La maison hantée

I was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I was in high school when this was going on. There was a story in the local papers like everyday. It was so weird. Some believed the Smurls and some, of course, did not. Personally, I believed them for the most part. Why would anyone subject themselves with the kind of ridicule they had to endure? Not to mention my personal experiences with the supernatural (which are stories within themselves). This movie may not be a very good movie (however, I wouldn't say it was bad either), but it was frightening to me, because I was relatively close to the true story. One of my best friends lives in West Pittston, in fact the next street over from where the Smurls once lived. Although I didn't know the Smurls personally, my friend did. She used to be good friends with the oldest daughter and went to high school with her. My friend had told me stories about their house that she remembered from before it became public knowledge. She had been over the house many a time. She claims to have witnessed some strange goings on there, however nothing major. Some strange things even allegedly went on at her house after she was over there. As to how much truth there is to the Smurls' claims, I don't really know. As far as the movie is concerned, it's not great, but not half bad for a TV movie. It was spooky whether or not one was close to the actual events or not. As I've heard many Northeast Pennsylvanians complain about how they mispronounced Wilkes-Barre; that is one thing that makes me squirm probably more than anything else in the film. I realize for people living anywhere else, they would not know..but if your making a film revolving around any city, you'd think the filmmakers would make an effort to get it right. I've heard people from the area pronounce it different ways, but not "Wilkes-Bar"! "Wilkes-BERRY" (most common) or Wilkes-Bear-Ah..even Wilkes-BEAR. It may seem trivial, but it's rather cringeworthy to the natives of the area. And the set they used; they made it look like some 'happy-swell-meadows' neighborhood. It looks nothing like that...it's much more urban. All the houses are close together. I do realize that having room to shoot is a factor in making a movie, but this was way more suburban than it was. There was one night just a few years ago, I drove past the old Smurl house to show some out of area friends. That night after I got home, the lamp in the room I was staying in at my parents house just started flickering out of nowhere. My father checked it out but found nothing wrong with the lamp or the circuit. Qhite bizarre. One thing that sticks in my mind about this movie is the fact that they had the same pattern of sheets that I do!!! Freaky!!!! Overall, this movie was far from a great ghost story flick, but it was spooky, and I may only feel that way, because I was in that area when these things were allegedly happening. That's why I say, "I guess you had to be there".

A fantastic and atmospheric horror film which relies more on psychological terror than special effects and typical hollywood formulaic scares. It's based on a true story which was investigated by the Warrens and made into a pretty convincing book. Though the movie is obviously "toned down" for tv, the horror grows from an expertly directed series of scenes which portray a strengthening tension and increasing level of stress in the characters who are plagued by terrible circumstances. It's well done. A good friend o mine was actually one of the Warren's students, and I've dealt with them professionally in the past, so I can assure you they're not kooks. For example, they are high on the list of people law enforcement uses to advise on crimes of an extraordinary nature. This is serious business... and trust me, you see this film, you'll rest a bit uneasy that night! Cheers!

Straight-to-TV, inspired by true events hokum… well that's what I thought I was getting myself into. However this dramatised case is a surprisingly eerie, bizarre and downplayed supernatural case that can get under our skin because the actual performances (the Smurls family) are sympathetically portrayed. The normal plot mechanics of the haunted house sub-genre are evident, and the atmosphere isn't particularly striking as it hangs there. You might think that if you see one, you've seen them all. But the predictable material does get more compelling further down the track, before coming to an unfulfilled abrupt conclusion that wraps it up. Everything (from the performances to the script) is done straight-face, with very little in the way of hysteria and humour. Patchy, but it works for most part. It heavily relies on story and mood, than say big special effects and lashing thrills. Although there's something just spooky about those reappearing spirit manifestations. Sally Kirkland and Jeffery DeMunn are capably good in the lead roles of Janet and Jack Smurl. Robert Mandel's crisply well-judged direction and Richard Bellis' hovering score added to the above-average production. I see plenty of jabs about the slow, ponderous pace, but I didn't feel it was that sluggish. Far from it. Slow, but not dull.

I really liked The Haunted (tv-movie) & every time it is on I watch it. I scare really easily so I was scared while I watched it. I also thought that Sally Kirkland did a good job with her role as well. I love movies about the supernatural & the paranormal whether they are true or made up, I like them all.

The Haunted is probably the only tv movie that wasn't terrible. In fact, it's one of my favourite movies, period. The plot is simple (and TRUE). The Smurl family movies into a duplex on chase street, and strange things start happening (a hammer disappears, dripping water, whispering etc.), and the family disregards it as nothing. And it is nothing compared to what happens later on. The main focus of the haunting activity is Janet (played by Sally Kirkland), who is looked at funny after she voices her theory that there may be ghosts in the house. Once they learn (from demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren) that 3 spirits and a demon infest their house, that's when the real terror begins, and at the risk of revealing too much, I'll stop there. I first saw this movie when it came out in 1991, and it scared the hell out of me (I was only 10 at the time), but for years I was waiting for it to come back on tv. when it finally did, I still loved it. This is a movie I wish they'd air on tv more often, and I still can't wait till it comes on again. Don't be expecting a big budget House on Haunted Hill or The Haunting remake with this one though, it moves more along the lines of The Changeling, The Blair Witch Project, and the original The Haunting. By that i mean, you rarely 'see' the visitors, but just mostly the things they do. This is an effective horror method that's hardly used, but believe me, it works. Unless you're into garbage like Urban Legend, you should find The Haunted an excellent movie, with good acting, and great scares.