An American Ghost Story (I) (2012) User Reviews

What A Piece Of Sheet!

[Imaykfun2 · 3/10 · 11 September 2013]

*Spoiler Alert* My Summery of this movie goes a little something like this: A male and a female character move into a house where a whole family was murdered, a house that is known to be haunted.(cliché) Cue spooky music (cliché) A Ball rolls in from seemingly nowhere and stops(cliché) A chair slides across the room by itself(cliché) Drawers and kitchen cabinet doors open and close(cliché) Chairs pile themselves into an abstract structure(cliché) The female character is too freaked out and removes herself from a horrible project in the still of the night(smart move), bye bye(cliché) A radio turns itself on and moves through the stations but can not find one descent station even with ghost power(cliché) Cue spooky child's laughter from nowhere, Hee Hee Hee(cliché) A sheet gets filled out with a human form while the male character is sleeping(so cliché) The landlord comes over and acts suspicious(cliché) Wind up toy walks out of nowhere(cliché) Large Teddy Bear under the bed, now on top of the bed!(cliché) The male character seeks out a previous tenant who says "Get out of there! the house wants to kill you!"(super cliché) The male character continues to taunt the sheet people(ghosts),stating "Just talk to me! give me a sign!"(cliché)(cliché)(cliché)(Blah, Blah, Blah) The sheet fills up in the bed again, this time in a female form, but it disappears when he pulls at it (No not that,(the sheet))(cliché)

Now the male character being so angry at the sheet people (Ghosts) for not killing him or at least trying to, has an epiphany, He Will Sheet The Ghosts. Which he does by running around his house (throwing his sheet everywhere with fury)(not cliché but very, very idiotic) When he finally does catch a ghost with his sheet of fury, the ghost is angry and chases him, so he hides behind a bedroom door. And everyone knows a ghost can't pass through solid matter, what? no cliché here? really? OK, Well it turns out the ghost is a Jedi Master anyways and proceeds to place his hand upon the door from the other-side, literally and figuratively and moves all of the furniture in the room after the poor protagonist. Once out of the bedroom the male character is forcefully held onto the ceiling (cliche) and then thrown pushed and pulled about the house like a rag-doll (Again by way of Jedi Master Ghost Sheet (cliche) until he is tossed with a crash out of his own house through the sliding glass door and passes out. *(He wakes to the realization that it was all a fever dream from acute Epstein Barr Infection and too much late night cable TV in the the 1980's) * This last part is fantasy because I don't give away endings. The directing, cinematography, and acting were quite good though for this level of sheet script writing

Don't buy Swedish furniture (spoiler)

[miguel-guitarra · 3/10 · 15 August 2013]

I read some good reviews on this movie, and was happy to watch it, that is, until I watched it. There are slow-paced movies where everything happens in the end, and those where the thrill builds up, and those where you can hardly breathe, for its intense pace. In each genre, there's good, bad and average, point taken. Some may even surprise you with one little twist. A good example of it, though i found it a good movie at the time was Blair Witch (the story about making someone face the wall, which appears in the end). This one is none of that. It's slow-paced, for sure, you read into Poltergeist here and there, and then, guess what? Nothing happens, apart from IKEA furniture and sheets, EVEN BABY TOYS haunting the house! Stel disappeared 15 minutes into the movie, so did the owner of the house, and that's about it. Nothing happens for a hole 90 minutes, apart from IKEA stuff moving around. 3/10 is a bit generous even, but well, you be the judge :)

We watch A LOT of ghost movies but were surprised.

[marleycroy · 5/10 · 18 May 2021]

My husband and I enjoy horror movies and can only watch the great and good ones so many times. In our 50's we have also exhausted the viewing of OK ones as well. So we started watching ones we have never heard of and frequently have to turn them off because they are just....soooo....bad.

We had pretty low expectations because the casting was by one of the actors who was also one of the producers. The writing was not great and some of those supporting actors were terrible (Sorry "landlord" but the untucked shirt and accent was pretty bad.)

However, the acting from the main character and the two featured women was pretty good and at times, great. The movie had quite a few scares that make me jump.

While this isn't going to be your go-to ghost story, it was definitely worth watching if you have been through all the studio released files.

