly realizes his grandfather (Jan Rubes) isn't telling everything he knows about the mysterious figure in the red coat. Granddad goes ape when he discovers that Ben has enlisted the help of a neighbor girl (Elisha Cuthbert), who has also seen the ghost, in his quest for the truth. The girl's uncle (Ben Gazzara ) is equally upset by this development, and forbids her from seeing Ben. The teenagers realize that somehow their families' histories will unlock the secrets of the Stiles house, and maybe help their phantom finally find peace.

Tinnell refers to BELIEVE as `an entry level horror film.' Pressed for an explanation of this term, he explains: `There's a void for young people -- and older people, too -- who would like quality a quality supernatural experience that isn't misogynist or extremely gory. I was trying to make something like I WALK WITH A ZOMBIE that kids and adults can both look at and be scared without being steamrolled.'

Imagine George Romero shooting a movie for The Wonderful World of Disney and you have some idea of the film's tone. To achieve this effect, Tinnell asked production designer Jules Ricard to decorate his sets in the style of the classic Hammer horrors. Then Tinnell shot his movie much in the mode of Mario Bava. Viewers who know Tinnell only through FRANKENSTEIN AND ME will find BELIEVE a revelation. It's far more visually cohesive than his early work and its use of color is striking. Certainly Tinnell was well served by cinematographer Pierre Jodoin, whose work is imaginative and eloquent. Composer Jerry DeVilliers Jr. sets the mood with a truly haunting score.

Tinnell, a formidable horror film scholar in addition to a gifted young filmmaker, built in several nods toward great ghost pictures of the past. Horror aficionados will appreciate the film's visual references to movies like THE UNINVITED and THE INNOCENTS. BELIEVE also quotes from THE HORROR OF DRACULA and (of all things) THE INVISIBLE GHOST. The director confesses to influences as wide-ranging as Romero's MARTIN and THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, but his capsule description of BELIEVE is `the Hardy Boys meet Wuthering Heights.'

Tinnell had to bring in the picture on a $2 million budget and a 20-day shooting schedule. To his credit, BELIEVE looks like a much more expensive film. For what it's worth: Many horror publications, from stately Midnight Marquee to splatter-happy Fangoria, have given BELIEVE glowing reviews.

After being expelled from an exclusive boys academy for one too many practical jokes, Ben (Ricky Mabe) is sent to live with his grandfather, Jason (Jan Rubes). Upon arrival, Ben finds himself in the middle of a supernatural mystery, complete with a moaning ghost.

Teaming up with his new neighbor, Katherine (Elisha Cuthbert), Ben starts sleuthing around.

BELIEVE is a semi-spooky, humorous family film. One of the best parts involves some major payback for a pair of town bullies.

Fans of Ms. Cuthbert will rejoice, as she's in almost every scene! Co-stars Andrea Martin as a paranormal investigator.

Round up the kids and get the popcorn popping!...

Sometimes it takes years to realize how wrong two bitter enemies have been about an incident one party blames the other, when in reality the accused didn't have anything to do with what happened, at all. This is followed by enmity, as neither party seems to be the first one to see the real facts, as they really happened. Such seems to be the situation one witnesses in "Believe", directed by Robert Tinnell, and based on a screen play by Roc LaFortune and Richard Gaudreau.

Ben Stiles (Ricky Mabe) a teen ager whose parents are too busy and keep him in private boarding schools, decide to send him to spend some time with his grandfather Jason (Jan Ruber), a wealthy man living along in a majestic estate. No sooner is Ben installed in the mansion when he begins seeing a woman clad in red, a ghost, who seems to be all over the place. His grandfather doesn't want to talk about its existence, at all; yet the mystery continues.

Ben meets a beautiful neighbor, Katherine Winslow (Elisha Cuthbert) who lives nearby with an unmarried uncle, Ellicott (Ben Gazzara). Her parents have died in a terrible accident. Ben and Katherine, who also has seen the ghost, try to get to the bottom of the mystery, until they hit a sore spot in both Jason and Ellicott. Both older men live with bitterness in their hearts because each one blame the other for the death of Jason's sister Margaret, the ghost, years ago. Ben and Katherine keep on investigating until the tragedy of Margaret's death is revealed.

"Believe" has some good moments. Its atmosphere of mystery and eeriness is well executed by the director. The acting serves the story and the film is easy to look at and will entertain anyone looking for a moderately good time. The moral of the story seems to center around the bitterness that can come between the best of friends when there shouldn't have been any.

First off, the person who commented on this movie first was wrong. The movie is about Benjamin Stiles not Thad Stiles. Thad is only in the movie for a very short time, and he plays Ben's father. It's Benjamin played by Ricky Mabe who goes to live with his grandfather who he barely knows. I just wanted to clear that up. Ok...so my review....This movie was weak, weak, weak. The premise of the entire film was completely unoriginal. A ghost pops up near some big mansion, and it turns out to be the ghost of someone very close to the family in the mansion. I have seen that movie a million times with a million different titles. The acting is horrible. It seemed as tho the director got together a few people off the street who had no acting experience and made them star in his movie. The only good thing I can say about this movie is that it's shot very nicely. It has a really great look to it, and the cinematography is well done. I know it is aimed at children, but I only figured that out after seeing it. The box in the rental store made it look like a horror film for adults, not some tame ghost story you could show on the Disney Channel. Other than the overall atmosphere the film has, the only other redeeming quality if the beautiful Elisha Cuthbert who played Katherine, and did probably the best acting job in the entire film. The movie is not a horror film as the box implies, but instead a kid's ghost story that could be very watchable by children, but no other age groups. The acting and unoriginal story will be enough to keep anyone over the age of 12 away from this movie.

This is a nice, family-oriented little ghost story about two teenagers trying to release a ghost from its eternal walking. Much of the film is well-crafted with some solid if not inspiring acting from the whole cast and some interesting, effective direction from Bob Tinnell. Tinnell uses bright colors throughout the film, particularly in the night scenes, creating an obvious homage to Mario Bava and Dario Argento. The story is somewhat adolescent in nature, so if you are looking for blood and guts, look elsewhere. Plot elements are nicely climaxed but fall short in the end. Although the end is a bit weak, I still found myself liking the film quite a bit. Just wondering if anyone found the the climax of the falling branch to be a page out of Saki's "The Interlopers?" Actor Jan Rubes does an excellent job as an embittered yet caring grandfather looking after his grandson with whom he has not seen since five. Look also for a nice cameo by Andrea Martin of SCTV fame as an expert on ghosts. The two teenaged leads were pretty good with Elisha Cuthbert really standing out.