The Marsh (2006) – movie review

The Marsh (2006)

Directed by: Jordan Baker

Starring:
Gabrielle Anwar
Justin Lewis
Forest Whitaker

Claire Halloway (Gabrielle Anwar) is a successful author of children’s books. Her main character in a series of dark tales is a young girl who lives in a big red house in a rural area. A rigorous schedule of book signings and a string of unrelenting nightmares leads Claire’s therapist to recommend a vacation and a change of pace. Claire agrees and begins to make plans for a hiatus. Claire is immediately drawn to a farmhouse that is for rent. Oddly enough, It looks very similar to the house she has illustrated for her fictional children’s books.

Upon moving into the rental, The Rose Marsh Farmhouse, Claire finds no peace and quiet as strange occurrences begin to happen. Objects are moved from where she had left them and she sees a ghostly image of a child running about the place. As incidents increase in intensity she is frightened by the evil spirit of a man who seems to chase and dominate the little girl spirit.

Claire befriends Noah Pitney (Justin Louis), a local historian who offers some insight to the farmhouse and it’s history. As frightful events unfold Claire calls upon a paranormal investigator named Hunt (Forest Whitaker) to help quell the violent outbursts of supernatural activity. Layers of time are peeled back to reveal the dark secrets of the Rose Marsh Farmhouse and marshland that lies beyond it‘s property.

The Marsh is a classic style ghost story comparable to Ghost Story and The Changeling. It provides basic creepy atmosphere and moderate chills and thrills. Most of that is boosted by some good soundtrack and sound effects. Its not all that scary, but the story is interesting enough for those who like ghost stories. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it and would probably not spend money on the dvd/bluray. However, if its on cable I may give it another spin. It’s horror lite, but you could find worse ways to spend an afternoon.

The Marsh is an old fashion ghost story that’s not too intense.
I give it 2.2 ghost-ies on the angry spirit scale of dead mean-ies and ghastly bullies.

The Conjuring (2013) – movie review

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The Conjuring

In Harrisville, Rhode Island, a young couple with five children struggling to survive a weak economy got a great deal on a home and several acres of land. It was an opportunity they could not pass up. They would later regret it.

The Conjuring is the classic haunted house tale, a true story adapted for film under the direction of James Wan. It relays the harrowing events of the Perron family and what occurred in their country home during 1971. It also follows real-life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who throughout their lives have helped hundreds of families deal with supernatural occurrences.

The Conjuring delivers, jump scares, creepy scares, fun scares, and ‘think about it at 2: am’ scares – it has it all! The pacing was excellent, leaving time after each big scary scene for nervous laughter and regrouping before ramping up the tension again. There
were some intentionally funny parts, dark and oppressive atmosphere, and the kind of build-up needed for a supernatural film to be effective. At its climax the film escalated into a high-action fear-fest.

Some will say that aspects of the film could have been more in-depth. The investigation into the history of the land seemed truncated but nothing is worse during a ghost movie than watching the protagonist sit in a library looking at old newspapers on microfilm. The scene with the priest was equally short but the film is not about the priest, it is about the Warrens and the Perrons. So, while these scenes were obligatory they were kept to minimum length, which I think worked well for this film.

If you like supernatural horror, ghost stories, haunted house flicks, and a bit of spirit possession, you will likely enjoy this film. It is the most fun I have had with a haunted house film since Poltergeist.
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Recommended if you like:
Poltergeist, House, The Amityville Horror, Insidious, The Woman in Black, The Changeling,

Lorraine Warren was on set as a consultant, a testament to Wan’ s commitment in portraying the events as close to the real happenings as possible.

Lorraine even makes a Cameo appearance in the film during a lecture on supernatural occurrences.

***You can compare the movie with the real life happenings here: Reel Faces

**You can read about some of the Warren’s investigations here: The Warrens

**After many years of silence, the youngest Perron daughter penned a book, ‘House of Darkness House of Light’ in 2009 detailing the events that had taken place back in 1971. When asked why she waited all these years, she stated, “The world was not ready for a story like this back then.” Check out the book here: ‘House of Darkness House of Light’