"Sightings: Heartland Ghost" is an incredibly enjoyable if slightly flawed ghost film.
**SPOILERS**
Known for his debunking abilities, Derek Mulroy, (Beau Bridges) and his team, Lou, (Nia Long) Allen, (Miguel Ferrer) and Nolan, (Matthew Currie Holmes) are soon excited about a new case. Traveling to High River, Nebraska, they meet up with Jeff Mason, (Gabriel Olds) and his wife Pam, (Thea Gill) who believe that they're house is haunted. After getting a look and feel for the house, they experience several weird phenomena that all equate to supernatural beings. Remaining skeptical, they find that he is the target of a group of ghosts who have ties to him going back centuries, and become fully aware of what they're fighting. As the attacks get more severe, they try to solve the hauntings and rid the family of the ghosts.
The Good News: As a supernatural haunting film, this one wasn't all that bad. The fact that it has some really nice haunting scenes for such a film is a big plus and derives most of it's good points. The initial sequence, which is one of the single creepiest ideas ever, is pulled off marvelously, making the already spooky scene carry even more weight, and unlike most ghostly action is carried out in front of an audience rather than just the intended targets, and since this is the first sign of something going on it really packs a wallop and gets the viewers in the right mind-frame over what the upcoming events will be like. The later ones don't disappoint either, as there's a wonderful candle trick along the walls of the house, the appearance of the photographs submitted for the investigation and the erotic dream which come into play as really great ones. Even whole sequences, as the first walk-through when they arrive has some solid moments, namely in the bedroom when the psychic gets involved and the whole ghost-busting finale, where it gets high-tech to be able to detect what's going on and being able to find some creepy ideas, from the thermal imaging to the scars and visible temperature decease being good examples. Basically, this one works whenever it features a haunting, even though there is more good points on hand. The concept of the ghost-vision, here accomplished through a swirling, green-dominated view-point is rather clever and really unique, helping it to stick out more. The fact that it doesn't restrict the haunting to a castle or a Gothic location but rather just a farmhouse is a nice touch, as there's a realistic ability to it that really works, giving it a sense of realism about the whole affair. The last good part is the film's back-story, which is creepy, clever and really nice, using the clichéd to work up a nice twist that drives the action nicely and forcing some creative ideas to come forth. These are the film's good points.
The Bad News: This one here had a few small flaws with it. The main one is that the middle of the film is really devoid of supernatural affairs, tending to appear a little dull at times. Considering this is an experienced research team, it makes little sense that they don't do the field-work until after they've gotten there and already experienced something, which here is pretty good but it still takes a while for them to go out and find out what's going on. There's a couple scenes here where it's just long sequences of them just going on and on about the back-story present at the location and that tends to make the film a little dull during those times as it's just filled with the back-story of the house, and that tends to cut into the supernatural hauntings that would be present, which really could've been fixed by having it go the other way around and investigate before arriving, thereby making them seem a little more on-top-of matters when they get there. The other part here is the rampant skepticism on display, which as the center of so many conversations is brought into the spotlight often enough for it to be a real problem, as the sheer number of them are quite aggravating and annoying. Aside from these two points, though, the film doesn't have much else to hurt it.
The Final Verdict: While not one of the all-time best entries in the genre, this one is still good enough to warrant a viewing based on a couple great moments. Give this a shot if you're into the more realistic ghost films or need a somewhat decent entry, though those looking for more active fare should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity and Violence
**SPOILERS**
Known for his debunking abilities, Derek Mulroy, (Beau Bridges) and his team, Lou, (Nia Long) Allen, (Miguel Ferrer) and Nolan, (Matthew Currie Holmes) are soon excited about a new case. Traveling to High River, Nebraska, they meet up with Jeff Mason, (Gabriel Olds) and his wife Pam, (Thea Gill) who believe that they're house is haunted. After getting a look and feel for the house, they experience several weird phenomena that all equate to supernatural beings. Remaining skeptical, they find that he is the target of a group of ghosts who have ties to him going back centuries, and become fully aware of what they're fighting. As the attacks get more severe, they try to solve the hauntings and rid the family of the ghosts.
The Good News: As a supernatural haunting film, this one wasn't all that bad. The fact that it has some really nice haunting scenes for such a film is a big plus and derives most of it's good points. The initial sequence, which is one of the single creepiest ideas ever, is pulled off marvelously, making the already spooky scene carry even more weight, and unlike most ghostly action is carried out in front of an audience rather than just the intended targets, and since this is the first sign of something going on it really packs a wallop and gets the viewers in the right mind-frame over what the upcoming events will be like. The later ones don't disappoint either, as there's a wonderful candle trick along the walls of the house, the appearance of the photographs submitted for the investigation and the erotic dream which come into play as really great ones. Even whole sequences, as the first walk-through when they arrive has some solid moments, namely in the bedroom when the psychic gets involved and the whole ghost-busting finale, where it gets high-tech to be able to detect what's going on and being able to find some creepy ideas, from the thermal imaging to the scars and visible temperature decease being good examples. Basically, this one works whenever it features a haunting, even though there is more good points on hand. The concept of the ghost-vision, here accomplished through a swirling, green-dominated view-point is rather clever and really unique, helping it to stick out more. The fact that it doesn't restrict the haunting to a castle or a Gothic location but rather just a farmhouse is a nice touch, as there's a realistic ability to it that really works, giving it a sense of realism about the whole affair. The last good part is the film's back-story, which is creepy, clever and really nice, using the clichéd to work up a nice twist that drives the action nicely and forcing some creative ideas to come forth. These are the film's good points.
The Bad News: This one here had a few small flaws with it. The main one is that the middle of the film is really devoid of supernatural affairs, tending to appear a little dull at times. Considering this is an experienced research team, it makes little sense that they don't do the field-work until after they've gotten there and already experienced something, which here is pretty good but it still takes a while for them to go out and find out what's going on. There's a couple scenes here where it's just long sequences of them just going on and on about the back-story present at the location and that tends to make the film a little dull during those times as it's just filled with the back-story of the house, and that tends to cut into the supernatural hauntings that would be present, which really could've been fixed by having it go the other way around and investigate before arriving, thereby making them seem a little more on-top-of matters when they get there. The other part here is the rampant skepticism on display, which as the center of so many conversations is brought into the spotlight often enough for it to be a real problem, as the sheer number of them are quite aggravating and annoying. Aside from these two points, though, the film doesn't have much else to hurt it.
The Final Verdict: While not one of the all-time best entries in the genre, this one is still good enough to warrant a viewing based on a couple great moments. Give this a shot if you're into the more realistic ghost films or need a somewhat decent entry, though those looking for more active fare should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity and Violence