Hangman's Curse (2003) User Reviews

Entertaining Enough

[NIXFLIX-DOT-COM · 6/10 · 27 September 2003]

HANGMAN'S CURSE is a mildly entertaining film, combining horror elements with social commentary. Set in a high school, it rounds out its cast with the usual Goth misfits and the jocks, two natural enemies. A "curse" that sends jocks who are also known bullies into comas brings a family of paranormal investigators to a local school.

Despite the elaborate poster, the film is not scary. I hesitate to call it a horror film. At most, it's a mystery, with the two young teens as the actual leads. The parents really do little except run around peering into microscopes. For those who have seen these type of movies before, all the answers should be obvious by the 50-minute mark, leaving 50 extra minutes for the characters to catch up.

It's not a bad film. I would even recommend it. But it's definitely not going to scare anybody.

P.S. HANGMAN'S CURSE will be memorable to me for one thing: ITS TEENS ARE ACTUALLY PLAYED BY TEENS!!! Yes, they still do exist.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie)

Watchable

[sitisapura · 6/10 · 7 February 2005]

The movie starts up rather haphazardly and one is left wondering what is happening especially with a drug bust. The movie attempts a twist and turn but gives quite a number of clues away.

Great story of how students relate to each other - the bullies and the sports group. A few die violently due to strange causes; but all with a hangman graphic drawn in their locker. Police and security is unable to solve the case.

Enter a family of private investigators who live in a RV (recreational vehicle - a high end caravan) and take over the case. The sinister plot is unveiled complete with pentagrams and devil worship/voodoo stuff. A clear explanation to all this as the plot is unveiled.

If you watch the trailer, it gives away almost everything there. So don't watch the trailer on the DVD before the movie.

Watchable on that Sunday afternoon if you are not doing anything else. It's rated M 15+ here in Australia, probably because of a few scary, creepy scenes.

Silly, Inconsistent and Absurd Plot

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 24 November 2004]

Nate (David Keith), Sarah (Mel Harris), Elisha (Leighton Meester) and Elijah Springfield (Douglas Smith) are members of a secret government project called 'Veritas'. Their works is investigating and try to solve mysteries. They are assigned to work as undercover students and janitor in the Rogers High School, where a ghost is apparently haunting and threatening the students. In the end, the Springfield family finds a hidden secret and reveals the truth. 'Hangman's Curse' has a silly, inconsistent and absurd plot, plagiarizing 'Spy Kids'. The participation of the writer Frank Peretti in the role of the scientist Algernon Wheeling is so ridiculous that irritated me. The guy is horrible, trying to be funny but indeed being very unpleasant. The inconsistency of the silly character of Elisha Springfield, supposed to be a highly trained teenager agent, but screaming and acting like a moron is another terrible point in this film. The exaggerated attack of spiders in the end of the story is so amazingly absurd that certainly destroys any good opinion that a viewer might have about this movie. 'Hangman's Curse' is a watchable and very forgettable flick. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): 'A Maldição da Forca' ('The Curse of the Hang')

This movie is only good in comparison to "You got served"

[bizzare_one · 1/10 · 2 July 2004]

The poor acting, among the ill thought writing made this movie only good to laugh at. If you enjoy cheesy movies that can give you laughs galore then i would strongly recommend this.

This film reminds me of a R.L. Stine book only with less talent, my 14 year old brother-in law thought it was childish crap. This movie goes to show what passes for entertainment today

As for the scare factor, i was more frightened by the Mr. Rodger's neighborhood Halloween special, it did give off a nice glow on my television while i was playing a board game with my friends though, that's the only compliment they will get from me.

Stereotypical tripe

[djvampira · 1/10 · 1 March 2006]

I just watched this 'movie' and I must say that it was possibly one of the worst that I have ever seen.

First off there is the stereotypical portrayal of the goth subculture. By golly....all goths worship Satan and want their classmates dead! When I was a goth in high school(late 1980's)I personally worshiped a fellow student who committed suicide and prayed to him to kill all of the 'jocks'. You better believe it!!! It's like the makers of the film studied my life and patterned the 'goths' in the movie after me! WOW!!!If you can't tell that I am being sarcastic then you probably like this movie.