If you like ghost films, give this one a shot

[UnchartedGears · 17 August 2013]

In my 8 years on IMDb, I've never once reviewed a movie. I watched this film last night, and given a couple of scathing reviews on here for it, I felt it was only fair to give my 2 cents worth and say what I thought of it. Especially given the shoestring budget and heart and soul the film makers obviously put into it.

This movie scared the HELL out of me. I love horror films, and I've seen hundreds in the last few years. My favourites are easily ghost films (especially the Asian ones), and despite having seen so many I still have a tendency to sit there with my hand half covering my eyes. I'm kinda proud to say this film had that effect through most of it's running time.

The gist of the film is a guy and his girlfriend move into a supposedly haunted house in the hopes of experiencing "paranormal activity". Guess they got more than they bargained for. It's a pretty simple premise but that's what makes it work so well. From looking under a bed to investigating whispering in a darkened living room, it's the little things that give the film it's atmosphere and intensity.

Sorry for my extremely amateurish review, just wanted to try and contribute something is all. Sick of so many 1 star reviews putting down good films. If you like ghost movies give this one a go, you might be surprised.

bad movie

[melyy707 · 2/10 · 29 May 2014]

I made an IMDb account just to review this film. Words cannot describe how disappointed I am after watching this movie. This movie was horrible. The acting, the script, everything was bad. I can't begin to describe how bad this was. The disappointment was extreme.

The ONE time i got scared was when he opened his email from his friend and a scary face popped up. That was the scariest part. Overall this movie was a waste of time and all the other reviews i have seen have been more than generous. It was a waste of money to watch this and i only spent about $1.50. I have nothing more to say about this but the review must be at least ten lines so i have to keep going.

Ghost story without a ghost?

[Filmaniac123 · 2/10 · 22 August 2013]

I read some good review on the movie so I decided to give it a go. But after 90 minutes of boredom I believed that some user(s) may have been "paid" to write good review, on a poor film.

This movie has no substance. The main character Paul wants to write a story on ghost so he moved into this "haunted" house to feel the experience. At the beginning he was keen to find out what happened to the family who died in the house (thus haunting it); the owner seem suspicious that he knows something (or even have something to do with it).

Problem arose from midway through the film. The intention of "finding the truth" has suddenly gone. The owner has vanished and there is no explanation of what did happen to that family. All you are seeing is furniture moving in the dark, and a person (or ghost?) covering in bed sheet. The film didn't even tell whether the "ghost" is a member of the dead family.

I gave it a 2 because of the music effect and it has a couple of good moment that you would be holding your breathe as to guess what happen next - then of course it failed to deliver.

Horrible

[tquinnmclennan · 1/10 · 7 February 2014]

This is completely awful. I am a HUGE horror fan and watch everything and this is a film with NOTHING to offer. Nothing happens, nothing is scary...what is the point of this thing? It is so low budget that the ghost is literally appearing in a sheet. There is absolutely nothing original about the plot and I feel sorry for the actors who appeared. I hope they earned at least a free lunch for every day they worked. I cannot believe that on the $10k budget that they earned an actual salary. Please avoid this movie at all costs. I rented it from Redbox and Redbox should be ashamed. I want me $1.20 back! I have to write more lines to get this review submitted. Here I go. I love horror movies and watch everything. I don't write a lot of reviews but hated this one enough to write one. I don't appreciate having to write "10 lines" to make it live. Is this enough yet?

really sucks

[tcdoeh · 1/10 · 16 August 2013]

I signed up to IMDb just because I had to inform you all that this movie completely sucks. There is no 'scary'. I'm astonished that one can make a whole movie with a guy under a bed-sheet. It's ridiculous.

This is one of the most boring and poorly done 'movies' I've ever seen. If mystery science theater was still going this would be a good candidate.

It's not even worth watching for the low quality. I can't believe this was even funded. I'm embarrassed that I even watched it.

So I guess I have to write ten (10) more lines to submit this review. Well, I'll do that because I'm so disgusted with this so-called 'movie' that I will continue to rant about it. This is my first IMDb review and I wish that I could submit something positive (such as I would for great recent movies: e.g. the guardian, place beyond the pines, only god forgives... etc.) but as a struggling filmmaker I'm disgusted that this piece of trash gets even any showing. End rant.

Worst film ever.

