Ok. Maybe I'm just mixing one found footage film with another but, I swear, I remember a slightly different version of this film from a couple of years ago. There was a part were they were all sitting together, eating the food that was left for them and Ryan took a bite out of her sandwich and there was a huge cockroach in it. I also seem to remember that they all finished the little "cleansing" exercise and the house went all poltergeist-y, so they all ran out. Not this bs about a "hidden" hallway and Madison suddenly being the reincarnation of Madame LaLaurie. Although that is a seriously hilarious twist. Lol. Am I the only one remembering a different version?
127 Reviews
The worst from Ted Nicolaou
andreygrachev19 April 2009
Ted Nicolaou made a lot of great horror and fantasy films. I am looking for all his films to see. I could not find this one for 3 year, until I unexpectedly found it in youtube. To tell the truth I wanted to see more ghosts and less talks here. It looks like in 1999-2001 Ted had a crisis , maybe in money. His features of this time look more like real low budget thrash z garbage movies. But I do not claim him to be a bad director this time . Everything happens. The ending has some nice creepy details and suspense but the whole film was long dull dialogues .
only for real Ted's fans.
www.myspace.com/neizvestnostlab
only for real Ted's fans.
www.myspace.com/neizvestnostlab
I have liked films by Ted Nicolaou in the past, but this will not rank as one of them.
jmbwithcats1 October 2011
I have liked films by Ted Nicolaou in the past, but this will not rank as one of them.
I give this this movie one star - strictly on the fact that they told the real New Orleans story of Madame LaLaurie.
Watching the Blair Witch rip-off "The St. Francisville Experiment (2000)" and this movie is just so bad it's laughable. One guy walks around saying "I love the ghosts" to stay positive, a girl is a total basket case the entire time, at one point she exclaims, "Omg a dead bird! and the other girl asks, "How dead is it?" All the actors are terrible, and the screenplay is atrocious. I think the only good thing I can say about this movie is, nope I got nothing.
Every thing the characters did in The St Francisville Experiment contradicted everything else they did or said at each moment... they are introduced as serious investigator friends, but it becomes clear in the first scene in the house they don't know each other at all and are complete amateurs, then one says to share all their feelings, so the one girl says a prayer by herself for herself which suddenly everyone is okay with, then they say as long as we stick together we should be able to handle this, so what do they do? They split up to go cleanse the house, all the rooms simultaneously... This movie was like that contradiction poem we heard as little kids, the one that goes... admission is free pay at the door, grab a chair and sit on the floor... this was the absolute contradiction haunting movie.
The climax itself had such potential, but just left me feeling upset.
Spoilers Ahead ---------------------------------------------- So many clichés and contradictions in this film, from the totally healthy cat that jumps out of an Armoire, a falling chandelier, non-cohesive emotions from scene to scene, saying lets stick together because that's how we'll be successful here, then splitting up, saying lets share all of our emotions so one girl prays by herself? The ending has one room shaking, an arm reaches for one girl, that was dull, another gets dragged, they find the guy who was in the attic, chained in the basement hidden medical room, and Ryan tied to a table? The only ghost you see is a bit of mist that quickly dissipates....
Episodes of Ghost Adventures are scarier than this movie.
I cannot recommend this movie to anyone.
1/10
I give this this movie one star - strictly on the fact that they told the real New Orleans story of Madame LaLaurie.
Watching the Blair Witch rip-off "The St. Francisville Experiment (2000)" and this movie is just so bad it's laughable. One guy walks around saying "I love the ghosts" to stay positive, a girl is a total basket case the entire time, at one point she exclaims, "Omg a dead bird! and the other girl asks, "How dead is it?" All the actors are terrible, and the screenplay is atrocious. I think the only good thing I can say about this movie is, nope I got nothing.