Everything about this movie is trite and patterned on stereotypes. Even the ending is typical. The 'evil' looking 'goth' kids suddenly change their clothes and are happy. As if changing your clothes can all of a sudden change your whole entire attitude. Every time I wear jeans and a 'normal' shirt I know that I feel at peace with the world and want to throw frisbees in a park.

About twenty minutes from the ending my boyfriend commented that he thought it was a 'christian' movie, and he was right. Who else but close minded bigots would portray a subculture is such a light. Instead of actually doing some research they perpetuated the whole 'goths' are evil stereotype. Not all Christians are bigots, but the people who made this movie are sure not practicing what they are preaching.

Stay away from this movie. If you are reading this while drunk you may want to look into it just for the pure entertainment value of seeing David Keith with an upside-down cross drawn on his forehead.

Absolutely horrendous.

[MovieManChuck · 21 June 2018]

0/4 BOMB

The Hangman's Curse is an adaption by director Rafal Zielinski (whoever that is) of Frank Peretti's novel of the same name. Needless to say, this is to awful movies what The Godfather is to classics. Let me first apologize to Mr. Coppola for referencing his masterpiece in comparison to this trash, now let's begin the review:

Granted, I've never read the book that this movie was based on. However, the one (slightly-important maybe) thing I found not present in this movie was any clear motive, there was way too much going on. I'm not going to go into the flimsy plot-points, but I'll give you the general idea. Abel Frye is a victim to bullying who hangs himself on school property. Fast-forward ten years, and all of your stereotypical bullies are perishing, with their words being the name of the spirit "Abel Frye". At the end, does the movie offer it's audience a resolution? No. The only people who catch on are an "FBI" homeschool kid and a goth sub-culture at the high school. You follow?

The acting was completely unconvincing. You will witness so much death at the hands of an unholy scribble, and they actors are too uninterested to milk out any empathy. Watching a series of events alone is not entertaining, there needs to be substance and passion involved. The characters were strangers to their audiences. I was trying so hard to figure them out, but then again, there was not enough talent on screen to communicate the sciences behind the characters. Oh well.

Was the basis of this PG-13 "horror" flick to teach a lesson in bullying? Was it to entertain me? Was it to do Frank Peretti's book justice? (I certainly hope not) Or was it just a cash-grab targeted at pre-teens looking to get their feet wet with some extremely tame, dull horror? Unfortunately, I am lead to believe, the final.

The Ghost of Abel Frye

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 16 November 2014]

This movie begins with a student named "Abel Frye" (George Humphreys) who dejectedly walks into an empty room at Rogers High School and hangs himself. Ten years later the quarterback for the football team suddenly becomes ill in the middle of the game and falls down screaming the name of Abel Frye just prior to slipping into a coma. He is the third football player to do so. Similarly all three football players were members of a group who bullied weaker students in the hallways. As it turns out Abel Frye was also bullied and because of that he took his own life. In no time a rumor spreads within the high school that the ghost of Abel Frye is being summoned by a Goth student named "Ian Snyder" (Jake Richardson) to seek revenge on the jocks who make life miserable for other students. So a special team known as "the Veritas Project" is sent to the school to investigate. Now as far as this movie is concerned I think I should point out that it is geared for a generally younger audience and because of that there isn't any sex, gruesome violence or gore to speak of. It does contain plenty of mystery however and that's what makes this movie somewhat interesting. On the other hand there were some scenes-especially those involving family dynamics-which slowed things down and weakened the overall mystery and suspense. As a result, I rate the movie as slightly below average.

Mild high school horror flick based on Frank Peretti's supernatural book for youths

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 17 September 2018]

I originally saw this 2003 movie on DVD a couple of years after its release and, preparing to re-watch, I couldn't remember anything about it, except the wacky professor, played by the author of the book, Frank Peretti, who comes across as a shorter Dr. Emmett Brown from "Back to the Future." I saw an interview with him and he really IS as eccentrically animated as he appears in the film.

The plot revolves around a Spokane, Washington, high school, which is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a kid who committed suicide ten years earlier. Several jocks have freaked out after seeing the apparition and subsequently went into a coma. The school enlists the services of the Veritas Project, a team of investigators who work undercover to unravel paranormal phenomena. They're like the family version of Mulder & Scully from The X-Files. David Keith plays the father, Mel Harris the mother and the teen twins are played by Leighton Meester and Douglas Smith. The dad pretends to be a janitor at the school while the kids act as new students.

