A Haunting in Ravenwood

If you are a cult classic fanatic of the 50's and 60's style horror and acting, there is a possibility you may love this movie. Having watched many classics with my father as a child I originally loved those, but as the film industry developed, so did the writing, directing, and acting. This film did not.

While the story has really great promise, the acting, directing and special effects make me want to watch a movie written by, directed by, and staring William Shatner. I would even recommend that for potential viewer in leu of this travesty of tragedy. The lead character "Mary" is the only character with any viable depth and emotion. I actually appreciated her role. Her husband was given some really bad lines and direction while the grounds keeper is completely unbelievable in his character. The special effects made me reminisce of my child as a 7 year old doing a make-up party. I have never written a review, but I felt the need to warn would be viewers not to waste their money unless they are into the 50's and 60's style horror with the same budget and quality as they originally used in those movies. Well, to be fair it was at least in color with HD...

I watched A Haunting In Ravenwood on Tubi. Free w/ ads.

This is the third film from Portland director Calvin Morie McCarthy. He does a lot with these small budgets and his work gets better and better. And these three movies are distinctly different from one another.

This movie is about a newlywed woman who has moved into a haunted house with her new husband, and spends a lot of time alone in the spooky house, wondering if she is being haunted or going mad.

This is well done and features some brief nudity.

This really works. Chynna Rae Shurts and Calvin Morie McCarthy are both worth paying attention to in the future.

Predictable. Do not get me wrong, it is not a complete waste of time. The theme: a haunting with somebody who is seeing a therapist. Yes, there is a creepy guy as well. Okay storyline but nothing out of the ordinary.

The acting is okay, but it is not going to set the acting world on fire, so to speak. The movie moves on a bit slow, but tolerable.

The biggest problem is that if you try and guess where the movie is going or what happens next, you will probably be correct, especially if you watch these types of movies. It is okay, but no "wow factor."

Overall, I would say this: It is very predictable.

A Haunting in Ravenwood tells the story of a couple, Eric (Jon Meggison) and Mary (Chynna Rae Shults) who move into an old Victorian home in the small town of Ravenwood. This home supposedly belongs to the family of Eric's previous wife now deceased. Beyond this not much is explained of the residence.

This Victorian home is reminiscent of many a home in many a horror movie. It even comes complete with its own creepy and odd groundskeeper (Tim Coyle)! The only thing we're missing here is the creepy butler.

Aside from the many horror clichés this film falls into it does try to tell a story. We see the outline of what could have been a good concept but we miss the mark. The problems lie in the central characters.

Our two leads lack any sense of chemistry. Jon Meggison delivers a very flat performance as Eric. Meanwhile Chynna Rae Shults delivers a very intense performance as Mary. Their conversations don't feel natural. These people don't feel like they've actually been married and it's not believable Eric or Mary care for each other. Even if the lead actors themselves show promise. Both actors are decent but clearly Jon Meggison could have been served by a better director.

Eric and Mary are both grieving in their own ways and it is through this grief that they were brought together and eventually married. Mary has been seeing a therapist to help cope with her mental issues related to her grief. This is the best explored avenue in this film.

It's not until a pivotal scene dealing with this that we start to care about our lead actress. This is acheived through universal themes of human emotion. Unfortunately shortly after this the big "twist" comes that sets the film on course in a new direction. A direction that feels right for the character of Eric. The movie did nothing to make us like or care for his character up until this point so when we eventually transition to his character's purpose it hardly comes as a surprise.

Overall we have the shell of what the film could have been in its concepts with Eric which are never quite clearly explained. Contrasting that with the mental and emotional turmoil that Mary is facing we see the faint glimmer of something possibly better. Something the filmmakers should have searched a little harder to find.

As a little bonus here I would like to point out several horror clichés this film suffers from. We have the creepy Victorian house that establishes the setting. The creepy groundskeeper which is quite frankly the worst thing about this movie. The tormented ghost of the past. The girl in constant agony crying up a storm for half the movie. Lastly, a personal favorite of mine, the dark house in modern times that is lit only by candlelight and lanterns. Why do we continue to fumble around in the dark in horror movies?

Consider this my plea for the filmmakers to do better. There's a lot of promise here with everyone involved.

Honestly, how do these movies get made? If you love community theatre, go see that instead. Poor performances, low production value, and terrible script.