Jill (Brianne Davis) is the unfortunate sufferer of a genetic disorder that has made her blind. Angry about this and struggling with her Christianity, she unexpectedly learns that she has inherited a mansion from an aunt that she’d never even met. She and her friends, Rob (Ken Luckey) and Erika (Christine Woods), take a weekend trip there to investigate the place. When they arrive, Jill is filled with an inexplicable dread and senses that there is another presence in the house trying to communicate with her.
The Haunting of Marsten Manor was clearly made for about 50p. The picture quality is lo-fi digital, about the standard of a Youtube video; the opening credits look like a Microsoft Publisher slideshow; the soundtrack is basically someone doing spooky chords on a Yamaha keyboard with the voice set to ‘Choral’. Though there are a couple of half-familiar faces The Hitcher’s C. Thomas Howell; Flashforward’s Christine Woods the overall feel is one of enthusiastic students making a home video for the amusement of their friends.
Though tongue-in-cheek, it’s all performed with an endearing enthusiasm and innocence that seems almost naive; as a result, all three lead characters are distinctive and immensely likeable from the start, a real rarity in this genre. Yes, it’s often stagey and unconvincing, but that actually works in the film’s favour, as it’s warm, funny and charming with it. Somehow, the central relationships end up being quite emotionally affecting.
Anyone looking for visceral scares or creeping terror is going to be sorely disappointed. At most, the film is about as spooky as a kids’ TV show like Goosebumps, and features all the usual clichés of creaking doors, mysterious figures and old photographs. There’s no gore whatsoever (except for a brief glimpse at a bullet-wound that looks as if it was bought at a joke shop). But that hardly counts against it it sure makes a change from the stalk-‘n’-slash stuff.
It seems the filmmakers just wanted to tell a good, fun story. The resulting film is modest, surprisingly cute, and its sincerity is oddly touching. It deserves to become a cult favourite. (Except for a trailer, the disc has no special features; it’s as low-budget as the film- but I wouldn’t have it any other way.)
Overall Verdict: A good, old-fashioned ghost story, with an ultra-low budget and with tongue firmly in cheek.
Special Features:
Trailer
Reviewer: Tom René