To enjoy this movie you have to accept the highly unlikely premise of a family team of investigators and the fact that this is a tame horror movie from an author who's writes Christian supernatural fiction with this movie being geared toward youths (tweens, teens & pre-teens). You also have to accept that, while the movie had a limited theatrical release, it had the budget of a TV movie ($2 million) and it shows.

With that in mind, there are several things to appreciate about "Hangman's Curse": The cast is likable, formidably headed by Keith; for once in a high school flick we get students who actually LOOK like they're in high school, rather than mid-20s; I like the forbidden wing of the school and its subterranean burrows (reminiscent of the boiler room sequences in the Nightmare on Elm Street flicks); there are loads of creepy arachnids; and there are some quality cuts on the soundtrack.

On the downside, the acting of the peripheral teens is understandably weak and the convoluted story could've been relayed in a clearer, more compelling manner.

As far as the Christian-oriented content goes, it's so light that I can hardly see how anyone would be offended. For instance, a group prays before their meal. Woo, like that doesn't happen every day in every community throughout the Americas. Since the protagonists are Christians, it makes sense to portray them accordingly. If anything, the movie plays it too low-key in this regard.

The film runs 1 hour, 46 minutes and was shot in Spokane, Washington.

GRADE: C+

Pablum

[gturner6 · 4/10 · 28 December 2004]

On par with many "After School Specials". The effects aren't very special. The plot is insipid. The acting is acceptable though not noteworthy. I can't in good conscience recommend this to anyone who enjoys either horror or dark fantasy,while utilizing tropes of both it doesn't use them to any real effect. It is a safe film for younger teens, older preteens, and precocious younger children. It is obviously geared towards the Christian ethical sympathies and will be watched by many a youth-group in all probability. Watch it or not as you choose. I would not watch this again. It is not destined for greatness. It is destined for the clearance rack.

Not a horror flick I first thought it to be

[orient_celts · 7/10 · 18 August 2004]

I watched this movie with lukewarm interest because I thought it was going to be another horror flick but I was wrong. It had enough suspense and thrill that kept me guessing who or what was behind the school incident. The twist wasn't the person I thought, was the mastermind. In the end, I liked the movie and would re-watch it when given the chance. I was quite intrigued about the Springfield family and how they were going to tackle this latest assignment. The acting was good, imo.

I didn't know the film was based from a book series until now. But, after seeing this movie, I'm going to check my local bookshop for this book. If there will be another film installment about the Veritas Project, I'll watch it.

7/10

This one doesn't even come close

[ElKabong-3 · 3/10 · 13 September 2005]

OK, first we got the stupid premise of the government training a whole family as a secret undercover investigatory team, including the 2 teenagers. This team is checking out reports of supernatural deaths at a high school due to a ghost. This, of course, is not the case. A much-bullied science geek whose uncle was harassed to death years before is taking revenge on those he sees as the same types that were responsible. The inconsistencies in this film are legion We have the family FBI unit, which would never happen under any circumstances. We have a school building infested with large, very aggressive and highly poisonous spiders that nobody notices until they figure out the cause of the mysterious deaths, but after that you can't swing a cat without disturbing a huge clump of arachnids. As another reviewer mentioned, the daughter, though FBI trained and skilled, squeals like an 8 year-old at anything that startles her and screams constantly once the spiders are discovered. Overall, this turkey needs to be forgotten, a bad idea poorly executed. If I saw this for free I'd want my 2 hours back. Really awful, a must-pass

3 out of 10 because at least it wasn't that even more awful House of Wax from earlier this year.

A "clean" yet creepy mystery that keeps you guessing!