[monticelli20 · 1/10 · 4 March 2014]

Okay first of all, lets talk about Stella, she seemed excited to movie into this new house knowing it was reportedly haunted, one day later, after seeing it live action she books it and NEVER returns in the film...

The music is copy and pasted threw the whole thing, scenes have scores that make No sense. The special effect sounds i.e. slamming doors are way over done and seems copy and pasted.

The acting in the film is terrible. All the men in this film seem to have been hired from Grinder, none of these dudes passes as straight as they are intended in the film.

The writing is so bad I think it was done in a couple of days. The man sleeps in the same clothes with his shoes on? He has a business card but works for the newspaper? What happened with the children of the house?

The film is BORING! It put about three people to sleep in my living room, the droning acting followed by that insistent score is enough to put someone in a coma.

I understand films are very hard to make, and money is a huge factor, but most of the problems here have nothing to do with that, its poor acting and poor writing and very poor directing.

The only saving grace here was the woman actor who played the crazy past tenant, she acted her role very well despite it being terribly written. Well done to her, I hope she goes far.

Quality in relation to budget...Decent

[Tcarts76 · 6/10 · 17 August 2013]

"An American Ghost Story" is a film about a couple who move into a supposedly haunted house where a family had been killed years before. The main character is an aspiring writer that wants to write a book about and paranormal activity he may experience in the house.

I would give this one a 6 1/2. If you are looking for top Hollywood style horror you probably would skip this one. IMDb has this one listed with an estimated budget of around $10k, That being said it did get the best bang for the budget, and beats out a lot of movies with much loftier budgets. I give it a 6 and not in a bad way.

The script was pretty weak, and the dialog at times was just plain bad. The effects were decent. There was some "make you jump" moments. All in all, if you are into low budget films not too bad. Derek Cole, the Director deserves some props for putting this out on the shoe-string budget, and given a robust one could most likely turn out some good movies in the future.

Not-so-Superman: "Great Caesar's ghost!" - in a sheet no less

[scottiejarrett7 · 2/10 · 3 July 2015]

Mild spoilers: Very disappointing. The main character was unattractive, not just physically but emotionally. Absolutely unlikable and unbelievable, whether hero or anti-hero. (Not sure which this unsympathetic twerp was meant to be.) He wasn't bad enough to be a villain nor good enough to be a hero. Poor acting kills even a well-produced effort, which this was not. Right from the start, I was making fun of the name - Twa-dork-us, Twa-doofus etc. No producer would willing select such an untalented "star"...unless...midway in, I guessed that Twardokus had ponied up the money for this dull low-budget horror show, and so he claimed the lead. The inaction dragged along (few shocks, no digital effects, etc.) until the very last gasp - the actor's, not mine. Having only ghosts-in-sheets saved a lot of budget money, but the final conflict was nonetheless effective. Shockingly so, since there was no horrible reveal of the ghost's true ghastly appearance. No horrible reveal of any sort. The bulk of the film was just plain boring. Blame it on Twardokus' inability to project emotions or to generate interest.

Give me one thousand movies like this one every week!

[jeanbal · 10/10 · 28 August 2013]

Yes. I really mean it. I will much rather watch one thousand films shot with passion by adventurous young guys on a shoestring budget, than ONE big lifeless Hollywood production, crushed by the sheer weight of its stars. Of course, Revenant is far from perfect, the acting may sometimes make you cringe. But the director does his best to scare you with literally nothing. And sometimes he succeeds! Which is no little feat. When I saw that the main actor was also the scriptwriter, everything became clear. This movie is just one big statement to the establishment: look what we can do with nothing, give us the possibility to shoot a real feature! Personnaly, I have been seduced. I like Revenant, even for its weaknesses. No. Especially for its weaknesses! It's a work of love and passion, done by two talented guys. If ever you have tried to make a short film for your family, you know how hard it can be to make something coherent and interesting. These kids can be proud of themselves. They have created a true movie. I wish them the best of luck for their career.

A real little gem.

[kcwise89 · 7/10 · 20 August 2013]

I've been reading some of these reviews and I'm wondering if they are about the same movie I've just seen On Demand. My review may not be as fancy as some of the one's I've just read but I'm someone who likes ghost stories and I really liked this movie.

