The Bell Witch Haunting

I don't know why I started watching this; I know if I'd seen the 3/10 rating here, I wouldn't have bothered. The fact that EVERY cast member except one was "uncredited" would have tipped me off too, but nooooo, I had to blow off the usual IMDb check. It's my fault because it come up on Netflix streaming as "recommended" (thanks for assuming I have sh*tty taste, Netflix) and even though I vaguely recalled the title as one I was warned against by several reviewers whose opinions I trust, I had a little time to kill and figured what the hell.

The opening minutes featured some gore (more than usual in a found footage movie with a "haunted house" theme) so maybe that got my attention. A big red flag came up with the voice-over acting by the cop who was supposed to have discovered the bodies was TERRIBLE.

Less than five minutes after that scene the only thing keeping me watching it was my deep hatred for a certain character, (who naturally, survived the movie as a last "f-you" from the movie to me). I wanted to see her get kicked down a flight of stairs or pushed off a cliff or die brutally. This is not a good sign when it's the only thing keeping you from turning off the movie. The character was (I think, because I swear they were barely trying) supposed to be likable, too.

This movie was so terrible, so boring, such an endurance test that I can't even write a traditionally-structured review for it. I have to make a list of things wrong with it instead.

1. Every found-footage horror cliché in the book used. transcription of 911 calls (even when someone on screen is clearly seen making them and you can hear everything fine, in a couple cases)? check. shaky-cam over-use? Check. There are what seemed like several 10-minute segments of someone holding the camera while they run around freaking out and all you can make out is occasionally the ground or trees. Mysterious forces throwing someone across the room? check. Night-vision footage of people sleeping while some object moves around by itself? Check. Stupid fake jump-scares where one character sneaks up on another and makes a "scary" noise as a prank? Check. 2. People keep filming after any sane person would have stopped, under the circumstances 3. I wasn't even sure who was filming what, supposedly, by the end. 4. the movie actually gets worse as it goes along. 5. some of the worst make-up "effects" I have ever seen. 6. some acting so bad it is funny instead of scary... but do NOT see this movie because it's one of those MST-3000 movies that is fun because it is so bad, this is NOT one of those movies.

There is no shred of entertainment anywhere in the movie. At no point did I feel remotely scared or even mildly creeped out, nor did I care what happened to the characters (other than hoping they died horribly for being such idiots). There was no point where I was in any kind of suspense.I could see every jump scare (or what they thought passed as jump scares), or pretty much any action whatsoever coming a mile away.

"Bell Witch" (I don't respect anyone involved in the making of the movie enough to go and look for the complete title) is the reason people hate found-footage horror movies.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME! Even if you watch this just to see how bad it is, you will hate yourself when it ends. I hated myself before the first hour of the movie was over. If you want to see a good paranormal found-footage movie, see "Grave Encounters". Hell, even if you've seen it already, just watch it again, you'll have a much more enjoyable time.

This was not good. In fact, it's a good example to demonstrate that just throwing together all of the typical ingredients of a good one doesn't necessarily work. This movie veers wildly between not showing enough in some scenes (long shots of empty rooms with somebody screaming off-camera, for which we sometimes never get any hint of the reason.) It's inconsistent and pays no attention to continuity. The pacing is bad, with no escalation of tension. People start wandering around in dazes more often and crying more often, but it still manages to not build tension.

To any filmmakers who happen to read these comments on movies like this - it isn't always a bad thing to be derivative. Go ahead and make a knock-off of the Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity. There are others like me who don't care about originality. But please, make it good. It doesn't have to be novel, but it does have to work.

This is one of the worst films I have ever watched. It is very predictable. The film is not believable whatsoever. It is not scary,and was done in an amateurish on all fronts. The creators claim that this film is based on true events. Really? The only true event being that someone went to Best-Buy and purchased a video camera. A purchase in which must have come with a free copy of some obscure video editing software. I'm sure it was the lite version at that. Horror video documentaries are good when done right. Sadly, there are no original ideas here. While the director attempts to make up for the lack of substance with gratuitous nudity, even that is done poorly. The story line of this film tries to portray a blending of paranormal activity and the Blair witch project. Save your time and money by spending it watching cat video's on you-tube.

An 11 year-old with an iPhone and a vague notion of storyboarding could have done a better job. Tedious, repetitive and far too much screaming and crying. None of the characters were sympathetic...just pathetic. Less than halfway through the film I wanted them ALL to be dead just to be put out of my own misery. Also, terrible audio continuity. Some scenes I had to turn down the volume 75% for fear of ripping my speakers, then other scenes were virtually silent movie. I normally don't write bad reviews. I see a LOT of movies, so while I may have panned a few on IMDb that represents less than a tenth of a percent of the movies I have seen and enjoyed and didn't consider a complete waste of time.

This movie gets an extra star out of me for the unintended hilarity. Whilst my girlfriend sat transfixed, I either chuckled quietly or laughed out loud, earning irritated looks at first, but gradually mutual understanding. Seriously couldn't help it. After the 4th time they send the SAME EXACT COP to a grisly (supposedly creepy) murder scene, i just about lost it. After the Mom calls 911 for the 3rd time, and also for the 3rd time hangs up on the 911 operator for no reason, I was rolling. I can't take credit for this as I didn't notice it, but the January "21th" date tag, now that I know it is there, makes it even funnier. If you need a solid laugh, check it out.