[plummer-1 · 8/10 · 10 September 2003]

I was pleasantly surprised by "Hangman's Curse". As a Christian, I have seen many Christian-themed films that underwhelmed me with the story, acting, sets and cinematography. By the end of "HC" I said to my friend in the theater: "That was a good movie, Christian or not!" And if you're not Christian---don't worry. The movie is not heavy-handed with a religious message in any way (until one scene near the end). While the acting won't remind anyone of Olivier and Streep, it's pretty good. David Keith ('An Officer And A Gentleman', 'Daredevil') and Mel Harris ('thirtysomething') are very good. Frank Peretti---who wrote the book "Hangman's Curse", provides some good comic relief in his role as an eccentric scientist. I was also impressed that the makers of "HC" weren't afraid to include a subplot of an interracial romantic relationship. By far the story is the star of the "Hangman's Curse". It has plenty of plot twists, yet they were believable. My friend solved who/what was behind the Curse before I did (much to my chagrin!) You can tell that "HC" was not a cheaply-made movie. A few of the night scenes are a little too dark, but in other scenes the camera angles and close-ups helped maintain the suspense. Both teenagers and adults will enjoy this movie. I highly recommend that parents go see it with their teenage kids and discuss the issues of the movie afterward. It wasn't until I was leaving the theater that I realized that "Hangman's Curse" had no gory slasher scenes, no nudity and no profanity, yet was entertaining. When was the last time you could say that about a mystery/thriller film?

An Entertaining Compromise

[aimless-46 · 6/10 · 23 December 2005]

"Hangman's Curse" is an adaptation of a book by a "Christian" author (Frank Peretti), published by a "Christian" publisher, and promoted by "Christian" bookstores. But the religious aspects of the book are soft peddled in favor of elements intended to make it appeal to a wider audience interested in a traditional mild horror film. There is an obvious agenda but it does not overwhelm the story; mostly they wanted to present a positive message for Christian kids in an uncharacteristically "cool" package and to show that being Christian does not mean a kid has to be a total dork.

The agenda does have a dark side, a simplistic message that being different and asserting your individuality is a misguided response to facing life's challenges without the assist of inner spirituality. Some may view the film's ending message as anti-diversity, although it positively portrays interracial dating it ends with a conformist message. But this is inserted in such a clumsy and contrived way that few will feel any threat of manipulation.

The compromises they made to mainstream this film have offended both extremist "Christians" and hard core horror film fans, which is not exactly a surprise. Extremist "Christians" are upset because the "Christians" in the film seem to be just like "regular" (their word-not mine) people. There has also been some objection to the wardrobe of Leighton Meesier (the actress who poses as a student to investigate the situation) although it looked pretty wholesome to me; Meesier's actual sin is just being radiantly beautiful. If your own faith does not run toward elitist religious egoism you will find almost nothing objectionable. Hard-core horror fans will find this fairly tame although the premise is clever and there are some nice suspenseful moments.

The cast is mostly unexceptional and in many cases the physical casting is way off. The jocks are anything but physically imposing, the main bully would do better cast as a fat nerd and has no business in a speaking role. Crystal and Ian, the two main "goth" kids are supposed to be outcasts, but they are the most physically attractive students in the whole school.

The performance of Andrea Morris (Crystal) is the best thing about "Hangman's Curse". She is totally convincing in the film's most difficult role. It is a great acting for the camera performance and the director showcases this with frequent tight shots on her face. Meesier is also solid and Frank Peretti himself makes an amusing appearance as an eccentrically jolly scientist.

The direction and editing is very strong. The sequencing keeps things active and interesting. Apparently they deleted material that was needed to clarify the effects of the spider bites; that the victims did not die but rather went into comas until the anecdote was discovered and administered is unclear.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Quite possibly one of the worst films of our era...

[woodsm55 · 1/10 · 8 August 2004]

I just recently saw "Hangman's Curse" for the first time, and I must say that I was appalled. Never before in cinematic history has both acting and any amount of plot structure been so devoid in a motion picture. The sketchiness of the "ghost story" as a portion of the movie and its sloppy transition into what appeared like a lost episode of Nickelodeon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" involving spiders are key examples of why teens today lack the vision to see good films.

I've read a lot comments on IMDb, and after watching this particularly dreadful flick I felt obligated to post my opinion. What I saw when I reached the boards was, in a word, disgusting; to see how all the devote Christians who have watched this movie and belong to the IMDb community flocked to this comment board to post their praise and worship this almighty *Christian* film. I find it quite amusing how when a movie that makes such a mockery of the trials and ordeals faced by those teens who are not superficial (in contrast to those who are portrayed in this movie, with all the cliché-ridden filth you would expect of a teen movie after 1990) is exalted upon high by Christians.