I first saw the trailer for this movie on You Tube last year and it really peaked my interest. You can imagine my surprise when it popped up On Demand under a different name. I did a little research and found out this is a real little gem.

It's hard to believe they made this movie for the budget they said. Maybe it's some Hollywood thing to create a buzz about how little or how much you spend. I thought the acting was as good as any mainstream movie I've seen. There is one special effect I'm sure cost more than what their budget would allow, it was that good. Did it scare me? I can honestly say I had a pillow up to my face more than once, and a yell or two came out. Someone else reviewed Blair Witch was better. I couldn't watch Blair Witch because it made me nauseous from the hand held camera. I didn't have any problem with this film.

I'm going to be following these guys to see what other movies they come out with. I've already ordered my copy from Amazon for my collection. Should I have given them a 10? The reality of it is, only Stephen King gets a 10. (I wrote two reviews of this because the first disappeared on me. If they both show up, that's why.)

Truly Awful

[tgusto90731 · 1/10 · 23 August 2014]

So I've read this was done on a very low budget…like that's an excuse for a horribly acted, horribly scripted and unimaginative idea. Seriously, why do people make films like this? Doesn't someone in the cast or crew have the courage to tell the filmmakers this is crap. Stop filming. Save your money on rent.

I guess the writer/director can at least look back on his life and know he at least tried to live his dream…as unsuccessful as it may have been. Kudos on that!

Also, as other reviewers have stated, don't believe those who give this travesty rave reviews. It's the cast and crew who've decided to lie in order to pad the ratings in some desperate attempt to validate their experience. It's a bit disingenuous and ultimately sad…and I do feel bad for having to state the obvious, but hey, this is the public spectrum and once you enter, you are subject to public opinion -- as onerous as it may be.

It wasn't that bad actually...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 16 August 2013]

Well, "Revenant" (aka "An American Ghost Story") isn't likely to knock "Poltergeist" of the throne in the haunting/ghost genre. So was it a bad movie? No, I wouldn't exactly call it bad, I would merely call it mediocre and rather uneventful compared to other movies in the haunting/ghost genre.

The story in "Revenant" is about a couple moving into an allegedly haunted house where a man killed his wife, his children and then taking his own life. There is an oppressive tension in the house as they spend their first night there. Slowly, but gradually, more things start to happen, and as the events escalates, it becomes too much for Stella (played by Liesel Kopp) and she leaves Paul (played by Stephen Twardokus) in the house alone. Determined to research into the subject more thoroughly for his book, Paul starts to get into contact with the spirits that is haunting the house.

For a haunting/ghost movie there weren't really anything overly impressive about the movie. There were no dazzling CGI effects. Sure, this was a fairly low budget, and I will say that director Derek Cole actually managed to pull it off quite nicely with the budget. The effects were actually quite good, despite not being those dazzling CGI effects. I especially enjoyed the scene with the bed sheet where Paul was trying to find the haunt in the living room.

There were some good shocks in the movie, not because they were ghastly or creepy, but because they were nicely timed with the build up and the music/sound effects. You will not be scared senseless after having seen the movie, but your heart will skip a beat or two along the way.

Storywise, then "Revenant" wasn't particularly impressive, and it did survive given the build up of suspense and thrills with some great climatic shocks, and also a good music score. But storywise, then it was generic and stereotypical for the haunting/ghost genre.

As far as character build and development goes, then this movie only concentrated about the Paul character. Stella came and went in the blink of an eye, and I wonder how come she didn't call Paul back as she said she would. I was waiting for her to return throughout the entire movie. But she just didn't do so.

And if you are in a haunted house and spooky things are happening around you, why don't you just use common sense and turn on the light in the room? But no, apparently the Paul character didn't possess that kind of logical thinking, better to stumble around in the darkness when there was a malignant entity in the house as well. That just makes sense.

"Revenant" is good fun for an evening where you watch some ghost movies, however, the movie just doesn't have the contents to support more than a single viewing.

Badly acted and poorly written, but still promising

[Gregburnscds · 5/10 · 20 August 2013]

This film epitomizes a couple of guys who really want to make a horror movie but don't have the patience to hone their craft into creating a well written script that is deftly acted. It's distracting how bad the lead guy is in this (not to mention that he's also the writer). In the hands of a better actor this would have been really effective.

The direction is challenging enough and there are some great moments that would have benefited even more with a better camera and a bigger budget.