Every thing the characters did in The St Francisville Experiment contradicted everything else they did or said at each moment... they are introduced as serious investigator friends, but it becomes clear in the first scene in the house they don't know each other at all and are complete amateurs, then one says to share all their feelings, so the one girl says a prayer by herself for herself which suddenly everyone is okay with, then they say as long as we stick together we should be able to handle this, so what do they do? They split up to go cleanse the house, all the rooms simultaneously... This movie was like that contradiction poem we heard as little kids, the one that goes... admission is free pay at the door, grab a chair and sit on the floor... this was the absolute contradiction haunting movie.
The climax itself had such potential, but just left me feeling upset.
Spoilers Ahead ---------------------------------------------- So many clichés and contradictions in this film, from the totally healthy cat that jumps out of an Armoire, a falling chandelier, non-cohesive emotions from scene to scene, saying lets stick together because that's how we'll be successful here, then splitting up, saying lets share all of our emotions so one girl prays by herself? The ending has one room shaking, an arm reaches for one girl, that was dull, another gets dragged, they find the guy who was in the attic, chained in the basement hidden medical room, and Ryan tied to a table? The only ghost you see is a bit of mist that quickly dissipates....
Episodes of Ghost Adventures are scarier than this movie.
I cannot recommend this movie to anyone.
1/10
Not even bad in a good way
sbr29 May 2001
I watched this movie last night, it was horrible. They took what could have been a scary situation, and made it stupid. The women were much more annoying than the guys, because they were all stereotypes of people. Madison kept talking about the "white light" that surrounded them, but no one ever asked what she was talking about, they just let her go with it. And after a few "purifications" that obviously didn't work they decide on the classic cliche of splitting up, and trying them seperated from each other?!?!?. The scares were all jumpy scares "oh no something jumped out in front of me", nothing with actual fright value. There are also scenes where doors open for people....and they go in them! And spaces open in the floor, or they find a hole and they STICK THEIR HANDS IN THEM WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE!! Yeah right... Also the fact that people lived in the house, and yet these people didn't get rid of the "bloody medical equipment" in the basement, or seal up a hole in the wall, make it seem more staged. And finally they are standing in the house for five minutes before they try turning on a light, when I, a normal person, go into a house that's the first thing I do.
You wouldn't hate it quite so much if they didn't try to pass it off as truly being real.
Craven8015 February 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Okay they tell you it's real. They don't list any screenwriters or directors, but one viewing of this movie will prove to anyone - It's not real in the way you were hoping for. The speaking rarely sounds like real natural talk...but also down not sound to be scripted. (possibly loosely scripted). To me it sounded much more like they were always trying to ad-lib. (which they almost always did poorly). Therefore, they knew they were making a 'movie', not just collecting real natural footage. So I'm sure these people knew what was going on, knew they had certain spots to look for things that were set up...and they were just told to ad-lib around it all.
*************'Major Spoilers'**************** *****************************************
Okay, it's so lame. Every item, spot or thing that could be strange or use d as a scare, is magically stumbled upon by these people. Let me list off the ridiculously obviously faked things that happened that I remember:
1) Less than 2 minutes of entering the house, they turn a light switch on - the light sparks and a chandelier almost falls on a guy.
2) They happen to find an old medical bag with a bloody butcher knife* in it, while exploring the cellar.
3) They hear a noise in an armoire, so they open the door slowly - BAM - a cat happens to be in there and jumps straight at the camera while shrieking.
4) Then they happen to notice there is a hole in the wall, so let's stick our hand in...wow, they pulled out a doll of a baby wrapped in mummy tape.
5) Let's go to the attic, uh-oh it feels 'heavy' up here....BOOM - a chair flies across the room.
6) Time to eat. Oh no ! The girl that was scared of bugs had a ROACH in her sandwich ! LOL !....ridiculous.
7) Let's get out the Ouija board...oops one of the legs on the planchette fell off the side of the board. That couldn't be because the people were pushing it could it ? (they find out a ghost there is named Charles)
8) Wait ! What was that noise in the chimney...CLINK - oh my shackles fell out "I think she* kept people up here".
