One suspects there will never be a time when ghost stories won't have an appeal. Perhaps because no matter how rational we are, we will always fear the strange and unknown, even more so if it turns out to have some basis in reality. In the 1990s, the cult TV series Sightings featured just such a case as part of its kaleidoscope of programming involving a family in Kansas and the spirits in their home. In 2002, sometime after the series ended, those segments inspired the made for TV movie Sightings: Heartland Ghost which dramatized the case and the family at the heart of it.
Unquestionably, the movie has plenty going for it. The real-life case unfolded on TV across nearly five years, giving plenty of source material for veteran screenwriter Phil Penningroth to draw upon in creating his script. Indeed, the various Sightings crew (including host Tim White in a somewhat rare on-location visit) captured on tape some positively surprising moments. The casting looked solid with the ever dependable Beau Bridges and Miguel Ferrer in leading roles alongside a cast of Canadian character actors. The potential was there to be sure.
Did the film live up to it? Yes and no.
Yes, at least in many of the places that matter. The casting is firm for the most part with Bridges being an effective company leader as the skeptical producer confronting the paranormal alongside his team of Nia Long as his researcher and Matthew Currie Holmes as his at times obnoxious cameraman Nolan. Miguel Ferrer, best known for his rougher-edged or more disagreeable performances, gets a rare chance to play a softer role as the psychic Allen (based on the show's semi-resident psychic Peter James who visited the house). The supporting cast is a bit more mixed with Gabriel Olds and Thea Gill seemingly mismatched to an extent as the couple at the heart of the haunting while Rachel Hayward is effective in her role as electronics expert Jamie. Other parts are a bit more stock and less showy with equally mixed results.
The film has other positives going for it as well. Despite being shot in Canada, the film does an admirable job of capturing the Kansas location and a decent reproduction/take of the house at the center of things. The cinematography of Bert Dunk and the direction are above average for a TV movie with Australian director Brian Trenchard-Smith bringing his strengths for visuals and pacing to proceedings. Last but not least is the score from Peter Bernstein which has its share of striking moments to it, adding some atmosphere to proceedings though it does find itself hampered at times, as does the entire production. On the whole, while one wouldn't mistake it for a Hollywood film, it does a respectable job under the circumstances.
What hampers it is the script and some of the decisions made in bringing the case to the screen. Writer Penningroth might have had plenty to draw from, and to his credit, he works in many of the highlights from the coverage on the parent show into proceedings such as scratches forming with no warning or apparent cause on camera. There is, as to be expected, some dramatic license involved such as condensing the scale of time down to a single visit by a single Sightings crew rather than a multi-year set of visits by different units, all understandable given the nature of a ninety-odd minute TV movie. Where the script and, ultimately, the film itself runs into trouble is that Penningroth engages in almost every single cliche of the haunted house/paranormal investigation genre you can throw at it from Bridges' cynical investigator to skeptical townsfolk claiming its all a hoax to a member of the couple who thinks the other is overreacting and even a "cute" ending (for lack of a better phrase) tacked on at the end. Add on a couple of questionable choices involving nudity and a wandering eye-ball camera with different filters on it representing ghosts point of view and the film has a cheap, hookey feeling. But perhaps is that hookey feeling more apparent than in the attempts to recreate those images that will be familiar to viewers of the Sightings segments on the hauntings rather than using the compelling real footage, something of a missed opportunity to tie back into the parent series.
In the end, Sightings: Heartland Ghost is serviceable, respectable even. And yet, despite the cast and some of the better decisions made in the production, it suffers from glaring issues that make a less than perfect piece of work. There's a potentially great haunting film to be made of the Heartland Ghost events but this doesn't quite hit the mark. But, if you're looking for something to watch on a rainy afternoon or on a dark evening, you could do a whole lot worse than this little movie.
Unquestionably, the movie has plenty going for it. The real-life case unfolded on TV across nearly five years, giving plenty of source material for veteran screenwriter Phil Penningroth to draw upon in creating his script. Indeed, the various Sightings crew (including host Tim White in a somewhat rare on-location visit) captured on tape some positively surprising moments. The casting looked solid with the ever dependable Beau Bridges and Miguel Ferrer in leading roles alongside a cast of Canadian character actors. The potential was there to be sure.
Did the film live up to it? Yes and no.
Yes, at least in many of the places that matter. The casting is firm for the most part with Bridges being an effective company leader as the skeptical producer confronting the paranormal alongside his team of Nia Long as his researcher and Matthew Currie Holmes as his at times obnoxious cameraman Nolan. Miguel Ferrer, best known for his rougher-edged or more disagreeable performances, gets a rare chance to play a softer role as the psychic Allen (based on the show's semi-resident psychic Peter James who visited the house). The supporting cast is a bit more mixed with Gabriel Olds and Thea Gill seemingly mismatched to an extent as the couple at the heart of the haunting while Rachel Hayward is effective in her role as electronics expert Jamie. Other parts are a bit more stock and less showy with equally mixed results.
The film has other positives going for it as well. Despite being shot in Canada, the film does an admirable job of capturing the Kansas location and a decent reproduction/take of the house at the center of things. The cinematography of Bert Dunk and the direction are above average for a TV movie with Australian director Brian Trenchard-Smith bringing his strengths for visuals and pacing to proceedings. Last but not least is the score from Peter Bernstein which has its share of striking moments to it, adding some atmosphere to proceedings though it does find itself hampered at times, as does the entire production. On the whole, while one wouldn't mistake it for a Hollywood film, it does a respectable job under the circumstances.
What hampers it is the script and some of the decisions made in bringing the case to the screen. Writer Penningroth might have had plenty to draw from, and to his credit, he works in many of the highlights from the coverage on the parent show into proceedings such as scratches forming with no warning or apparent cause on camera. There is, as to be expected, some dramatic license involved such as condensing the scale of time down to a single visit by a single Sightings crew rather than a multi-year set of visits by different units, all understandable given the nature of a ninety-odd minute TV movie. Where the script and, ultimately, the film itself runs into trouble is that Penningroth engages in almost every single cliche of the haunted house/paranormal investigation genre you can throw at it from Bridges' cynical investigator to skeptical townsfolk claiming its all a hoax to a member of the couple who thinks the other is overreacting and even a "cute" ending (for lack of a better phrase) tacked on at the end. Add on a couple of questionable choices involving nudity and a wandering eye-ball camera with different filters on it representing ghosts point of view and the film has a cheap, hookey feeling. But perhaps is that hookey feeling more apparent than in the attempts to recreate those images that will be familiar to viewers of the Sightings segments on the hauntings rather than using the compelling real footage, something of a missed opportunity to tie back into the parent series.
In the end, Sightings: Heartland Ghost is serviceable, respectable even. And yet, despite the cast and some of the better decisions made in the production, it suffers from glaring issues that make a less than perfect piece of work. There's a potentially great haunting film to be made of the Heartland Ghost events but this doesn't quite hit the mark. But, if you're looking for something to watch on a rainy afternoon or on a dark evening, you could do a whole lot worse than this little movie.