In the end it's the details that does this film in. The lead guy never changes his clothes once in 90 days! He sleeps in the same t-shirt and jeans throughout the film. The end chase scene starts off really well but due to the low budget and a bad camera turns into a farce really quickly.

I know I'm being cynical in all of this, but this film can be enjoyed as a promising first effort from a couple of guys who want to make a good movie. They just need more education and skill to pull off what they attempt to.

Wow...

[gaiaearth1 · 1/10 · 30 May 2014]

OK, having just watched this I can 100% tell you that all of the 5 star reviews on here are cast and crew. The sheet put on a better performance then the main actor. Really, Stephen Twardokus, NEVER, EVER ACT AGAIN! I'm saying this in case you haven't already figured this out for yourself. Save what ever pride you have left and get a new career...and sheets. Please, it's the right thing to do, for humanity, just stop now.

Now that's out of my system, how was the movie?...It was bad, really, really, really BAD!

The cast and crew reviews on this is a really pathetic attempt to get some viewers, it just makes it that much worse.

Tacky rubbish

[wayne-robb · 1/10 · 16 August 2013]

This film is a total waste of carbon! People starving in the world and yet thes people seem to love wasting money and good oxygen don't let the ratings fool u! I seriously could make a better movie on my ipad! Just give up and get a real job! Im sorry but its just a total waste of blood and organs! No spoilers because the director actors have done that already! Seriously don't waste your time on this Its just wrong! These actors would be lucky to get parts as customers in a taco bell ad! Sorry to everyone involved in the film but the truth hurts! Hopefully you will now find a different employment and make this world a better place Good luck

Loud music, lots of cheese

[kristydiane-363-456543 · 3/10 · 3 July 2014]

When you think of great horror films, you won't think of "An American Ghost Story." The plot is simple. The characters' motivations are undeveloped. By the middle of the film it is a story of one man against a malevolent ghost.

The movie starts slowly. There's a lot of back story where the writer tried to reveal the main character's drive, but failed. Too much time is given to trite dialogue between the protagonist and his girlfriend and we can see where it's leading from the opening scene.

There are no special effects in this film. Reviews on Netflix and comments from viewers bemoan the appearance of a wraith draped in a sheet. "A sheet?" you ask. I thought it was a funny bit of camp thrown in, a nod to childhood when some poor kid whose mother had forgotten or refused to get him that awesome store-bought costume ended up trick-or-treating with old bed linens (hopefully not too stained) draped over his head.

The scares are there, but they're cheap and accompanied by loud music and "Silent Hill" sound effects and, therefore, lose the ability to really frighten the astute viewer.

For a low budget film (read: movie starring the writer), it's not a complete waste of time for viewers, especially if you're an aspiring film or fiction writer. There are features in this film that you'll want to avoid in your own writing, like the crazy ex-home owner shouting the rosary and the landlord who looks eerily down the hallway, but never reveals what he's seeing or not seeing or thinking. Or, if you do want to include these things, maybe you'll get some ideas about how to do it more skillfully.

Not Bad

[cherylmarie16-770-567594 · 6/10 · 20 August 2013]

I rented this movie the other night. I hadn't heard of it so I had absolutely no expectations. From the opening credits it was obvious this was going to be a little low-budget indie flick. It turned out to be a very low key little ghost story with a really small storyline, tiny cast and no special effects.

A writer named Paul and his girlfriend Stella move into a house that is rumored to be haunted. Paul wants to use his experiences in the house as the basis for a book. Stella skips out at the first sign of ghosts, but Paul stays on, determined to finally finish something for once in his life. As the incidents escalate, Paul seeks out information from former tenants in order to validate what he is experiencing and finds only one who is willing to speak with him, a woman named Sue. It's obvious that Sue's been through hell, judging from the fact that she's a nervous, twitchy mess.

As small a movie as this one is, made on what must have been a shoestring budget, it still managed to deliver the scares. As for the use of the sheets, was it cheap and kind of dopey? Absolutely. But when you have no money in your budget for makeup, you do what you can. And it was still fairly effective nonetheless. And the right musical chord at just the right time goes a long way in delivering a good old fashioned jolt.

