ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

jenowl176 I have seen this film its very creepy great haunting story and its suppose also to be a true story very unsettling that the church did not help them when they were practicing Christians they let them down they had to rely on the community for help don't know how much was Dramatised but I'm sure it is documented somewhere in the Parasycology community I was glued to it and thought the acting good she was very good at playing Janet Smurl and why is it that you can see it on you tube but not get on DVD you can get most things now come on someone in the Know get it on DVD people will buy it in droves there are lots of TV movies you can buy why not this one

stevielennon5 As a lover of TV movies and supernatural drama I was hoping for the best with this film.But it must rank as one of the lamest cheapest and just plain stupidest movies ever made.. The script was appalling and Diane Baker,(a fine actress),must surely be embarrassed by allowing herself to get involved in such nonsense. The parents were clearly a pair of compulsive liars who needlessly and nastily scared the life out of their children, to make a few bucks from their book. Janet Smurf comes across as a chain smoking mental case.And whats with all the praying when if anything it appeared more like the work of a poltergeist?.They even mention it getting it's power from the girls some of whom are entering puberty.I'm not sure whether it was the film or the actual family who were getting confused from all the hysteria and deceit. I gave the film a 2. But if you view it as a comedy it deserves an 8!!..

Michael O'Keefe This made-for-TV horror/ghost story is suspenseful, somber, sometimes slow and at times far from believability. THE HAUNTED is partially based on a book by Jack Smurl and eyewitness testimony. In the mid-1980s, a Pittston, Pennsylavania family...the Smurls...start noticing things are just not right with their home. Not really believing in spirits, Janet Smurl(Sally Kirkland)is forced to realize and has a hard time convincing her husband Jack(Jeffrey DeMunn), until minions of Satan go to work slamming doors, smashing household items and bedeviling with imitation of family voices. Spooky and scary? Just a bit.The cast also features: Joyce Van Patten, Diane Baker, John Mallory Asher, William O'Connnell and Louise Latham.

czarnobog It's sad that this movie was doomed by a made-for-TV budget which apparently kept it from being shot on location in Pennsylvania. A California craftsman home and L.A.'s distinctly painted curbs add a note of inauthenticity to this story. Unfortunately not the only such note.The opening is intriguing. When Janet Smurl hears her mother's voice calling, and realizes that it's a disembodied voice, we're off to a chilling start. An array of creepy phenomena draws us into the story, but soon it bogs down in a plodding script, made slower by boring fades and unnecessary time-date stamps.The performances are all good, but the characterizations are marred by cheesy teased and sprayed hairstyles. No matter how intense the action, not a hair flops out of place or absorbs a drop of sweat. Every character, male or female, has mannequin hair.When the supposedly Catholic family begins singing "Amazing Grace" to ward off the evil, it's borderline laughable. Later, the hymn "Ave Maria" is used, much more appropriate and to better effect.The last half is where things really fall apart. The narrative breaks down into clumsily constructed, poorly paced episodes. Characters come and go, without much story progression or dramatic build-up. Ironically, this film probably worked better with commercials breaking it up.Most surprising about this movie is that the cinematography was nominated for a Golden Globe. It's generally uninteresting, with awkward group shots and flat lighting which fails to disguise the cheesier effects. As in the kitchen drawers flying in and out scene. A badly executed steal from The Exorcist.The best scene is undoubtedly the succubus scene. It's nicely set up and perfectly cast and made-up. It just makes you wish the director had more time or energy to rock the rest of this movie. And that he had a better script to work with.