Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour

Last updated
Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour
Poster of the movie Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLisa Comrie
Written byJohn Comrie
Produced byAndrew Cohen
StarringRissa Walters
Brian Comrie
Dan Comrie
CinematographyAndrew Kuepper
Edited byAndrew Cohen
Music byJoseph Conlan
Distributed by Freestyle Releasing
Release date
  • October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$858,415

Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour is a 2007 supernatural thriller film from Freestyle Releasing starring Rissa Walters as the title character. It was released on October 19, 2007. It is billed as "the first in a series of Sarah Landon Mysteries".

Contents

Plot

After the death of her close childhood friend, 17-year-old Sarah Landon (Rissa Walters) goes to visit her friend's grandmother, Thelma Shaw (Jane Harris), in the small town of Pine Valley, California. Upon arriving in Pine Valley, Sarah's car starts making strange noises, and she stops at the repair shop. While there, she talks with the owner and learns of a story involving a local family and asks Mrs. Shaw to get the full story. As the story goes, a young man named David Baker (Brian Comrie), who lives in Pine Valley, will be killed by his deceased uncle on his 21st birthday, which is that coming Monday.

David's uncle, Ben Woods (Rusty Hanes), was angry with his sister because of her involvement in the car crash that killed his own son, Johnny, on his 21st birthday. After receiving the threat as a child and learning of his uncle's death, David became obsessed with the paranormal, trying to find out how Ben would kill him. He became a recluse, moving to a loft above the family's barn. Sarah and Matt (Dan Comrie), David's brother, try to help him before his birthday arrives, though initially Matt doesn't believe that his brother will really die. At first, David believes Ben was reincarnated, and that a boy who moved next door to the Bakers, Justin Van Kamp (Kendell Linley), will murder him.

After encountering Ben's spirit in the man's former home, he realizes Ben is still a spirit and will instead possess someone else to kill him. As it grows closer to midnight (the paranormal hour) on David's 21st birthday, Sarah, Matt, and David, with the help of a local psychic's niece named Yolanda Lopez (Sylvia Enrique), uncover a ritual that may save David's life. At midnight, they begin the ritual, and when Matt and Sarah return to Mrs. Shaw's house, they find out that Mrs. Shaw is the person who was possessed by the spirit of Ben Woods. The two teens race back to the Bakers' home, with Mrs. Shaw/Ben in close pursuit.

Just as the possessed woman is about to kill David, Justin van Kamp appears, and it is revealed that he is actually the reincarnation of Ben's son, Johnny. Johnny convinces his father not to kill David, and Ben's spirit moves on. Later that day, Sarah returns home to San Diego, saying that this adventure was only the beginning of strange occurrences in Pine Valley, hinting at a possible sequel.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in San Diego County at a house in Fallbrook. Additional filming took place in Pine Valley where the movie is set. [1]

Home media

The DVD's initial release date was March 25, 2008, but the release was postponed due to the movie's failure at the box office.[ citation needed ] However, the movie was finally released on DVD on September 9, 2008.[ citation needed ]

Box office

The film opened in 1,121 theaters in the United States and grossed $586,283 on its opening weekend. [2] Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo wrote that it and The Ten Commandments had "two of the worst national debuts of all time". [3] The film ended up grossing a total of $858,415.

Reception

Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour was widely panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 0% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 2.9/10. Criticisms were directed towards the acting, dialogue and cinematography, with John Anderson of Variety writing that the film is "beset by bad lighting, limited visual imagination and acting so wooden it might have termites." [4] Andy Webster of The New York Times stated that "the film is sunk by a pervasive stasis, the byproduct not of mood but of the filmmakers' amateurish abilities. If there's one thing Nick and Disney know, it's that youthful entertainment needs to keep moving." [5] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe was also critical, writing "the ear-numbing dialogue explains (and explains) rather than dramatizes, though, and the performances are earnest and flat". [6]

The protagonist Sarah Landon was also criticized, with Jim Ridley of LA Weekly stating that "Do-nothing Sarah may be the dullest, most featureless and inactive protagonist in recent movies -- great news for those Scooby-Doo die-hards who never got enough Freddy." [7]

Cancelled sequel

Although the director signed up for a sequel, and the movie was billed as 'the first in a series of Sarah Landon mysteries', there have been no plans for a sequel due to the poor box office performance of the first film.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Grudge</i> 2004 American film by Takashi Shimizu

The Grudge is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge, it is the first installment in The Grudge film series. It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, and Bill Pullman. Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, and Takashi Matsuyama portray the characters Kayako Saeki, Toshio Saeki, and Takeo Saeki from the original films. The plot is told through a nonlinear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots.

