Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour

"Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour" was intended to be the start of a series of movies concerning a Nancy Drew-like young woman investigating mysterious phenomenons. To date, no further movies have been made about this character, and seeing this movie provides some strong clues as to why. Do you remember those ultra low budget shot on videotape movies that plagued video stores in the 1980s? Well, in many ways this movie seems like an homage to those efforts. There's really cheap cinematography, nothing really in the way of production values, a flat and boring feeling throughout, and almost no special effects (and the few that there are being really inexpensive). And while the movie's title has the supposed protagonist's name in it, we learn very little about this young woman, one reason being that the movie more often than not loses its focus on her and concentrates on other characters. It's hard to believe that this movie got a substantial theatrical release... until seeing that it was handled by Freestyle Releasing.

Hackneyed storytelling and insipid performances are the hallmarks of "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour," an amateur-hour supernatural thriller that has all the professionalism and polish of an F-earning junior high school film project.

Sarah (Rissa Walters) is a 17-year-old girl who goes to stay with her recently deceased best friend's grandmother in a small mountain town in California. The minute she arrives at the place, she's plunged into a mind-numbing mystery story involving curses, avenging spirits, and a whole raft of poorly staged flashback sequences.

The actors read their lines as if they'd never performed for an audience before, either on stage or in front of a camera – which may indeed be the case with some of them – and Lisa Comrie demonstrates no more confidence as a director than the performers do as actors.

"Paranormal Hour" was the first in what was intended to be a series of mystery films with the Nancy Drew-like Sarah Landon character as the protagonist. Fortunately, given everything that it's had to put up with lately, the world was at least spared that fate.

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.

Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour is a fun, suspenseful film appropriate for adults, teens, and older children.

Where the movie shines is in its family-friendly approach to the genre. You won't find any blood and guts, profanity, or sex here, but that doesn't mean there is no content. More than a few suspenseful moments and a major twist at the end keep the viewer's attention. Kids and adults alike will find something to be spooked by here.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn't match these high points. With the exception of Jane Harris, the acting is almost universally sub-par. While this is probably a result of the film's low budget, it must be noted that several important male roles in the film are played by members of the same family (often an ominous sign in a low budget film). These hunky actors have the Hollywood look, but need more acting practice before they're ready for the big time.

The script is average. There are no clever lines of dialogue to be found, but it certainly isn't cringe-worthy. Perhaps some of the lines could have been adapted to better fit the weak acting capabilities of the cast, but time considerations probably prevented such changes.

All in all, not a bad flick. Enjoy it at a kids' Halloween party or on family movie night.

We were truly disappointed with this film. Our expectations weren't high. We were just looking for something to see with our nine year old daughter. Frankly, it fell short of the quality of one of the old ABC after school specials. We certainly didn't have high expectations While the plot had some possibilities, the acting was laughably bad. This was especially true of Brian Comrie who played David Baker. My nine year old daughter said that it was the worst movie she had every seen. The only redeeming quality was that it was bad enough to be somewhat funny. If you are a teen/tween and you want to see a movie that you and your friends can laugh at then consider this one. Otherwise, save your money and see something else.