LovecraftLass I'll lay out the plot of Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour (quite the title, huh?) real quick since none of the synopses I've found make it very clear. Don't worry, there won't be any spoilers as most of what I'm going to say is shown in the first ten minutes or so:Sarah Landon has recently lost her best friend in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. When she's invited to spend the weekend with her friend's grandmother, she goes. On the way into town her car breaks down mysteriously so she ends up staying a little longer than planned. The mechanic has his assistant give her a ride to the grandmother's house but before she goes the mechanic tells her all about Matt's family. Apparently Matt and David's mother got in a car accident with her nephew, Johnny, town sports star and all around great guy. His dad was not so nice of a guy. He was always bragging about his son and when the crash happened he blamed his sister for Johnny's death and threatened to kill her son when David reaches the age his son was when the crash happened, 21. He was found dead, the day of his son's funeral. Afterwards his ghost torments Matt and David's mother, driving her insane. Their father, being the charming man he is, left his sons with an almost catatonic mother. David withdraws into himself, searching for a way to evade the curse. So that's the story Sarah jumps into.The writing could be a bit better. A lot of the exposition is clunky and I honestly thought that it was partly adapted from a book. It was supposed to be the start of a series and I think if they had kept it as a video release it would have fared better. I'm a little disappointed it didn't, to be honest. However, the exposition cuts down on some of the moments that may be more intense for younger viewers. The acting is a bit awkward at times and you can definitely tell that the actors are not pros. I can hear you now...why give the movie a three? Because it's a cute, engaging story that is actually pretty coherent and follows its own logic well. The movie moves a bit slowly in the beginning due to all of the flashbacks and exposition but after that it moves at a fairly even pace. I think most of the low ratings come from adults viewing it with adult eyes. Most of the kids that have watched it (that I know of) have enjoyed it.The cinematography in Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour isn't stunning but, again, it's adequate. It's not grainy, jerky or choppily edited. In fact, the editing is actually pretty good. There are no unnecessary scenes and they go together in a coherent, well- progressed manner. The few effects seemed to be mostly practical. Not surprising for a lower budget movie. They stick to what is easily done but it's also realistic within the frame of the movie. The ghostly effects are probably CGI (or a reasonable facsimile) but they didn't get too ambitious and make it look goofy.The character of Sarah Landon is played to what I believe is the best of Rissa Walters' ability (and it was refreshing to see a girl who is pretty but not unrealistically so). The characters of the brothers are played by actual brothers and they bring what they have to the table too. They may not be pros but they give it their best and that counts for something. The story, despite the grim sounding outline above, is perfectly suitable for younger kids. I would put the age range between 7 or 8 - 13. To be honest, I still watch it from time to time, myself. I first watched it with my son when he was around 10 and he loved it. It had just the right amount of spookiness and creepiness for a younger audience. There might be one minor swear (I believe it's damn or hell). The romance angle (and you will rarely hear me say this) was cute and pretty believable. It wasn't insta-love or insta-lust, it was a date. There was no sucking of faces or pawing which will especially make it suitable for younger viewers.So if you want a spooky story and don't mind acting ability that is more serviceable than outstanding, Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour is a great choice for those young ones that are in the in- betweens.

dbborroughs released with no publicity or anything a few weeks back I saw this on a couple of movie Marquees and went to investigate. Family friendly (they hoped) TV movie about a 17 or 18 year old girl going to visit the family of a deceased childhood friend. There she runs into a mystery involving ghosts and a death curse. My notes from this are sketchy, mostly scribbles about how Rissa Walters as Sarah can't act. To be certain she looks good but its all over once she opens her mouth.The real question I seemed to have was how this ever got any sort of theatrical release, even one that rivals the release of Terry Jones Wind and the Willows (Then again this has some promotional material,I remember a poster, wind in the willows didn't). A waste of time. Lets hope the promise of a series of Sarah Landon films never is fulfilled.

Tara Bennett When i first heard about this movie, honestly i thought it sounded ridicullous. A PG scary movie i couldn't see how it'd be scary. but then i watched the trailer and i realized what the filmmakers were doing. they were making a scary movie for kids not a pg scary move for adults. i showed the trailer to my niece and she couldn't wait to see it. i took her and her friend (10 and 11) to see it and they loved it. it's scary but not too scary (i wasn't that scared but i can see why they were). this is a kind of movie they don't get a chance to see most of the time. it's not juvenile but it's obviously made for a younger audience in mind. it's got a good story, interestinng concepts discussed to make the kids engaged. the sarah landon character is adorbale and real and the girls liked the boys in it. this is not a movie i'd see again b/c it's not really for me - i;'m 35 and like artsy sundance stuff but i can see why they want to see it again. i hope this movie sticks around.

arotan-2 We had seen the commercials for this movie on Nickelodeon, and my 11-year-old son thought it looked good and wanted to see it. I was curious after reading that the movie was shot on DVCProHD format and was apparently a low-budget family affair. I too have been a part of such productions, and I wanted to see how a movie like this fared on the big screen. I took my son and two of his friends-- 3 boys, ages 11, 11, and 10. They loved the movie! Walking out of the theatre, they were amazed, talking about their favorite parts, and how scary it was. Sure, some critics have lambasted it. But it was a hit with the target tween audience I saw it with. It's a very enjoyable mystery involving the paranormal, set up in a way that's complex but followable (maybe a bit too complex? I thought so at first, but in retrospect it all worked-- complexity just means you have to pay attention and engage your brain-- is that a bad thing?) and it has a logic that holds up and pays off in a satisfying way in the end. I believe the cause of the negative reactions in some of the other commenters here, as well as those of the professional critics, could be that in an intelligent story like this, much of the exposition and key plot points must be conveyed through dialogue and acting, and the subtleties of the acting craft are crucial. But, when you're on a budget, really good, experienced actors are hard to come by. But like I said, any sub-par acting didn't hinder my son's enjoyment of the film. He and his friends were not comparing it to Harry Potter, or any other film for that matter. The lead actress was very good. It's no small feat to carry a movie, and she did it nicely. Directing and cinematography were fine. Nothing screamed low-budget, and any noticeable differences in the "look" of the movie due to the DVCProHD format were not problematic, and really no more extensive than, say, 16mm blown up to 35mm. Of course, the kids (again, the target audience) didn't know the difference. There was a little graininess in a couple of dark interior scenes-- be we've all seen that in shot-on-film horror movies, so it didn't detract. Overall, a good job, and I applaud the filmmakers and distributor for taking the chance and bringing this movie to the big screen.