<i>The Reaping</i> 2007 American film

The Reaping is a 2007 American supernatural horror thriller film, starring Hilary Swank. The film was directed by Stephen Hopkins for Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment. The music for the film was scored by John Frizzell.

<i>Ghost Rider</i> (2007 film) 2007 film by Mark Steven Johnson

Ghost Rider is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, it was produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment, Crystal Sky Pictures, and Relativity Media, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film stars Nicolas Cage as the titular character, with Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott, Donal Logue, Matt Long, and Peter Fonda in supporting roles. Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman sells his soul and becomes a bounty hunter of evil demons: the Ghost Rider.

<i>Disturbia</i> (film) 2007 film by D. J. Caruso

Disturbia is a 2007 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and written by Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth. Starring Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer and Carrie-Anne Moss, it is about a 17-year-old teenager named Kale Brecht, who is placed on house arrest for assaulting his school teacher and who spies on his neighbors, believing one of them is a serial killer.

<i>Shutter</i> (2008 film) 2008 American film

Shutter is a 2008 American supernatural horror film directed by Masayuki Ochiai and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written by Luke Dawson and is a remake on the 2004 Thai film of the same name. Its story follows newlywed couple Ben and Jane who have just moved to Japan for a promising job opportunity. After a tragic car accident that leads to the death of a young girl, Ben begins noticing strange blurs in many of his fashion shoot photographs, which Jane suspects is the spirit of the dead girl that they killed. The film stars Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, and Megumi Okina.

<i>Pathology</i> (film) 2008 American film

Pathology is a 2008 crime-horror film directed by Marc Schölermann, written by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and starring Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, Alyssa Milano, and Lauren Lee Smith. The film premiered April 11, 2008 in the United Kingdom and opened in limited release in the United States on April 18, 2008.

<i>The Ten Commandments</i> (2007 film) 2007 animated film

The Ten Commandments is a 2007 animated biblical fantasy film directed by John Stronach and Bill Boyce, and written by Ed Naha. The film follows Moses from his childhood, as the adopted grandson of Pharaoh, to his adulthood, as the chosen one of Yahweh and liberator of his people.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> 2007 film by Oren Peli

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film produced, written, directed, photographed, and edited by Oren Peli. It centers on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence inside their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them. The film uses found-footage conventions that were mirrored in the later films of the series.

<i>Footloose</i> (2011 film) American film by Craig Brewer

Footloose is a 2011 American musical drama film co-written and directed by Craig Brewer. It is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name, and stars Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Andie MacDowell and Dennis Quaid. The film follows a young man who moves from Boston to a small Southern town and protests the town's ban against dancing. Filming took place from September to November 2010 in Georgia. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on October 6, 2011, and in North America on October 14, 2011. It grossed $15.5 million in its opening weekend and $63 million worldwide.

<i>Paranormal Activity 2</i> 2010 film by Tod Williams

Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon and Tom Pabst. The film mostly acts as a prequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before the events depicted in the original film, although it is set over a longer period of time and eventually concludes after the first film's ending.

<i>Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance</i> 2011 film by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics antihero Ghost Rider. It is a sequel to the 2007 film Ghost Rider and features Nicolas Cage reprising his role as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider with supporting roles portrayed by Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Johnny Whitworth, Christopher Lambert, and Idris Elba. The film was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, from a screenplay written by Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman, and David S. Goyer. Released publicly for one night on December 11, 2011, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance had its wide commercial release on February 17, 2012, in 2D and 3D. Johnny Blaze is the Ghost Rider cursed to hunt demons, and he is approached by a secret religious sect to help protect a young boy named Danny, who is believed to be a target of the devil's minions.