This movie follows a very minimalistic series of events that are as predictable as they are unexciting. The only area of the film I found there to be any sort of substantial talent was the spider wrangler (as denoted in the special features of the DVD), who I thought did a relatively good job in tandem with the special effects crew. Aside from that, however, the acting was stale and unmoving (such as the end scene, in which the two Goth teens, the only characters I had gained any sympathy for at all, were encouraged with words of wisdom by the typical neanderthal popular teens, and how they were subjected to having to rejoin the *Christian* members of society).

Overall, this movie falls into a wasteland of films involving teen murder and spiders and should never be heard from again. I doubt even the Lord Almighty himself would be able to save the poor quality of this motion picture from eternal damnation. 1/2 of 4 stars.

Did a church youth group make this???

[crindyminfar · 26 March 2004]

I just saw "A Hangman's Curse" and let me say-- I am disappointed.

I've been a fan of Frank Peretti novels for years and I've read everything he's come out with. Like most fans of Christian fiction, I've been dying for a film version of This Present Darkness since the 80s. Looks like that will never come.

Frank Peretti seems to write 2 different kinds of books 1.)books for adults that kids should probably not read (The Oath gave me some serious nightmares when I was 13) and 2.)kids books that are usually entertaining enough for adults to enjoy (for instance, Tombs of Anak and that whole series). This new "Veritas Project" series, though, seems like kids books that adults really can't relate to. I was in my early twenties when the Hangman's Curse came out and I thought it was one of his least inspired. So, *why* is this the first one to be made into a movie (this one was in the works before the Tilly TV special)?? Why not the Visitation or the Prophet or THIS PRESENT DARKNESS (heck, Fox has owned the movie rights to that for years)??

Anyway, besides starting with a mediocre story, this "movie" had huge problems. The leads did a decent job of acting, but all of the extras and bit parts were horrendous! The group of girls that befriend Elisha... it was like they weren't even trying! Huge after-school special vibe. The picture quality in general was sub-TV as was the contrived dialogue. (What happened to the hilarious exchanges between the PC/tolerance-obsessed teacher and Elijah???) And what was with that fat kid being one of the popular/cool guys on campus?? So he was good at football. My experience around high schoolers was that being good in sports did *not* automatically provide an in with the beautiful crowd.

And speaking of which, nice reinforcement of stereotypes. The ONLY people in that school were either a.)beautiful popular prep/jocks b.)hopelessly dorky nerds c.)angry Columbine-esque goth losers. No normal people? No people that relate to several groups? No jocks who like goth bands??? How Saved by the Bell is that? I almost expected Slater to drop by, but luckily this was one of the first Christian movies to not feature fashion/slang from 8-10 years before it was made. And then at the end of the movie... the goth people are "fixed" and the one redeemable jock (one of 2 minority characters in the film)is teaching them how to be normal, since they're not goth anymore ("this is how you throw a frisbee...")

There were a few upsides to it, though.

1.) Good music. Until recently, most Christian movies don't take advantage of all the great Christian music that's out there. Looks like that might finally be changing. Mercy Streets did. The Champion did. And now, Hangman's Curse did (is it required that "Extreme Days" be played in every Christian movie now?)

2.) At least your youth group won't spend the whole movie laughing at the language and clothes/hairstyles of the actors.

3.) The girl who played Elisha was incredibly hot. Like inexplicably hot.

4.) It gives us some hope that Peretti may be gearing up to put more of his projects on film... (we've gotten two in the last 2 years).

If he does, let's hope they do it a little better.

Disappointing

[Melissa Alice · 3/10 · 4 February 2005]

I like some of Frank Peretti's books (such as "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness"). I had never read "Hangman's Curse" so wasn't quite sure what to expect, but since his other books were good, I thought this would be okay, too. I wasn't really expecting much, but I at least hoped it was a clean film. It doesn't sink as low as some movies, but for a Christian movie, I was expecting or hoping for better. Maybe most wouldn't see anything morally wrong with this movie, but the clothing--even of the Christian girl--were immodest. Even after the girl was out of her undercover work, she wore a dress with a low neckline, making me ashamed to be watching--at least that my brother was watching it with me. There were even a couple of uses of "hell" in an inappropriate way. Not only the clothing was worldly, however--so was some of the music and the attitudes. Christians lying to each other, etc. I know Christians aren't perfect, but this does not set a good example, and I was extremely disappointed in this movie!

