Sightings: Heartland Ghost--Look and See

Writing credits (WGA) Phil Penningroth

Randy Birch .... J.T. Ginnis Beau Bridges .... Derek Richard Halliday .... Photographer Lori Ravensborg .... Jules Berens Nia Long .... Lou Thea Gill .... Pam Gabriel Olds .... Jeff Matthew Currie Holmes .... Nolan Miguel Ferrer .... Allen Trevor Roberts .... Arnold Joe Norman Shaw .... Buddy Jennifer Sterling .... Donna Stephen Hair .... Manager

R 105 min 2002

This is, allegedly, based on true events. Partially, anyway-it's also based on the Showtime original series "Sightings." And don't worry…they get plenty of chances to hawk the show IN the film, too. Nothing like a two-hour commercial for a show that isn't even running all that often anymore.

But what we've got here is interesting. A fellow in an 1880s house he plans to fix up for resale is having some disturbing dreams, and assorted paranormal occurrences, and the Sightings team is called in to debunk it. Just as they debunk a ritual invoking Promethius in the first ten minutes that turns out to involve chemical-coated wood. Why do we have to continually drag these bogus pagan rituals into everything? Used to be all we needed was an evil monster, or a couple zombies, and we had a movie! Now we can't do a damn thing without chanting "wunga wunga" at the nearest tree or rock or flaming stick!

Things don't get much better back at the house, where all the baby's teddy bears are mysteriously arranged in a circle on the floor. Well, I guess today's the day the teddy bears have their séance…

They put the bears back on the shelf, and the very next day, they're on the floor in the circle again. But the weirdness doesn't stop there as a stuffed duck flies off a shelf and collides with a friend on the couch.

The Sightings team wonders if something's going on…but they can't seem to find the particular zipper on this monster costume, so they decide an investigation is in order.

Things get worse back at the dream house…candles light of their own accord, and so-called "cold spots" travel the house.

The Sightings team, operating under plenty of healthy skepticism, goes forth to investigate and finds something serious in the house-a sorrowful woman, a little girl named Sally, and "a rageful, angry presence." So they say, anyway. They break for the evening to study their footage and leave the suggestion to leave a box of toys for the little girl.

Go To Page: 1 2