Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘American Poltergeist’

Written by Scott Edwards

​Haunted houses can be cool to visit, but who would really want to live in one, I mean seriously? I know that I would if the ghosts were cool with me being there, but if they are more violent spirits and they want you gone, or worse, to kill you, it may not be a match made in heaven. With things moving around when you least expect it and televisions turning on in the middle of the night, living in a haunted house could be more stressful than you would like it to be. Just try to be friendly with the ghosts and if they accept you, well, then you have got it made, but if you piss them off by doing major remodeling in the house or if you try to antagonize them, then you might be screwing yourself over and you'll never have a good night’s sleep again.
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Moving to a house off campus, friends Zoe, Taryn, Niki, Michael and Scott are ready to live it up. Finding a very nice house that has a land lady that will live with them to help out with anything that they need in Dianna, the group is happy with their decision and loving it thus far. With a few strange things happening around the house during their tour, nobody in the group tells anyone else what they witnessed, since it seems like every day pranks to them, but the house seems to be happy with the new inhabitants and is coming back to life once again.

Knowing about the house and its secrets, Dianna knows that one member of the group is part of the family that lived there previously and needs to stay to reclaim her birthright. Keeping quiet about what her intentions really are, Dianna just goes about her business while the kids have no idea what the house has in store for them. As the events start to get stranger and Taryn finds Niki standing alone in the basement for no reason, she is starting to feel uncomfortable in the house and tells her brother Michael about what is happening, but as brothers and sisters usually do, Michael ignores her and goes back to living his life in the moment.  

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But the knocking and strange sounds around the house are starting to get to Taryn and she is not able to take it much longer and tries to leave the house. When none of the cars in the driveway will start for her, she starts to see that things are much worse for her than she could have expected. Getting a little background on the house at dinner, being the Lizzie Borden house and all, Taryn remembers her childhood and watching her mother kill herself in the house for no reason. Knowing that it is all about her, Taryn is attacked by Dianna who seems to be possessed by something not of this world. Needing help in ending the house’s curse, she is able to convince Scott to do an exorcism on the older woman, but it may not be enough since the power in the house is greater than anyone will ever know.

This is one of those movies that makes you wonder if the Lizzie Borden house is really haunted and if spirits are capable of taking over your mind and body. With ghostly things happening right off the bat in this movie, it was easy to see that there was going to be a heck of a payoff when Lizzie was released back into the world, especially after the old Lizzy Borden song is being sung. I am still unsure of where the movie was trying to go with most of the storyline, it bounced around a bit too much for me and just made me more tired than anything. With a decent premise of a haunted house and possession, I am alright with how the movie played out, but as so many movies do, the ending just seemed to get away from the story tellers and left you longing for some sort of follow up.  Stay Scared.

Five Takeaways                                                     

1. When you see things moving on their own before moving in to a place, it might mean that said place is haunted.
2. Always listen to your siblings, why would they be trying to trick you?
3. Knocking on a door may not always be a prank, it could be a ghost, a polite ghost.
4. When your land lady starts to act crazy while possessed and tries to kill you, I am sure you can get out of paying the rent.
5. ‘Lizzie Borden had an axe. She gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done. She gave her father 41.’ I think this applies to tenants as well, at least the ones that don't believe.

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