Haunt (2013 film)

Last updated
Haunt
Haunt2013horrorfilmposterCarter.jpg
Theatrical film poster
Directed byMac Carter
Written byAndrew Barrer
Produced by Bill Block
Paul Hanson
John Hegeman
Anton Lessine
Sasha Shapiro
Starring Harrison Gilbertson
Liana Liberato
Ione Skye
Jacki Weaver
CinematographyAdam Marsden
Edited byRuben Sebban
Music by Reinhold Heil
Production
companies
QED International
Revolver Picture Company
Distributed byIFC Midnight
Release date
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Haunt is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Mac Carter in his feature film directorial debut. The film premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on November 6, 2013, and was later released on video on demand on February 7, 2014. Haunt stars Harrison Gilbertson as a teenager who moves into a new house and goes through not only a sexual awakening but also a terrifying haunting. [1]

Contents

Plot

A distraught man, Franklin, tries to speak to his dead children in the afterlife by using an EVP box; soon thereafter, he is mysteriously possessed by a ghost, which then apparently causes him to kill himself.

After this incident, a woman who will come to be known to the viewer as Dr. Morello begins narrating about her family and how they were murdered one by one by an unknown force. When Evan Asher (Harrison Gilbertson) and his family move into the old Morello house some years later, they are largely unaware that it has a history of death and grief. After having difficulties sleeping, Evan goes for a walk where he meets Samantha Richards (Liana Liberato) crying as a result of her drunk, abusive father. They say goodbye but she sneaks into his bed that same night. Soon after their arrival Evan begins to experience paranormal activity and enlists Samantha's help to uncover what is going on.

As the two teens spend more and more time with each other, they begin to fall in love and in the course of exploring the house, find the same EVP box from before. Not really expecting anything to actually happen, they use it to speak with the dead and it starts working. The ghosts continue haunting the two teens as well as psychically contacting the youngest child (leaving the parents unaware of the whole situation), and at the urging of Dr. Morello, whom they deduce might know something about the hauntings, the frightened Evan and Sam decide to burn the box and the belongings of the previous owners. They also seal the small room in their attic bedroom where the box was found. However, these actions fail to work as hoped and the ghost of a woman haunts them that night and locks the door.

It is then revealed to Sam in a psychic vision that the ghost is vengeful. Frank Morello had an affair with a woman who was his neighbor and his wife's patient. This woman gave birth to a daughter revealed to be Samantha. Doctor Morello finds out about the affair and brutally kills the woman while the weak-willed Frank stands by and watches, holding the daughter he sired. The woman is then buried in a small room in the attic, where Evan is staying now. Sam is then possessed by her mother's spirit who in turn kills Evan by bludgeoning him with a hammer saying "You shouldn't have burned the box, you shouldn't have closed the room."

Sam is caught by Evan's father when she tries to open the wooden plank in the floor under which the woman's body is buried, calling out "Mommy" the whole time. She is arrested and taken away by the cops. The movie ends with the voice of Dr. Morello wondering if Evan will haunt that house forever like she believes the members of her family will.

Cast

Production

Plans to film Haunt were officially announced in August 2012, with Mac Carter set to direct a script written by Andrew Barrer. [2] Production and filming for the movie was set to begin in Utah in November 2012, [3] and Jacki Weaver was confirmed to be performing in Haunt. [4] In early 2013 QED International launched a viral website that detailed the fictional Morello House, portraying it as a real paranormal case study. [5]

Reception

Fearnet gave Haunt a mostly positive review, noting that while the film's story "won't win many awards for originality", that Haunt did bring in some new ideas and that overall "it's a respectably old-school chiller that feels sort of refreshing after watching so many high-tech, post-modern, and uber-subversive horror flicks." [6] In contrast, Shock Till You Drop gave the film a more mixed review, commenting that it was "competently made" but that "no matter how well-made it is, you have seen every minute of this movie before". [7]

Related Research Articles

A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic voice phenomenon</span> Paranormal terminology and recordings

Within ghost hunting and parapsychology, electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sounds found on electronic recordings that are interpreted as spirit voices. Parapsychologist Konstantīns Raudive, who popularized the idea in the 1970s, described EVP as typically brief, usually the length of a word or short phrase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed and Lorraine Warren</span> American paranormal investigators

Edward Warren Miney and Lorraine Rita Warren were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a self-taught and self-professed demonologist, author, and lecturer. Lorraine professed to be clairvoyant and a light trance medium who worked closely with her husband.

