Wow, what a cinematic experience this was. There were a few things wrong with this movie that prevented me from enjoying it, primarily the story, cast and set. I'm a straight male, so I'm usually indifferent to an actor's appearance, but I couldn't get past the fact that the lead actor looked like a flesh-muppet in a fright wig, wearing his dad's oversize sheriff costume. The victims are supposed to be living in a home from the 1600's in Salem, Mass., but there is clearly an orange tree in the background, and the house looks to be from the Victorian period. Practically every victim is murdered by stabbing, but when their bodies are found they are actually hung. I'm pretty sure that was an unnecessary hassle, even for ghosts. There were a few scares, but the type of scares I get by yelling boo at my dog. In fact, they should have named this movie, "Boo! You're dead!", and they could have avoided the whole 'obviously not Salem' problem. I could elaborate about the various ridiculous plot holes, the cheesy makeup, the shoddy foley work, (like in the climactic scene, where the possessed daughter's bat makes a swinging noise before she actually swings), but why run up the score? This was just a dumb movie. Not the guilty pleasure type of dumb, either.
Review of A Haunting in Salem
A Haunting in Salem
(2011 Video)
Apparent burn victim Sheriff and his inexplicably hot wife move into a haunted house, die.
20 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers