A Haunting in Salem

Last updated
A Haunting in Salem
A Haunting in Salem poster.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Shane Van Dyke
Screenplay byH. Perry Horton
Produced byDavid Michael Latt
David Rimawi
Paul Bales
Starring Bill Oberst Jr.
Courtney Abbiati
Jenna Stone
Nicholas Harsin
CinematographyAlexander Yellen
Edited byJames Kondelik
Music byChris Ridenhour
Production
company
Release date
  • August 23, 2011 (2011-08-23)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Haunting in Salem is a 2011 3D horror film directed by Shane Van Dyke and starring Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone and Nicholas Harsin. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Synopsis

The new town sheriff (Bill Oberst Jr) moves into a large creepy old house with his family. It seems that in the town of Salem there’s a special house for the sheriff to live in for free. Unfortunately it’s haunted by witches that have a strong craving for sheriff’s blood.

Cast

Production

A Haunting in Salem was filmed in a 200-year-old mansion in Pasadena, CA. The movie was done old school with very few special effects, [6] and used as its premise, the Salem witch trials of 1692. [5]

"A Haunting in Salem" was shot in Native 3D using the Alterna GV-4 beam splitter rig and 2 Red One cameras. Shot in 12 days, the production managed up to 28 set ups per day. Shannon Benna was stereographer and is credited as "Hollywoods'd First Female Feature Stereographer" for her work on this film.

Critical response

KTLA reviewer spoke toward the film's DVD release, writing that the film was a "mixed bag", in that "Nothing is particularly good (there is certainly nothing that would be considered great) and much is quite bad." The reviewer took issue with the acting, offering that even the simplest lines felt hammed up, with the cast giving performances at a level with community theater. He also found flaw with Shane Van Dyke's directing, in that while his use of "shock tactics and very predictable setups for the scares can be forgiven", the director never connected with his audience. The reviewer did have positive response for actress Jenna Stone, and that the "cheesy" and "carnival spook house" type monsters did not have much actual screen time or were seen from a distance. The reviewer's summation included that the combination of bad acting and cheap special effects gave the film a "very 'let’s-get-a-camera-and-make-a-movie' home grown feel that doesn’t exactly hurt the final product", in that the combination contributed to a "cheesy charm". [2]

Consumer Reports wrote that the film "peaks early" and then "loses steam", and that while its use of 3D "isn’t gimmicky", "it’s most effective at fondling the creepiness of the house where most of the action is located." [5]

Rock102online gave a positive review saying, "A Haunting In Salem bills itself as a spine-tingling, haunted chiller in the tradition of The Amityville Horror and The Shining and, much like those classics, it succeeded in delivering numerous jumps and scares that kept me thinking about them long after the final credits rolled. Bill Oberst, Jr. was very convincing as a damaged man who becomes the new sheriff of Salem and inadvertently moves his family into a cursed house filled with vengeful ghosts." [7]

Horrortalk also gave a positive review saying, "A Haunting in Salem is nowhere near the bottom of their catalog of The Asylum's offerings" and praise the direction of Shane Van Dyke to give the film short time to hit its stride as a quality genre piece. The website gave the film an overall of 3 star rating out of five. [8]

Release

A Haunting in Salem was released September 23, 2011.

DVD

The DVD and Blu-ray was released on October 4, 2011. [8] It features 6-minute behind the scenes effort that went into making the film, and a gag reel. [8] KTLA offered that the anamorphic transfer is sharp, bright and clear, but as the film was originally shot in 3D, this results in a "flat feel to it which gives it a very low budget look". [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Van Dyke</span> American actor and comedian (born 1925)

Richard Wayne Van Dyke is an American actor, entertainer, and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned over seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke is the recipient of multiple awards, including a Golden Globe, Tony, Grammy, a Daytime Emmy, and four Primetime Emmys. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. He was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021, and was recognized as a Disney Legend.

<i>Silver Bullet</i> (film) 1985 film by Dan Attias

Silver Bullet is a 1985 American horror thriller film based on the 1983 Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. It stars Gary Busey, Everett McGill, and Corey Haim, with Megan Follows, Terry O'Quinn, Lawrence Tierney, Bill Smitrovich, Kent Broadhurst, David Hart, and James Gammon in supporting roles. The film is directed by Dan Attias, written by King and produced by Martha De Laurentiis.

<i>The Amityville Horror</i> (2005 film) 2005 horror film by Andrew Douglas

The Amityville Horror is a 2005 American supernatural horror film directed by Andrew Douglas and starring Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, and Philip Baker Hall. It also featured the debut of actress Chloe Grace Moretz. Written by Scott Kosar, it is based on the novel The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson, which was previously adapted into the 1979 film of the same name, while also serving as the ninth film in the Amityville Horror film series, which documents the experiences of the Lutz family after they move into a house at 112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island. In 1974, real-life mass murderer Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed six members of his family at the same house in Amityville, New York.

<i>The Beast Within</i> 1982 film by Philippe Mora

The Beast Within is a 1982 American horror film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, L. Q. Jones, Don Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, Logan Ramsey, Katherine Moffat, and Meshach Taylor.

<i>Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers</i> 1987 television film directed by Carl Urbano Paul Sommer

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers is a 1987 animated comedy horror made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. The two-hour film aired in syndication. It is the first full-length film in the Scooby-Doo franchise.

