Hangman's Curse DVD Review : 2004/08/07
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Hangman's Curse
Frank Peretti
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2003.
Rated PG-13
Includes both widescreen and full screen versions
106 minutes (includes Spanish subtitles)
Frank Peretti has been writing bestsellers for years, but
Hangman's Curse is the first movie adaptation of one of his books. The initial book in the Veritas Project series (see
my review of the second book),
Hangman's Curse finds the problem-solving Springfield family at a high school plagued by a deadly force of evil.
The movie earns its PG-13 rating for scenes that might terrify some young viewers (or my wife), but a PG rating probably would have been more in line with other movies out there. One of my favorite scenes has Elisha (the female twin in the family) turning her teacher's flawed relativism back on him in the classroom. A major emphasis of the Veritas (Latin for truth) Project series is teaching readers and viewers how illogical it is to deny absolute truth and morality.
Hangman's Curse does that quite effectively. It's not without its flaws, though.
Perhaps trying to broaden the potential audience, the movie waters down the Christian elements. It's not eliminated, but it's not as prevalent as in the book. However, it pops up at some times that come across as a little preachy. Author Frank Peretti makes more than a Hitchcockian cameo appearance--he plays Algernon Wheeling, a somewhat quirky scientist reminiscent of
Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd. Peretti adds comic relief, but the character is so over-the-top that it becomes somewhat distracting. The biggest flaw is the way stereotypes are reinforced. The good guys are clean cut and wholesome. It's to be expected that Elisha is cute, but even as a wonderful Christian character, she is inconsiderate to a nerdy kid, at first talking to him, but then being completely distracted to the point of neglect. Some parents won't be thrilled by the example her clothes set for their young daughters, either. Two troubled Goth kids are stereotyped; as my teenaged daughter commented, "So wearing black makes you evil?" (She wasn't wearing black at the time).
I won't give away the plot, but I will say that most viewers will find the ending just a little too tidy. Overall, the movie is interesting, but even my ten-year-old son liked the book better than the movie. For a humorous take on the movie from someone apparently not sharing Peretti's faith, see
Lights Out Films. Don't miss the last part of the review.
Special features on the DVD include
Frank Peretti From Page to Screen, a behind the scenes "making of" segment, and
The Spider Wranglers, an interesting depiction of how the spiders in the movie were "trained" and managed.
I recommend the DVD for teens, but preview the DVD yourself before showing it to younger viewers.
See
Twentieth Century Fox to order online.
2 comments for Hangman's Curse
I didn't know what to expect from Hangman's Curse going in, other than, based on the cover, this appeared to be a horror movie. What I found was the film equivalent of a "Goosebumps" novel. This is definitely "horror-lite" and is aimed at a decidedly teenaged audience. But, that doesn't mean that the movie should be immediately dismissed, as it does have some positive aspects. The film's basic premise essentially takes The X-Files and makes the investigators a family instead of two FBI agents. And having the story focus on the teenagers makes for an interesting twist, and a story which will naturally appeal to youngsters. Despite the film's younger slant, it doesn't shy away from attempting to be scary. The movie piles on creepy scenes, but there is no gore or violence. Unfortunately, director Rafal Zielinski has crafted an uneven film. Many of the scenes are strangely edited, and the actors honestly appear to be standing around waiting for the call of "Action". These scenes often have stilted dialogue and resemble rehearsal takes. This is truly unfortunate, as these miscues disrupt the flow of what is otherwise a serviceable thriller, which (I must admit) had me guessing until the end, and in this post-Columbine world, presents a pretty accurate portrayal of the lengths someone will go to to get revenge on bullies.
Now, having judged the film on its own terms, I can talk about the research that I did on the movie. Hangman's Curse is based on a novel by Frank Peretti, who writes Christian fiction. Supposedly, the novel has a decidedly Christian slant. I learned this going into the film and kept waiting for "The Message" to arrive, but it never does. This isn't a criticism against the movie, it's just something that left me puzzled. The film contains many themes and images which would shock the devout Christians that I know, so I'm not entirely sure who this movie is aimed at. There is a moment at the end which is overtly religious, but only if you know to look for it. I also have questions about the film's marketing. According to IMDB.com, the movie played theatrically in Birmingham, Alabama and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Granted, Hangman's Curse is nothing more than a mediocre movie, but it's a lot better than some of the crap I've been watching lately and deserved a better fate than this. The movie is a harmless thriller that one can watch with younger siblings until they are ready for the hard stuff