Now for the storyline. That was weak, as well. Spiders overtaking a school? Hmm. And there was no spelling out of how bad the occult practices are, as there seem to be in most of Frank Peretti's books.

I'm kind of surprised Frank Peretti would approve of this film, much less act in it. His part, while slightly funny, was a little stupid, too, sorry to say (I guess he intended it that way).

My brother and I bought the movie on sale, but I'm sorry we did.

The suicide of a bullied student is not to be forgotten.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 14 April 2006]

Not a teen slasher flick...but teens do go down, one by one. Bullies and jocks at Rogers High School die shouting the name of a former student Abel Frye(George Humphreys), who hung himself in a wing of the school still under construction. David Keith plays a special investigator, who along with his wife(Mel Harris), son(Douglas Smith) and daughter(Leighton Meester)work undercover at the school to discover the truth about the legendary curse and end its death grip on the school. Actually interesting and worth watching. Keith fit his role perfectly. Harris seemed pedestrian at best.

The cast includes: Edwin Hodge, William R. Moses, Daniel Farber and Margaret Travolta.

Appalling exploitation flick.

[luckyhb13 · 1/10 · 18 July 2006]

This movie is specifically designed for a certain audience who will see little fault in it - unfortunately it has little to recommend it as a work of art.

Ridiculously contrived, with enough plot holes to make a swiss cheese the film starts with a nonsensical 'drug bust' scene. It is clear from this very early stage that the film has absolutely no grasp of reality and is intent on inventing scenes to appease the prejudices of its desired audience.

We are asked to believe that a squeaky clean family are in fact representatives of a group named Veritas, who uncovered the truth about various incidents (surely a different group would run a drug bust? and how many dealers blurt out the entire hierarchy of their organisation to people they haven't met before). In an attempt to be objective one must willingly suspend one's disbelief, which is fine until out heroine screams because she has seen a hockey mask on a wall - must have been some rigourous training there, eh? This film sends all notions of brave women back to the dark ages and becomes a moray of subtly prejudicial statements and comments aimed at selling a certain lifestyle.

The contradictions become numerous: bullies who change their money grabbing ways within 5 minutes of meeting the (tough and highly trained) girl, 'tough' Gothic types who won't even defend themselves in the face of bullying. the genius nerd who is, in fact, a bitter and twisted psychopath.

As for the plot itself - it lurches from an interesting idea to plain laughable. Unfortunately relying on bizarre misinformation about one of the most maligned of creatures.

Facts mean nothing in the face of pushing the twee and cheesy message. Avoid at all costs - even if your pastor tells you it is worth watching. Let's have some dignity here, please.

Avoid at all costs

[Miss_DeMented · 1/10 · 30 March 2007]

It's rare that I watch a film and hate everyone involved and everything that occurs on screen but this is the exception to the rule. Admittedly, I'm probably a little old for this film but I find it hard to believe that even it's core audience would find much merit.

The characters were extremely two dimensional, the situations entirely unbelievable and the so-called 'twist' could be seen from miles away.

I imagine that if Nickelodeon started making horror movies, this would be the result. It limped along at a snails pace and the stereotypes of some of the characters appalled me. Surely, even pre-pubescent teens can see through that sort of thing. It strikes me that Frank Perretti has written about people that he has never, ever come into contact with and has no knowledge of whatsoever.

Add to the mix a mish-mash of heavily contrived dialogue and you're onto a losing formula.

Avoid at all costs, unless you're 12/13. Even then, go and watch 'Spy Kids' or something......

one of the worst movies i ever seen

[emocore-1 · 1/10 · 13 September 2005]

I just bought this movie on DVD, but why??

It was a waste of money,i think its a really bad movie. I nearly fell asleep in the middle, even if the genre says its a horror/thriller i didn't found any scary or any interesting or a little bit exciting part in it, maybe thats my fault, but i don't think so.

The dialogs are very bad in my opinion and the movie has a calculable end, so i was really disappointed, i expected a lot better than this. But i find the main character(Elisha) very cute ;)

First and last, i think this movie is boring and completely sucks ass! I don't know why anybody gives more than 1 for this movie : (

Good movie. Not much for "horror", but good overall.