9) Now wimpy girl is going to brave looking up the chimney shaft...oh, what's this she sees something...and is asking people who aren't looking up the chimney what it is. SWISH - It falls off straight at her. (perfect camera shot) She moves just in time. It was more chain.
10) Now we have to separate and each 'cleanse' our designated rooms - wouldn't it be something if things started happening one by one to these people now...okay:
CHICK #1: Wow, suddenly her room is shaking...but no one elses does.
DUDE #1: Actually says to himself "Charles, is that you Charles...it can't be you because you're just a figment of my imagination aren't you Charles". Well guess what, he gets knocked over and dragged across the floor. Another lucky camera shot.
CHICK #2: Hears things..try to communicate ...and is standing there getting abrasions or something.
DUDE #2: He was in the attic, reached his arm through a hole in the floor and got a splinter....I don't remember what else.
11) Dude #2 runs, gets Chick #2...they hear chick and dude #1 screaming...they find them chained to a wall and strapped to a table.(*) They leave. Cut to black. Final text tell us they escaped safely, were treated for minor cuts. They have since had nightmares and insomnia, we also find out the next day a 911 call was made by they name a someone named "Charles".
*************'Major Spoilers'**************** ******************over********************
Okay, when I first heard this movie was being made, I couldn't wait. I thought it was going to be real. REAL, real. - and more professional, with more professional type people. I love the idea of this type of thing, I'd love to see real haunting footage. Before this movie was released I saw couple reviews of it by people online. They both claimed how fake it was and how stupid the people were.. time passed I forgot about the film....then I realized It was never released at theaters. So I found out it went straight to video, rented it....found that every brutal review was completely true. It's too bad, I really wanted this to be good.
Random thought: The house didn't seem to have TVs, radios..kitchen appliances that I recall...which would make me think no one has lived there for a long time. Especially the house is truly known for being haunted...im pretty sure no one lives there. But it looks so clean and tidy...and what was a cat doing there ? The property does not have near by neighbors....
All-in-all, you'll only want to rent this if you and your friends wanna sit there and make fun of it...or if you heard about it a long time ago and it intrigued you. (you will will be disappointed if you are expecting a good film...or real film)
Random thought: I believe the producer says "The 'footage' you see is real". Well technically it is real footage isn't it ? Real footage of fake hauntings ? Maybe that was his loop hole.
I give this this movie one star - strictly on the fact that they told the story of Madame LaLaurie. A real New Orleans story.
The best performance was by the guy who teaches the participants about the ghost hunting equipment in the beginning. He was obviously actually real...or a good actor.
*************'Major Spoilers'**************** *****************************************
Okay, it's so lame. Every item, spot or thing that could be strange or use d as a scare, is magically stumbled upon by these people. Let me list off the ridiculously obviously faked things that happened that I remember:
1) Less than 2 minutes of entering the house, they turn a light switch on - the light sparks and a chandelier almost falls on a guy.
2) They happen to find an old medical bag with a bloody butcher knife* in it, while exploring the cellar.
3) They hear a noise in an armoire, so they open the door slowly - BAM - a cat happens to be in there and jumps straight at the camera while shrieking.
4) Then they happen to notice there is a hole in the wall, so let's stick our hand in...wow, they pulled out a doll of a baby wrapped in mummy tape.
5) Let's go to the attic, uh-oh it feels 'heavy' up here....BOOM - a chair flies across the room.
6) Time to eat. Oh no ! The girl that was scared of bugs had a ROACH in her sandwich ! LOL !....ridiculous.
7) Let's get out the Ouija board...oops one of the legs on the planchette fell off the side of the board. That couldn't be because the people were pushing it could it ? (they find out a ghost there is named Charles)
8) Wait ! What was that noise in the chimney...CLINK - oh my shackles fell out "I think she* kept people up here".
9) Now wimpy girl is going to brave looking up the chimney shaft...oh, what's this she sees something...and is asking people who aren't looking up the chimney what it is. SWISH - It falls off straight at her. (perfect camera shot) She moves just in time. It was more chain.
