A Haunting in Ravenwood

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.

This movie is competently directed.

Tim Coyle gives the standout performance as Gregory, he feels like the heart of the story to me.

Chynna Rae Shurts gives a solid performance as a woman who may or may not be losing her mind, often pushing the dial to 11.

Jon Meggison simmers appropriately as the husband.

It's a great depiction of gaslighting.

The ending is delightfully over the top.

It also features appearances by horror legends Eileen Dietz and Jackey Neyman Jones.

I appreciated the Easter Egg from "The Exorcist".

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...

While scanning the reviews for this particular title I was really dismayed that people have the audacity to tear something apart that was not a multimillion dollar project. Obviously if it was a larger scale project then I can understand some of the comments. While I will not give any spoilers, I will critique the items that I think could have probably been addressed little bit better. The dialogue from far away could have been a little bit more audible. And the flickering from the candles when they weren't actually flickering probably could have been addressed. Overall I think it was a pretty good movie considering the subject and content. Kudos to whoever directed this project 😊