[brueggemankade · 7/10 · 14 October 2013]

A note to anybody who has read the book: This is not a page for page movie version of the book. It is only loosely based on the book. That being said, I actually enjoyed this movie. It kept to the book (which was awesome) just enough to give a sense of familiarity, yet was original enough in it's own right that it still gave a few surprises. I actually liked the movie ending a lot better than the book ending, because it actually wrapped things up quite nicely. Even though the acting wasn't spot on, the actors still gave a decent representation of the book characters, especially Mr. Peretti. His performance as a crazy scientist was over the top and brilliant. For anybody watching this expecting a horror movie, you might be a little disappointed. There are a few "jump scenes", bit overall it's a pretty family friendly movie. So overall I recommend this movie.

Terrible movie

[mdwstbmx · 1/10 · 2 November 2006]

This movie was the worst. I watched it with an open mind and witnessed some of most awful acting ever. The story was just OK, but I couldn't get into it with the crappy acting. I would recommend renting this movie and throwing it away, maybe you could save some poor soul from renting it and wasting their time watching it. The main female character attempts to use the "trendy lingo" and fails miserably. She says things like "oh snap". I could definitely see this movie played on the Disney channel in the future. If it was possible to give it less than one star I would. The best way to summarize this movie would be a mix between Arachnophobia and not another teen movie. Not surprising that the highest percentage of high votes for this film came from teen girls.

Watch it without distractions!

[Sandcastling Guy · 10/10 · 1 April 2004]

I watched this for the first time last night with a house full of 15 teenagers (half of them had already read the book). Between the spooky sounds, some good acting from most, and that creepy, unsettling feeling that kept building thoughout the movie... I rather enjoyed it.

With the 5.1 surround cranked way up and the lights turned down low, my skin did get goose bumps from time to time. (especially helping in this department is having a teen familiar with the book get up and run from the room saying, "I can't watch this part! I can't watch...")

I also rather enjoyed the "mystery" of the movie, which kept me guessing. And it's always great to find a movie that doesn't have to resort to trash talk in it's dialog.

I'm ready for the Veritas gang to take on another incident. Bring it on!

Good for teens, so-so for adults.

[silvrdal · 6/10 · 1 June 2004]

Well, Frank Peretti is making movies, and even appearing in them.

Just finished watching his new video, "Hangman's Curse". Now, it has the usual characteristics of Christian films: Forced and/or extraneous dialogue, cheezy over-acting (Peretti), overdrawn stereotypes and a too-inclusive ending.

It also has Mel Harris (Thirtysomething), David Keith (Firestarter), Billy Moses (Mystic Pizza) and some rather talented teen actors -- Meester and Smith.

HC is intended for a teen audience, and if they are not overly discriminating they should enjoy it. It isn't terribly preachy, like many Christian movies, and the plot is actually interesting (before it becomes obvious who the villain is).

The Christianity is sort of sprung on us at the end. There are hints of it during the film, and there are some insightful digs at the naturalistic worldview, but there could have been more obvious examples during the first hour, graduating into the expressions of faith later on.

At nearly two hours HC is also a bit too long, and it could have been shaved during editing to pick up the (leisurely) pace.

I got my copy at Wal-Mart for $10. It is also available at Christian book stores. It's worth seeing and it's a start -- hopefully if they do another one they'll be able to excise the annoying bits.

Someone should write them.

Ridiculous beyond words

[StegtKylling · 1/10 · 25 September 2005]

This was a ridiculous piece of crap. Just another attestation to the fact that "horror" flicks today are nothing like they used to be. What a piece of garage. The lines were so stupid, acting sub par, and even with David Keith, it was hopeless. Stereotyped characters and unbelievable plots abound in this waste of celluloid. The idea that these two teenagers were trained FBI kids working with their parents is patently stupid. When Elisha suits up in her white protective suit to crawl the ducts of the school in search of a noise, why is it that there are never any students around? And if she's so jittery screaming at this and that throughout this movie, why does she alternate being brave walking around the dark forbidden floor all by herself all the time? The relationship between her and Blake was also unbelievable and forced with dialog that is neither engaging or intelligent on any level. The exchanges and not-so-clever quips between her and her brother border on ad nauseam. The "mysterious entity" behind all the attacks is so very predictable. Your eyes will thank you if you never rent this.