<i>Paranormal Activity 4</i> 2012 film by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost

Paranormal Activity 4 is a 2012 American found footage supernatural horror film, directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost and written by Christopher Landon from a story by Chad Feehan. It is the fourth installment in the Paranormal Activity series, and a sequel to Paranormal Activity 2. The film features Katie Featherston, who starred in the first film. It was released by Paramount Pictures in theaters and IMAX on October 17, 2012, in the United Kingdom and on October 19, 2012, in the United States.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> (film series) American supernatural horror film series

Paranormal Activity is an American supernatural horror franchise consisting of seven films and additional media. Created by Oren Peli, the original film premiered in 2007 and was widely released in 2009.

<i>Jessabelle</i> 2014 film by Kevin Greutert

Jessabelle is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed and edited by Kevin Greutert and written by Ben Garant. The film stars Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, David Andrews, Joelle Carter, and Ana de la Reguera. The film was released by Lionsgate on November 7, 2014.

<i>Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones</i> 2014 film by Christopher Landon

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a 2014 American found footage supernatural horror film written and directed by Christopher Landon. Released on January 3, 2014, in the United States, it is the fifth installment of the Paranormal Activity film series. It is also Landon's second directorial film, after Burning Palms. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $90 million worldwide.

<i>Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse</i> 2015 American zombie comedy film

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is a 2015 American zombie comedy film directed by Christopher Landon and written by Landon, Carrie Evans, Emi Mochizuki and Lona Williams. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont and David Koechner. The film was released in the United States on October 30, 2015, by Paramount Pictures. It received generally mixed reviews from critics though Sheridan's performance was praised.

<i>Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension</i> 2015 film by Gregory Plotkin

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is a 2015 American 3D found footage supernatural horror film directed by Gregory Plotkin in his directorial debut, and written by Jason Harry Pagan, Andrew Deutschman, Adam Robitel, and Gavin Heffernan. It is the sixth installment in the Paranormal Activity series. Most of the film takes place after Paranormal Activity 4 (2012), though the plot ties in heavily with the events of Paranormal Activity 3 (2011). It is the first installment not to star Katie Featherston as Katie, although she appears played by Chloe Csengery, who had already portrayed a younger Katie in the last two installments.

<i>Rings</i> (2017 film) 2017 film by F. Javier Gutiérrez

Rings is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez and written by David Loucka, Jacob Aaron Estes and Akiva Goldsman. It is the third installment in The Ring series and is based on elements of Spiral by Kōji Suzuki. It stars Matilda Lutz as a young woman who finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in seven days. Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan and Vincent D'Onofrio also star in supporting roles.

<i>Happy Death Day</i> 2017 American slasher film

Happy Death Day is a 2017 American black comedy slasher film directed by Christopher Landon, and written by Scott Lobdell. It stars Jessica Rothe and Israel Broussard. The film was produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. It follows college student Tree Gelbman, who is murdered on the night of her birthday but begins reliving the day repeatedly, at which point she sets out to find the killer and stop her death.

<i>Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin</i> 2021 film by William Eubank

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is a 2021 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by William Eubank, written by Christopher Landon, and produced by Jason Blum and series creator Oren Peli. Serving as the seventh installment of the Paranormal Activity series, the film stars Emily Bader, Roland Buck III, Dan Lippert, Henry Ayres-Brown, and Tom Nowicki, and follows a group who attempt to make a documentary on an Amish community, only for them to discover the horrific secrets the town holds.

References

  1. ↑ "Sarah Landon Director Lisa Comrie". ComingSoon.net. 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  2. ↑ "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  3. ↑ Gray, Brandon (22 October 2007). "'30 Days of Night' Leads Lifeless Crowd". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  4. ↑ Anderson, John (20 October 2007). "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour". Variety. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Webster, Andy (20 October 2007). "This Is, Like, Spooky Stuff". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Burr, Ty. "'Sarah Landon' is a family affair; sadly, that's no compliment". Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Ridley, Jim. "Movie Reviews: 30 Days of Night, Canvas, Futbaal". LA Weekly. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
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.