Director: James Cullen Bressack
Writer: James Cullen Bressack, Zack Ward (Screenplay)
Starring: Stefanie Estes, Zack Ward, Tom Green, Shannen Doherty, Anna Harr, Leon Russom
Plot: Claire and her husband find themselves moving back into Claire’s childhood home only to have the abusive and traumatic memories of her mother come back to haunt her. As her husband starts to get more work, Claire finds herself mixed up in a fog of past and present with a mysterious figure haunting her memories. What is this small figure that is trying to reach out to her, and what does it want?
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Nice Horror
Story: Bethany starts when married couple Claire (Estes) and Aaron (Ward) move back into Claire’s childhood home, this brings out all the memories of her disciplined mother Susan (Doherty). The two want to try and start a new life here but the visual nightmares Claire starts to suffering bring back the memories of her invisible friend Bethany.
As the Bethany figure continues to haunt Claire it becomes clear that the spirit is trying to makes Claire hurt herself, but with Aaron never seeing the spirit he is left to watch her own wife dive into madness and even the family friend Dr Brown (Green) can’t see the haunting side of the story.
Thoughts on Bethany
Characters/Performance – Claire is a character that has grown up with a tortured youth which is still affecting her to this day, she has had a stillborn and now she is looking to recover with a new life with her husband. Having these elements mixed together leaves us being torn between whether she is being haunted or really just losing her mind, this is a newly found common trend in horror and I like it. Aaron is the husband who wants to move on after their personal tragedy and only knows one way to make this happen, keeping busy. Dr Brown does what you need, finds the answers, while Susan is the strict mother.
Performance wise Stefanie Estes does a good job in the lead role dealing with the mix of emotions she must go through, with Zack Ward doing well as the husband. Tom Green and Shannen Doherty also do well even if they are the bigger names within the film they are only the supporting cast.
Story – The story does borrow from a mix of other horror films, I liked how the well-designed idea of is it real or is it her head works really well in horror, other parts will include spoilers but there is enough in the mixture to make a fresh feel for the most part in this film.
Horror – There was good moments of horror with a mix of special effects offering gore in place that could turn heads. There are a few suspense moments but once you figure out the story you can feel comfortable with the horror moments.
Settings – All the horror side of the film takes place inside the home which works for the story going on through the film and is important to the final outcome of the film.
Special Effects – This film is very hit or miss with the special effects, certain ones look great the others you can see the CGI.
Final Thoughts – This horror plays into all the right boxes for where it wants to go which is all good but you can figure out the ending slightly too early.
Overall: This is a good horror that will easily gain fans but like all horrors if this isn’t your style of horror you won’t enjoy.
Rating