10) Now we have to separate and each 'cleanse' our designated rooms - wouldn't it be something if things started happening one by one to these people now...okay:
CHICK #1: Wow, suddenly her room is shaking...but no one elses does.
DUDE #1: Actually says to himself "Charles, is that you Charles...it can't be you because you're just a figment of my imagination aren't you Charles". Well guess what, he gets knocked over and dragged across the floor. Another lucky camera shot.
CHICK #2: Hears things..try to communicate ...and is standing there getting abrasions or something.
DUDE #2: He was in the attic, reached his arm through a hole in the floor and got a splinter....I don't remember what else.
11) Dude #2 runs, gets Chick #2...they hear chick and dude #1 screaming...they find them chained to a wall and strapped to a table.(*) They leave. Cut to black. Final text tell us they escaped safely, were treated for minor cuts. They have since had nightmares and insomnia, we also find out the next day a 911 call was made by they name a someone named "Charles".
*************'Major Spoilers'**************** ******************over********************
Okay, when I first heard this movie was being made, I couldn't wait. I thought it was going to be real. REAL, real. - and more professional, with more professional type people. I love the idea of this type of thing, I'd love to see real haunting footage. Before this movie was released I saw couple reviews of it by people online. They both claimed how fake it was and how stupid the people were.. time passed I forgot about the film....then I realized It was never released at theaters. So I found out it went straight to video, rented it....found that every brutal review was completely true. It's too bad, I really wanted this to be good.
Random thought: The house didn't seem to have TVs, radios..kitchen appliances that I recall...which would make me think no one has lived there for a long time. Especially the house is truly known for being haunted...im pretty sure no one lives there. But it looks so clean and tidy...and what was a cat doing there ? The property does not have near by neighbors....
All-in-all, you'll only want to rent this if you and your friends wanna sit there and make fun of it...or if you heard about it a long time ago and it intrigued you. (you will will be disappointed if you are expecting a good film...or real film)
Random thought: I believe the producer says "The 'footage' you see is real". Well technically it is real footage isn't it ? Real footage of fake hauntings ? Maybe that was his loop hole.
I give this this movie one star - strictly on the fact that they told the story of Madame LaLaurie. A real New Orleans story.
The best performance was by the guy who teaches the participants about the ghost hunting equipment in the beginning. He was obviously actually real...or a good actor.
Worse Than Pathetic!
sitetrekk16 January 2004
Warning: Spoilers
The characters are annoying, immature, and flaky....Madison being the most annoying of all. OOH...a cold spot! Such a dire threat! Any ghost in that house would have fled in self-defense! To make a long story short, this movie is boring. Seeing a chair flying across a room may be creepy, but that's about as intriguing as it gets. I watched it once and when one of my kids wanted to watch it again, I was tempted to take a baseball bat to the TV set rather than watch this rubbish again. If you want a good horror movie or even a passable comedy, this isn't it! The only good part of the whole thing was "the roach scene" and, by the end of the movie, you ended up feeling sorry for the roach!
$250,000 budget??????
itrevorallen9 November 2020
As the only person who has watched this in 14 years (thank you pandemic) I recommend steering clear. This movie was horrific, some of the least like able characters I've ever seen, and that's 50% of a found footage film.
I do not understand where this budget went as there were no special effects and terrible makeup. The acting was AWEFUL, they actually laughed during the movie as a testament to how bad the plot was.
Very cringe filled movie.
I do not understand where this budget went as there were no special effects and terrible makeup. The acting was AWEFUL, they actually laughed during the movie as a testament to how bad the plot was.
Very cringe filled movie.
The only life lost is yours if you watch this movie.
dalbrect6 December 2000
I rented this one by accident. I lifted the video up and looked at the back and thought "shameless Blair Witch rip-off". Then, in a moment of carelessness, I grabbed 'The Francisville Experiment' thinking it was something else. My horror upon arriving home and realizing my mistake was far more terrifying than anything this film had to offer. Boring Characters, bad acting, and a feeling of 'we saw the Blair Witch Project and could do the same' permeate the action to the point where watching on fast forward will lead you straight to the credits. I'm not one to fault film makers for being lazy or desperate, but after this yawn-fest I felt the need to warn everyone: don't waste your time, you have a life.