Aaawwwwffffuuuullll,

[mknight388 · 1/10 · 26 June 2014]

I don't care if low-budget or not, this was the worst film I have ever seen. I am not a film maker but give me a camera and a few hundred dollars and I could put this film to shame. All I would have to do is buy some sheets and put some people under them as well as hire a couple of very over-the-top actors, then I would have a making for a hit over this garbage. I am sorry for being so negative but I need that part of my life back where I watched this landslide. There was no sympathy for the main characters which should be developed throughout the film in any horror/scary film. Actually I found it to be very comical as I watched them plod through their lines almost as if they were ready to bust out laughing at what they were doing. For aspiring film makers, watch this as a antidote of everything not to do in a film.

I Back My Decision

[jongale64 · 10/10 · 16 August 2013]

After seeing some of the comments about "An American Ghost Story". Which I had funded , I am extremely happy with the film considering we had two and sometimes three people in the entire crew. Along with doing all the post production ourselves. Stephen Twardokus and Derek Cole I feel did an amazing job for the budget they had and it just goes to show what these two could do with a larger budget.

I did expect people to speak their mind but thought more film makers would appreciate the limitations and really give theses guys pats on the back for what they did for under 2K.

I guess I was wrong but aside from that I'm proud of the film and am looking forward to the next. Great job guys!

So they made it for $2,000.

[cnstrikesback · 28 May 2014]

I feel bad, because i watched this movie and thought it was no good in any way, shape or form.

However... i cut the guys some slack. Because, i read they made it for $2,000. That's less than i've seen people ask for on crowd funding websites for a YouTube video.

Here's the thing though. The audience doesn't know the budget of a movie when they chose to watch it on Netflix. The thumbnail for the movie looks alright. How do you know it will be 1000x less impressive than something like "The Collection?" You don't. It's not the fault of these guys just trying to make a movie with some friends and a couple thousand dollars. I guess i'm more upset at Netflix recommending it right on my front page like i'll enjoy it because i watched "The Collection."

This one will give you a chill.

[peej-art · 6/10 · 8 March 2015]

This one has heart!

I was turned off at first with the cheesy made-for-TV feel, but the longer I sat, the better it got. If you can look a little past the lower budget acting, and sometimes cheesy writing, the premise will almost certainly grab you.

The fact that the paranormal occurrences were mellow made it much more realistic.

...and the occurrences with the sheets are the types that'll leave you laying in your bed in the middle of the night with your eyes wide open over-thinking.

Def worth a view!

Another shoulda-coulda-woulda!

[japonaliya · 3/10 · 31 January 2014]

I usually rent these low budget, direct to video films from my local $1.00 video kiosk just to waste some time. Most of these films are BAD..really bad, but this movie is a bit better, but not much. I won't go into the simplistic plot as you can read that in the synopsis. I will however, point out some things that bothered me about the film and dragged it down:

SPOILERS...

As another person said, really low budget where after 2 months, the guy basically is wearing the same clothes..it is that lack of attention to detail that makes you not care more about the film.

Most of the poltergeist effects we have seen countless times in prior films, esp the stacking of chairs etc. The ghost in the bed, the ball rolling, is so clichéd.

Another thing that really bothered me was that since he was renting the house to write a book about "observed" paranormal events, but except for near the end where he tried to get some EVPs, he had no detecting equipment, not even a camcorder.. HOW was he supposed to write a book with PROOF about ghostly occurrences and not have anything to back up his experiences? Another red herring was the strange neighbor/landlord. I thought for a moment that his strange attitude and both denying any haunting, yet seeming to be spooked while inside the house, may have meant HE might have been the killer, and not the dad, and that he would finally be discovered...but it went nowhere.

The movie had a few scenes that made you jump, but these were just the typical BOO! GOT YOU stuff that films like these have.

Maybe the ghost/haunted genre has been played out, but I getting tired of the crop of half-baked films that promise a lot but deliver little.

There hasn't been a real good "haunting" movie since the 1960's "The Haunting" with Julie Harris, or maybe the first "Poltergeist" film, and maybe the 70's "Ghost Story" with Fred Astaire. (I am not counting general supernatural monster films like Stephen King movies)

Horror films today seem to be redundant, artsy-weird, or just plain rip-offs.

I am sure this film will make you jump at times, but just dropping a dish behind you while you are watching this movie will do the same thing.