<i>The Naked Monster</i> 2005 American film

The Naked Monster is a 2005 American ultra low-budget science-fiction and horror comedy fan film written by Ted Newsom and directed by Newsom and Wayne Berwick as an homage to and spoof of the "giant monster-on-the-loose" films of the 1950s. The final project took 21 years to make, and was the final film for Kenneth Tobey, John Agar, Lori Nelson and Robert Clarke.

<i>Vengeance of the Zombies</i> 1973 Spanish film

Vengeance of the Zombies is a 1972 Spanish horror film directed by León Klimovsky and starring Paul Naschy, Mirta Miller, Vic Winner and Aurora de Alba. The film was shot in July 1972, but was only theatrically released in Spain in June 1973. It was shown in Italy as La Vendetta dei Morti Viventi. The film was shown in Germany over the years under three different titles....Rebellion of the Living Dead, Invocation of the Devil and Blood Lust of the Zombies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of the Salem witch trials</span>

Cultural depictions of the Salem witch trials abound in art, literature and popular media in the United States, from the early 19th century to the present day. The literary and dramatic depictions are discussed in Marion Gibson's Witchcraft Myths in American Culture and see also Bernard Rosenthal's Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Oberst Jr.</span> American actor

William Oberst Jr. is an American stage, film and television actor of German descent. Known for his work in horror and cult films, his career includes projects in film, television and one-man-show theater performances. He first received recognition for his portrayals of icon and humorist Lewis Grizzard as performed in theatrical tours across the Southern United States, and played the 'Facebook Stalker' in the 2011 online interactive video film and Facebook app Take This Lollipop.

Shane Thomas Van Dyke is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. He is the son of Barry Van Dyke and grandson of Dick Van Dyke.

<i>Eldorado</i> (2012 film) 2012 British film

Eldorado is a British horror-comedy film written and directed by Richard Driscoll, and starring Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Brigitte Nielsen, Kerry Washington, Jeff Fahey, Steve Guttenberg, Bill Moseley, Sylvester McCoy, Tyrese Gibson and Peter O'Toole. The film has been described as a horror/comedy/musical road movie. The film was also released under the title Highway to Hell.

<i>Texas Chainsaw 3D</i> 2012 American film by John Luessenhop

Texas Chainsaw 3D is a 2013 American slasher film directed by John Luessenhop, with a screenplay by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms.

<i>The Amityville Haunting</i> 2011 American film

The Amityville Haunting is a 2011 direct-to-video horror film released on December 13, 2011. The film is inspired by the 1977 book The Amityville Horror. The film was produced by The Asylum and Taut Productions.

Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation is a 2012 horror film prequel to the 2006 film, Night of the Living Dead 3D. It stars Andrew Divoff, who also served as co-producer, Jeffrey Combs, Sarah Lieving and Denice Duff.

<i>Take This Lollipop</i> 2011 film by Jason Zada

Take This Lollipop is a 2011 interactive horror short film and Facebook app written and directed by Jason Zada. Developer Jason Nickel used Facebook Connect to bring viewers themselves into the film, through use of pictures and messages from their own Facebook profiles. Starring actor Bill Oberst Jr. as 'The Facebook Stalker', the film acts to personalize and underscore the dangers inherent in posting too much personal information about oneself on the internet. The information gathered from a viewer's Facebook profile by the film's app is used once and then deleted. The title is derived from the 1963 song "Please Little Girl Take This Lollipop", written and performed by singer-songwriter Bobby Jameson, which is used in the film.

<i>The Midnight Game</i> 2013 American film

The Midnight Game is a 2013 supernatural thriller film directed by A.D. Calvo based on the creepypasta of the same name. The movie had its world release on March 2, 2013, at the Miami International Film Festival and was released to DVD on August 12, 2014. Filming took place Wallingford, Connecticut in April and May 2012, and stars Renee Olstead.

<i>Dallas</i> (1978 TV series, season 12) Season of television series

The twelfth season of the television series Dallas aired on CBS during the 1988–89 TV season.

<i>Children of Sorrow</i> 2012 American film

Children of Sorrow is a 2012 horror film directed by Jourdan McClure and part of the After Dark Originals series. The movie had its world release on October 6, 2012 at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival and was released to DVD on March 4, 2014 through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film stars Bill Oberst Jr. as a twisted cult leader.

<i>Scary or Die</i> 2012 American film

Scary or Die is a 2012 American anthology horror film directed by Bob Badway, Michael Emanuel, and Igor Meglic. The film was released on video on demand on May 1, 2012 and on DVD on September 11, 2012. Initially titled Terror Bytes, the film's name was later changed to coincide with a horror website by the same name that Emanuel ran with his co-director Igor Meglic and two other filmmakers.

Maria Olsen is a South African film producer and actress known for her many roles in horror films. These include Paranormal Activity 3, The Lords of Salem, Gore Orphanage, and Starry Eyes. Non-horror roles include Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

References

  1. ↑ Eric Walkuski May. 10, 2011 (May 10, 2011). "Poster and stills found for the Asylum's Haunting in Salem 3D". JoBlo . Retrieved October 28, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Jeff Allen (October 27, 2011). "A Haunting in Salem (DVD)". KTLA . Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ "HAUNTING IN SALEM, A". theasylum. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  4. ↑ "a-haunting-in-salem". Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 James K. Willcox. "3D Halloween movies: Some tricks, some treats: A Haunting in Salem 3D". Consumer Reports. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  6. ↑ "A Haunting in Salem". boxofhorror. 8 May 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Scotch Reviews A Haunting In Salem". Rock102online. Retrieved October 27, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 3 "A Haunting in Salem DVD Review". HorrorTalk. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.