There is truth on this movie folks...
reneerodriguez22 August 2015
OK all you non believers.Sure,the movie started out very slow, but little, by little it did leave you in suspense. The situation on where their interviewing the local towns people, the young blond lady (the one who had the most info.on the infamous madame).Everything this young lady said is true & is documented.Google it.The poor slaves were actually tortured worse than what she mentioned, & what she said was definitely disturbing enough.It has even been documented that her previous residence is still haunted & has gone through many owners, & has been many owners different type of business's, school, apartments, etc. In each of these business owners were reports of various paranormal type activity,or sightings, especially African American Ghosts.So out of respect to those who lost their lives to these two diabolical monsters,please do some research before judging. It was part true & the other half was entertainment! 😊👻💀
True story?????? True trash!!!
susiesays14 October 2002
I was surprised that the makers of this movie actually came out said that this movie was a true story. The majority of the scenes looked fake to me. For instance when the one girl was eating her sandwich and there was a roach in it. While she was eating the sandwich the camera on the opposite side of it showed that there was a roach on it. It's funny how the camera just happened to be filming on the sandwich when the girl was eating it. Another scene is when the gang went to open a clothes closet and a cat flew out of the closet or should I say it was thrown out to give it effect. This movie was not realistic at all. It's highly doubtful that the events that happened were true that evening when the "St. Francisville Experiment" took place. I believe that the house may be haunted, but not on the night this movie was filmed! The ending was amusing when Tim and and other girl were chained down in the some sort of basement. Paul and Madison found them and rescued them! I would rather watch the Blair Witch Project again then have to sit through the St. Francisville Experiment movie again. As I said, if the makers of the movie did not state that this was a true story with true events I may have like it more. Your better off getting more entertainment from the Blair Witch Project (even though this is not a true story either)!!!
Blair Witch Knock off ??? gimme a break
Payback10163 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Contrary to what you guys believe St. Francisville Expiriment is good. When I watched this movie (it was on space back to back with thirteen ghost) I nearly pi**ed my pants and i'll tell you why. It begins like any other paranormal investigation show you've seen with the interviews from the team members, the host, the use of equipment (real EMF and inferred Thermometers and the locals in St. Francisville (yes the town is real) then it cuts to the actual investigation of the house. they go in there and things are screwing up already. The Chandleer falling off is a quick sign that the spirits are p***ed and you should leave ass soon as the you flicked the light switch. But know you guys had to keep going. Next thing you know you have chairs flying at you, *(which BTW the camera man played back on his camera and cheering that he got great footage) bugs in your food, and a Ouija with some ghost named Charles. Now rather than getting the hell out of there, they decide to split up and perform an exorcism that goes wrong resulting in the one guy being dragged out the door and the one girl being sucked into the floor. the other two play the heroes as they find they're friends in the basement and run off dropping their cameras, one of them showing an orange orb appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye. Now contrary to popular belief this is no where close to a Blair witch knock off, although one of the guys actually joked about Blair witch. The people made it out OK while the three from Blair witch obviously didn't. and of course this movies about ghost investigations not urban legends. also it could be obvious that she didn't know there was a roach in her food while the guy that held the camera probably didn't warn her about it because he thought it was funny, if you actually watched the movie, earlier he popped out and scared the others moments before the Chandler fell.not to mention the other guy with the splinters of on his arms it's quite easy to break the attic floor with his arm because the house itself is at least over 200 years old the wood in the house was obviously worn out and as for the s****y acting? How is it scripted if there are no screenwriters? its hard to talk normally if you are in a haunted house especially one that almost killed you as soon as you entered. and about that whole Blair witch knock off film theory, it is out of the question, because every single documentary style film ever made, revolving around ghosts or the supernatural; before or after Blair witch, real or fiction, independent or funded by major companies have been disregarded as Blair witch movies.
