Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Haunting at the Beacon (aka The Beacon)
Collapse
-
- Published: 11-07-2011, 09:26 AM
- 2 comments
X
Collapse
-
Haunting at the Beacon (aka The Beacon)
Released by: Take 2 Releasing
Released on: 9/13/2011
Director: Michael Stokes
Cast: Teri Polo, David Rees Snell, Michael Ironside, Ken Howard
Year: 2009
Purchase from Amazon
The Movie:
The Shaw family moves into an apartment at The Beacon, after losing their young son (presumed to have drowned). Bryn (Teri Polo, Meet the Parents and all those other God damned “Focker†movies) blames herself for his death/ disappearance and has tried to commit suicide at least once. Her husband Paul (David Rees Snell, television's The Shield) is a college professor whom holds a bit of resentment toward Bryn, but is trying to make things work for them. Bryn immediately starts to see shadowy glimpses of a little boy, and it is revealed the boy died in the elevator shaft. She wants to help the boy move on from his Earthly shackles, perhaps helping her deal with her own guilt for her son's demise. And of course no one believes she really saw anything.
Meanwhile, Paul is dealing with his attraction to the temptress in the building, former actor and internet BDSM personality Vanessa Carver (Elaine Hendrix). He loves his wife, but this woman is a knockout and isn't falling apart at the seams like Bryn. Also in the mix of things is Bryn's sister Christina (Marnette Patterson), who's found a new beau hunk living at The Beacon, Will (Nick Sowell), and she spends a lot of time there. And no, their flirting really doesn't have much to do with anything. The father of the boy starts to show up and the boy seems to be warning Bryn that someone bad is coming, and just what that is won't be revealed until the last ten or so minutes of the story.
So those are the elements of the film: a grieving mother, a cheating husband, a ghost boy, and some insignificant characters. The movie pokes along at a snail's pace, delivering a couple of creepy moments but never enough to really create some decent scares. The movie seems more focused on the relationship between the Shaw's and the effect their long-gone son has had on their marriage, while the ghost stuff appears to be used as more of a vehicle to put further stress on them. It isn't until the end of the movie that the ghosts really come into play, and by then its too late. It took way too much time to get to the point of anything interesting happening and even when it finally does happen it's kind of corny. The ghost activity is more zombie-like than spooky, and even with the expected twist ending, the whole things just falls flat.
Michael Ironside shows up as a cop, as does Ken Howard, but neither one can save the movie from what it is…boring. The acting leads do a good job with their roles and rest of the acting is pretty good. The film looks nice, and first-time director Stokes seemingly surrounded himself with a capable production staff, but the pacing stinks and the movie is 20 minutes too long for the story its trying to tell. A tightened up running time may have brought this one up from “don't bother†to “maybe rentâ€.
Video/Audio/Extras:
A nice image can be seen here, with rich colors, deep blacks, and some interesting camera work (although nothing overly clever). The detail is there and there's some nice film grain. The aspect is 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and it delivers an overall-pleasing picture. Three audio options are available: 5.1 DTS, 5.1 Dolby, and 2.0. The DTS track sounds full and has a nice balance, with some rear speaker activity for the scare sections, and some subwoofer action during certain scenes comes through nicely. But this one is pretty heavy on the yapping, and most of the sound comes from the front.
The only real extra is a commentary track from the director and the producer. They keep the conversation interesting enough, talking about each scene and where they were, etc. It's a decent track for those who like commentaries, but if the movie didn't do it for you, why would you bother with the commentary? There's also a trailer for the feature and a few trailers for other releases from the label, which also play when the disc is inserted into the player. And for some reason there is a scan box on the front. Scan it with your phone and learn the true story of the haunted hotel where the movie was shot. And if you don't have a phone that can scan, then up yours. You don't get to learn the true story.
The Final Word:
This one had potential to be creepy, but the execution is such that it doesn't deliver much for chills and it simply takes too long for anything to happen. By the end you might find yourself watching simply to finish what you started, rather than to see how the movie pans out.
-
#1Alison JaneGirl Boss JaneFind all postsView Profile01-02-2014, 08:23 PMEditing a commentI thought this said Haunting at the Bacon.
-
#2Todd JordanSmut is good.Find all postsView Profile01-03-2014, 02:07 AMEditing a commentIt might have been better.
Posting comments is disabled. -
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (271)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2512)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (298)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Grindhouse Releasing
Released on: March 12th, 2024.
Director: William Grefé
Cast: William Shatner, Jennifer Bishop, Ruth Roman, Harold Sakata
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Impulse – Movie Review:
Directed by the one and only William Grefé, 1974’s Impulse is one of those rare films that allows you to witness what it would be like if a really sweaty William Shatner got mad at a lady carrying balloons. Before that...-
Channel: Movies
04-15-2024, 01:20 PM -
-
Released by: Severin Films
Released on: April 30th, 2024.
Director: Andrew Legge
Cast: Emma Appleton, Stefanie Martini, Rory Fleck Byrne
Year: 2022
Purchase From Amazon
Lola – Movie Review:
Irish filmmakers Andrew Legge’s 2022 movie, ‘Lola’, which was made during Covid-19 lockdowns, is a wildly creative movie made in the found footage style that defies expectations, provides plenty of food for thought and manages to make...-
Channel: Movies
04-10-2024, 04:09 PM -
-
Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: April 9th, 2024.
Director: Zelda Williams
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest, Henry Eikenberry
Year: 2024
Purchase From Amazon
Lisa Frankenstein – Movie Review:
The feature-length directorial debut of Zelda Williams, 20214’s Lisa Frankenstein takes place in 1989 and follows a teenaged girl named Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) who, two years ago, lost her mother...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:40 PM -
-
Released by: Severin Films
Released on: April 30th, 2024.
Director: Gianfranco Giagni
Cast: Roland Wybenga, William Berger, Stéphane Audran
Year: 1988
Purchase From Amazon
Spider Labyrinth – Movie Review:
Professor Alan Whitmore (Roland Wybenga) is an American who works as a Professor of languages studies and has a fascination bordering on obsession with translating pre-Christian religious texts. He was also locked in a closet...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:37 PM -
-
Released by: Mondo Macabro
Released on: April 9th, 2024.
Director: Arizal
Cast: Barry Prima, Eva Arnaz, W.D. Mochtar
Year: 1982
Purchase From Amazon
Special Silencers – Movie Review:
When director Arizal’s 1982 epic begins, we meet a man named Gumilar (W.D. Mochtar), a sinister dude who has constantly bloodshot eyes. He’s meeting with a man about some sort of business deal, but a flashback shows us how some time ago he killed...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:35 PM -
-
Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Piero Regnoli
Cast: Walter Brandi, Lyla Rocco, Maria Giovannini, Alfredo Rizzo, Marisa Quattrini, Leonardo Botta
Year: 1960
Purchase From Amazon
The Playgirls And The Vampire – Movie Review:
Piero Regnoli’s 1960 goofy gothic horror, The Playgirls And The Vampire, revolves around a quintet of beautiful showgirls - Vera (Lyla Rocco), Katia (Maria Giovannini),...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:30 PM -