<i>An American Haunting</i> 2005 film

An American Haunting is a 2005 supernatural horror film written and directed by Courtney Solomon and starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, James D'Arcy, and Rachel Hurd-Wood. The film was previewed at the AFI Film Festival on November 5, 2005 and was released in the UK on April 14, 2006 with follow-up in US theaters on May 5. The film is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, Canada, Romania, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost hunting</span> Investigating reportedly haunted locations for ghosts

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln's ghost</span> Ghost of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln

The ghost of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, also known as the White House Ghost, is said to have haunted the White House since Lincoln's assassination in 1865. Lincoln's ghost has also been said to haunt many of his former residences in Springfield, Illinois, including his former law office.

<i>A Haunting</i> American TV series or program

A Haunting is an American paranormal drama anthology television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of alleged possession, exorcism, and ghostly encounters. The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of alleged paranormal experiences at reportedly haunted and mostly residential locations.

<i>Ghost Adventures</i> American paranormal reality television show

Ghost Adventures is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 25, 2007. The program follows ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted.

<i>The Innkeepers</i> (film) 2011 American film

The Innkeepers is a 2011 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Ti West. It stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly McGillis. Its plot follows two employees at the Yankee Pedlar Inn who, during its last weekend of operations, attempt to document the alleged supernatural activity in the building.

<i>Fertile Ground</i> (film) 2011 American film

Fertile Ground is a 2011 horror film directed by Adam Gierasch. The film was released as part of the After Dark Originals line on January 28, 2011 and stars Leisha Hailey as a pregnant woman who finds herself subjected to several strange supernatural occurrences.

The following are reportedly haunted locations in Pennsylvania:

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is an ongoing supernatural horror web series that is currently broadcast on YouTube. The series was created by Paige McKenzie, Nick Hagen, and Mercedes Rose, and is produced by Coat Tale Productions. The series first launched in 2010 and its premiere episode was uploaded on December 10, 2010. The Haunting of Sunshine Girl quickly rose in popularity and between December 2010 to October 2011 the show received more than 4.3 million total hits. The average length of the episodes is about two minutes but can run less depending on the episode and content.

<i>Suburban Gothic</i> (film) 2014 American film

Suburban Gothic is a 2014 American comedy horror film directed by Richard Bates Jr. It had its world premiere on July 19, 2014, at the Fantasia International Film Festival and stars Matthew Gray Gubler as a young man who returns home only to find himself faced with the supernatural. The film was released in select theaters and via video on demand platforms on January 30, 2015.

<i>The Grudge</i> (2020 film) American film by Nicolas Pesce

The Grudge is a 2020 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Nicolas Pesce. A reboot of the 2004 American remake and the original 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge, the film also takes place before and during the events of the 2004 film and its two sequels. It is the fourth installment in the American The Grudge film series and stars Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, and Jacki Weaver. The film follows a police officer who investigates several murders that are seemingly connected to a single house.

The Cheltenham Ghost was an apparition said to haunt a house in Cheltenham in western England. The building in Pittville Circus Road was the home of the Despard family who saw the ghost of a veiled woman on several occasions in the 1880s.

References

  1. Zimmerman, Samuel. "EXCL Poster: IFC Midnight's "HAUNT"". Fangoria. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  2. Fleming, Mike Jr. (27 August 2012). "QED To Produce, Finance Fright Film 'Haunt'". Deadline. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  3. Dee, Jake (17 October 2012). "Mac Carter's horror flick Haunt attracts veteran actress Jackie Weaver". JoBlo. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  4. Turek, Ryan. "First Details, Art for Haunted House Thriller Haunt from Paranormal Activity, District 9 Producers". STYD. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  5. "Mac Carter's Haunt Goes Viral". Dread Central. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  6. Weinberg, Scott. "Fearnet Movie Review: Haunt". Fearnet. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  7. Doro, Paul. "Review: You've Experienced This 'Haunt' Before". STYD. Retrieved 12 February 2014.