Scared the crap out of me!!
chris_dirtbiker16 July 2007
I watched this film for the first time last night. While the acting was terrible in some parts, and only mediocre the rest of the time, the style of shooting and the idea was great. OK, so its a rip off of the Blair Witch Project, but I felt that this film had a more in depth back story (which I have since looked at briefly on the internet) which made the whole thing much more believable. I think this has to be the first movie I have ever watched that has then given me problems sleeping afterward! I am not ashamed to admit that this is by far the scariest film I have seen for a very long time! Watch it in the dark, preferably in an old house, to get the full effect!
Why?
TobyS19 March 2001
I think the people behind this "true" documentary film saw both The Blair Witch Project and the Fox Family Channel Special of "The Scariest Places on Earth" in the same day. Sorry guys, but this was not as entertaining as 3 people being stalked in the woods, or a family locked inside of an English castle for the night. My thoughts:
On the upside though, Tim is a real cutie.
Next time out, leave the 3 students alone, and let Linda Blair handle the "family locked inside a haunted house for the night" concept, and come up with an idea that is actually yours.
My grade: D-
- Madison is more annoying than Heather ever was.
- Somebody just needed to tell Ryan to shut up.
- If Paul stood on the stairs one second longer contemplating aboug going back into the attic...I would've thrown a chair at him.
- You should've rehearsed the "spontaneity" of the ending more
- The house looked as if the family living there had gone out to grab take-out and would be back any second.
On the upside though, Tim is a real cutie.
Next time out, leave the 3 students alone, and let Linda Blair handle the "family locked inside a haunted house for the night" concept, and come up with an idea that is actually yours.
My grade: D-
Dull attempt to cash in on the success of The Blair Witch Project
Cujo1089 May 2010
A "Blair Witch" ripoff involving four people who go ghost hunting in a supposedly haunted Louisiana mansion. Unlike the gem it's ripping off, there is nothing frightening here unless you consider bad acting to be scary. This is truly a film where nothing happens. The only refuge from pure boredom is the occasional unintentional hilarity that pops up. For instance, we get some priceless dialogue like this choice exchange:
"There's a dead bird." "How badly dead is it?"
This thing is also notable for having what is probably the stupidest cat jump scare I've ever seen. I can't forget the bit towards the end where the group splits up, and the guy going into the attic keeps complaining about how scary it looks in there. The others then spend what feels like at least ten minutes trying to convince him to go in. How exciting!
"There's a dead bird." "How badly dead is it?"
This thing is also notable for having what is probably the stupidest cat jump scare I've ever seen. I can't forget the bit towards the end where the group splits up, and the guy going into the attic keeps complaining about how scary it looks in there. The others then spend what feels like at least ten minutes trying to convince him to go in. How exciting!
Crap!!!
wlfd61617 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
What a giant peace of garbage, I am a paranormal "enthusiest" and I want to write a letter to the producer and tell him he owes me an hour and a half of my life back. I am quite certain that the entire thing was staged. All the "participants" were actors. The only legit thing was Troy Tyler and I know this only because he has his own website. If they would have said from the git-go that this was a MOVIE and not a documentary I would not be posting this, but they chose instead to deceive the viewer. At first it seems real, I have been on many paranormal investigations and a lot of what they did was acceptable. The closer to the end you get, the more ridiculous and fake it becomes. Please, Please do not waste your time.
