Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Jenna Walter
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
tanishashah85
I remember watching this movie 9 years ago and almost forgot how good this movie was ...not scary at all ..a very decent ghost story with good acting especially Benjamin stiles as Ricky mabe ...its sad that these days they don't make movies like they used to make...a perfect movie which can be watched with your family on Sunday afternoon ...watch it if you like ghost stories.....can anybody tell where I can find the movie DVD or can even watch it online as it been ages I haven't watched this movie desperately wanna watch it....loved this movie ..you won't get bored watching this movie again and again ...believe it.
Carrigon
Misbilled as a horror movie. It's a soggy waste of a ghost story. Not scary. And the ending is really, really lame. The entire plot is weak. It really could have been something. The grandfather's mansion is really nice and they should have used it more. Comes complete with a nearby cemetery. There was no big secret. The ghost died by accident. So, why is she moaning away every night? Well, the plot is warm and fuzzy enough to make you queasy. If you're looking for a Brady Bunch movie with a ghost, this is it. If you were looking for horror and scares, forget it. This thing wouldn't scare your pet. It's a real shame, some of the elements were there. Amazing house and scenery. But a really bad plot and script.
John Collins
I just finished watching this movie and I think it is one of the best I have seen in a long time. It manages to combine a ghost story, a love story or two, a teenage rivalry, a suspense-thriller, a get-even story, and a "I'm-not-telling" (grin) ending.Children and adults can both enjoy this film. It manages to avoid any gorey scenes and yet includes plenty of rising suspense and timely comic relief.The two youthful stars, Ricky and Elisha, are truly great actors and will no doubt have very long, very successful careers. I look forward to seeing them play in more movies soon because they certainly can act. The pair put quite a lot of "punch" into the story, making all aspects of it real and involving.I really recommend you see this film. I think you will enjoy it no matter what age you are.
bymarkclark.com
It's never easy being 14 years old, but it's especially tough for Ben Stiles. First, he can't seem to communicate with his absentee parents, diplomats who apparently live overseas. Then he gets kicked out of boarding school after pulling an imaginative but childish ghost prank on his classmates. He's forced to move in with an icy-tempered grandfather he barely knows. And finally he discovers his grandfather's estate is haunted by the eerie specter of a young woman in a red coat. Of course after the ghost prank, no one takes his claims seriously.Ben (Ricky Mabe) is the point-of-view character of BELIEVE, a new horror film aimed at younger audiences and lensed by director Robert Tinnell, whose previous work includes horror fan favorite FRANKENSTEIN AND ME. Unlike FRANKENSTEIN AND ME, which was essentially a coming-of-age story with horror trappings, BELIEVE is designed to generate real chills and it delivers. Even veteran horror fans should receive at least a few satisfying shivers from the picture.As BELIEVE's story progresses, Ben quickly realizes his grandfather (Jan Rubes) isn't telling everything he knows about the mysterious figure in the red coat. Granddad goes ape when he discovers that Ben has enlisted the help of a neighbor girl (Elisha Cuthbert), who has also seen the ghost, in his quest for the truth. The girl's uncle (Ben Gazzara ) is equally upset by this development, and forbids her from seeing Ben. The teenagers realize that somehow their families' histories will unlock the secrets of the Stiles house, and maybe help their phantom finally find peace.
Tinnell refers to BELIEVE as `an entry level horror film.' Pressed for an explanation of this term, he explains: `There's a void for young people -- and older people, too -- who would like quality a quality supernatural experience that isn't misogynist or extremely gory. I was trying to make something like I WALK WITH A ZOMBIE that kids and adults can both look at and be scared without being steamrolled.'Imagine George Romero shooting a movie for The Wonderful World of Disney and you have some idea of the film's tone. To achieve this effect, Tinnell asked production designer Jules Ricard to decorate his sets in the style of the classic Hammer horrors. Then Tinnell shot his movie much in the mode of Mario Bava. Viewers who know Tinnell only through FRANKENSTEIN AND ME will find BELIEVE a revelation. It's far more visually cohesive than his early work and its use of color is striking. Certainly Tinnell was well served by cinematographer Pierre Jodoin, whose work is imaginative and eloquent. Composer Jerry DeVilliers Jr. sets the mood with a truly haunting score.
Tinnell, a formidable horror film scholar in addition to a gifted young filmmaker, built in several nods toward great ghost pictures of the past. Horror aficionados will appreciate the film's visual references to movies like THE UNINVITED and THE INNOCENTS. BELIEVE also quotes from THE HORROR OF DRACULA and (of all things) THE INVISIBLE GHOST. The director confesses to influences as wide-ranging as Romero's MARTIN and THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, but his capsule description of BELIEVE is `the Hardy Boys meet Wuthering Heights.'Tinnell had to bring in the picture on a $2 million budget and a 20-day shooting schedule. To his credit, BELIEVE looks like a much more expensive film. For what it's worth: Many horror publications, from stately Midnight Marquee to splatter-happy Fangoria, have given BELIEVE glowing reviews.