Oscure presenze

I wasn't expecting much from this one, and that's exactly what I got. "True story," indeed. And Bambi is a nature documentary.

Where to begin? Without any knowledge of its origins, I had it identified as a TV movie in minutes. The lighting was flat. The actors walked through scene after scene like cardboard cutouts. The monster "effects" - almost makes them sound legit, doesn't it? - amounted to a wide-angle lens and some color saturation. Dreadful. This is the same low-budget effect that became popular with the zero-budget crowd: that monster point of view with Sega colors.

The thing that plucked this turkey, though, was the screenplay. The attempts at emotional depth were laughable. Every time one of the characters opened their mouths, I knew they were going to utter some completely clichéd and idiotic thing. I was never disappointed.

Sorry about the venom, folks, but I don't want anybody wasting rental money on this one. Beau Bridges, why have you forsaken me?

Good premise has a paranormal TV-series investigating a poltergeist/haunting in Kansas. This is based on a true story (as featured in the series "Sightings") but comes off a dull and limp. Perhaps some actual footage from the series itself would've spiced things up a bit. It appears earnest at times but never believable. Worse of all is the POV shots from the "spirits" in the house, which feature distorted fish-eyed lens and creepy sounds. Not really scary at all, which is a real shame but at least it manages to hold your interest a little bit. The set up is really a good one but lack of actual footage is a nagging hindrance.

I watched this movie on our satillite dish late at night by myself. The movie didn't scare me as much as what was happening while I watched it. During the first half of the movie the volume would come and go. I did not have any problems with any other stations or have any problems before or after. Then I left the living room to go to the kitchen and our stereo turned on by itself. The timer is not set on it and the time is flashing. The remote was on end table and our cat was asleep on the loveseat far away from the remote. NO it did not fall. I was wondering if anyone else had any strange things go one when they watched this movie?!!! Or any other movie??? I am usually one that keeps an open mind but still skeptical. I enjoy paranormal stuff as an amusement.

As a person familiar with the case itself, the movie on its own was good, but I'm of the opinion that if the story isn't sensational enough to make it on its own, don't make up stuff to make it a good movie. I would say about 90% of the events portrayed were complete BS as to what allegedly happened.

That said, the movie held my interest until the "shout at the ghost/fire" scene that seems to be prerequisite in ghost films. Very well acted and a good story. Beau Bridges is great in it, although it always frustrates me when people claim to have an open mind but instead are only open minded about what they believe in.

In a provincial small town in Kansas, the low middle class young couple Jeff (Gabriel Olds) and Pam (Thea Gill) invests all their savings in an old mansion. Their intention is to restore the house and sell it, making good money. However, ghosts haunt them, and Pam decides to call the skeptical reporter Derek (Beau Bridges) and his crew, specialized in paranormal phenomena and formed by Lou (Nia Long), Allen (Miguel Ferrer) and the cameraman. There they realize that the situation is real and the unrevealed truth about a former family who lived in that house. This movie is another reasonable (television) movie about haunted house. There is nothing special or different in this story from other similar movies about this repeated theme, but may entertain. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): ` Amaldiçoados Pelo Passado' (`Cursed by the Past')