Sucks big time!!!
cybertigger18 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The Blair Witch Project was stupid and not scary. No wonder somebody thought he could do better. Unfortunately, this is even worse. The acting is the scariest part of the film, with the dialogue a close section. The character "Madison" is incredibly, awesomely annoying, with her lame New Age mystic mumbo-jumbo ("white light! fiery white light!"). The scene where she bugs and bugs and BUGS the rest of the group about doing the "cleansing" RIGHT NOW without taking five minutes to eat had me wondering that they didn't all strap her down to a table and torture her themselves. Eating took five times as long because she ... just ... wouldn't ... stop ... yammering! Nothing realistic or vaguely scary about this worthless amateur piece of crap at all. I saw it on the "Chiller" channel, so at least I didn't pay anything for it, except a slice of my life of course.
this experiment fails,(aside from a few effective hair raising moments)
disdressed1210 February 2007
OK.let's see.when the movie first starts,it seems like it is a documentary.the story is that a group of 4 people are chosen to spend the night in a haunted mansion,based on their various qualifications.right off,we treated to history lesson on the house and the horrible acts that took place in it,thanks to one unspeakably cruel,evil woman who once lived there.then we are treated to each of the participants giving their views on what they might expect and how they feel about going into the house.Once the group gets into the house and starts getting settled,it become apparent this can in no way be documentary.first off things just don't ring true about the whole.the actions off the group members are just too forced sometimes even bizarre.in many instances,there are situations in which no human being would react and behave that way when face with the same situations.also things just happen too inconveniently,certain objects appear in all the right spots.this thing had to be staged.there is one unbelievably sick and distasteful scene which is not relevant to the movie and just should not have been included.i will say,however,that i did jump at least once,and the hairs on my neck stood up in some scenes.the last scene was hair raising and dare i say it ,blood chilling,and when i had finished the movie,i had a seriously uneasy feeling for a time.having said all that,the movie is still generally dog and should have been put to sleep before the disease became terminal.the only thing keeping me from giving this dreck a 1* is the one(or possibly 2)times i jumped,plus a few hair raising moments.and though i didn't mention this earlier,i did like the camera work.still,i can't force myself to give higher rating than 2/10
What a waste
EvilAsh14 April 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Such a shame. This movie could have been good, it could have been THE definative "teenagers running around with videocameras getting the crap scaried out of them" movie, but it wasn't, far from it. I found out about this movie form an article in the horror movie magizine "Wicked", and was intrigued by the fact that it was supposed to be REAL real. Well, it isn't, as is obviuos to anyone how has seen the movie. Too many of the scares are too convinent, many of the shots too perfect, and much of the acting too abismal. If this movie was real, then wouldn't the people point both the flashlights and the cameras at what they were looking at, as oppose to their own faces? And (spoiler alert)...................................................................... .............................why would all the people split-up at the end, instead of "cleansing" each room one by one? As my brother put it: "Haven't these people ever seen Scooby Doo?" Many of the "hidden" doors and crevices are far too obvious. The one crevice was in plain view when the one guy looks down, but he doesn't notice it until later. And the door to the secret passage is obscured by some clothes. The last few minutes help the overall movie, but doesn't pull it out of the nice whole it has dug itself. Only see it with friends so that you can keep yourself entertained by each others wise cracks.
Complete idiocy
katrina-3340515 June 2023
The film makers tout the fact that these are NOT actors like it's some sort of badge of honor. They are also not ghost hunters, psychics, or parapsychologists. I can't count the number of times family members repeated, "What a bunch of babies!" Honestly, the psychic got all of her wiccan knowledge straight off of wiccapedia. And everyone is afraid of everything all the time. There was zero to be afraid of and zero sign of spirit activity. And the ending? Absurd. The one high point was when one of the guys opened a closet door and screamed he was so scared. There was a mirror inside. Just a mirror. It was like some sort of really bad sitcom schtick. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. "Ghost Hunters" has more going for it, and that ain't saying much. Ah, but if I only had a dollar for every time one of them said, "White Light, white light" I could afford a new car.
Compared to Blair Witch This was stellar ***Some Spoilers**
hoodycrow6 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Some good jump in you seat shots. I liked the video tapedness of it. Yeah, OK, convenient camera angle, a fifth camera man always in the right spot, the cat trapped in the wardrobe, and the doll wrapped in gauze (who would do that?) was a bit dumb. Oh and the initial chandelier fall because someone turned on a light switch was a bit 3 stoogish. The whitelights and fuzzy bunnies "psychic" was a bit annoying as well. What you have to remember is this is a movie, it is entertainment, and not half bad considering what is box office stuff now adays. It was also nice to see a horror flick that did not used the F word ever sentence.
All in all though not a bad flick right till the end. Someone forgot the cameraman in the basement.
All in all though not a bad flick right till the end. Someone forgot the cameraman in the basement.
fantastic information about this movie. although people shouldn't read this if they don't want it to be ruined for them.
chillaaxcali27 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Okay so actually I probably know more about this movie then all of you do reason for that is is that Tim Thopmson(Timothy Baldini) is my brother. He became good friends with the team leader i cant recall his name and that all of the events in the movie were fake, except for one. The part where they go up to the top of the attic and see the chair get flipped over is actually real. Reason this is, is that the mechanics used to pull back that chair at that speed would have made the hydraulics screaming. When i say hydraulics im reffering to thos little mechanical boxes they carry around. Because in real life the Team leader i think his name is troy is an engineer, and works with those sort of things... Hence his attitude when my brothers suggests he stay up in the attic and he freaks out because he knows its really real.
Awesome!
fitloft17 October 2007
WOW!!! What a movie! I was blown away with the reality of this A1 classic horror story. The people that were in this movie were without a doubt some of the most talented Julliard trained thespians that this cat has ever had the pleasure of watching. Madison in particular was stunning , she was able to really make me feel like I was in that house with them....her constant screaming about cold spots , white lights , heaviness etc etc...I couldn't get enough of the hyperventilating breathing either.
All in all a roller coaster ride of horror and fabulous storyline accented with great acting chops from all involved.
Buy this video if you come across it!!!
All in all a roller coaster ride of horror and fabulous storyline accented with great acting chops from all involved.
Buy this video if you come across it!!!
Not superb, but not horrible
o2binla7 December 2000
For a blatant Blair Witch ripoff, overall it's pretty well done. It relies almost completely on surprise for its scares, though, as opposed to the creeping dread in TBWP.
I had a couple of problems with the movie, the first being that the supposed "psychic" girl was a horribly bad actress. She could hardly project "I'm reciting lines" more if she were holding her own cue cards. Second, I was really disappointed that it wasn't a documentary; I picked up the box on impulse, expecting something rather like MTV's "Fear" series. Instead, I got rather blatant staging of scare events. It's obvious from the get-go, when the events that are supposed to shock the audience are anticipated and framed just a little too perfectly. The too-good shot composition continues throughout the film, and pretty much did away with any residual "hey, this could be real" thoughts I'd been having.
Still, it's an interesting little trip, and, although the ending is hokey and unrealistic, I reckon it's worth a rental.
I had a couple of problems with the movie, the first being that the supposed "psychic" girl was a horribly bad actress. She could hardly project "I'm reciting lines" more if she were holding her own cue cards. Second, I was really disappointed that it wasn't a documentary; I picked up the box on impulse, expecting something rather like MTV's "Fear" series. Instead, I got rather blatant staging of scare events. It's obvious from the get-go, when the events that are supposed to shock the audience are anticipated and framed just a little too perfectly. The too-good shot composition continues throughout the film, and pretty much did away with any residual "hey, this could be real" thoughts I'd been having.
Still, it's an interesting little trip, and, although the ending is hokey and unrealistic, I reckon it's worth a rental.
what's up with that movie
inward_bound_girl28 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
What I found weird about the movie; first off, I thought it was suppose to be a real experiment, the movie pretty much made it out to be fake, by him mentioning; you have seen the Blair witch project; and plus; they must have some really good reflexes; to jump out of the way of the chandelier and the chains falling from the chimney; they knew it was coming and plus, that girl who went into the chimney to investigate; sure got brave all of a sudden; because, from what I thought of her character; when she first came into the house "the scared one" but she was so brave to go check out the chimney whatever!!!! True enough, the story about madame whats her name is a true story and maybe the house is really haunted but if you're gonna make a documentary; than let it be real!
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