A Haunting in Ravenwood tells the story of a couple, Eric (Jon Meggison) and Mary (Chynna Rae Shults) who move into an old Victorian home in the small town of Ravenwood. This home supposedly belongs to the family of Eric's previous wife now deceased. Beyond this not much is explained of the residence.
This Victorian home is reminiscent of many a home in many a horror movie. It even comes complete with its own creepy and odd groundskeeper (Tim Coyle)! The only thing we're missing here is the creepy butler.
Aside from the many horror clichés this film falls into it does try to tell a story. We see the outline of what could have been a good concept but we miss the mark. The problems lie in the central characters.
Our two leads lack any sense of chemistry. Jon Meggison delivers a very flat performance as Eric. Meanwhile Chynna Rae Shults delivers a very intense performance as Mary. Their conversations don't feel natural. These people don't feel like they've actually been married and it's not believable Eric or Mary care for each other. Even if the lead actors themselves show promise. Both actors are decent but clearly Jon Meggison could have been served by a better director.
Eric and Mary are both grieving in their own ways and it is through this grief that they were brought together and eventually married. Mary has been seeing a therapist to help cope with her mental issues related to her grief. This is the best explored avenue in this film.
It's not until a pivotal scene dealing with this that we start to care about our lead actress. This is acheived through universal themes of human emotion. Unfortunately shortly after this the big "twist" comes that sets the film on course in a new direction. A direction that feels right for the character of Eric. The movie did nothing to make us like or care for his character up until this point so when we eventually transition to his character's purpose it hardly comes as a surprise.
Overall we have the shell of what the film could have been in its concepts with Eric which are never quite clearly explained. Contrasting that with the mental and emotional turmoil that Mary is facing we see the faint glimmer of something possibly better. Something the filmmakers should have searched a little harder to find.
As a little bonus here I would like to point out several horror clichés this film suffers from. We have the creepy Victorian house that establishes the setting. The creepy groundskeeper which is quite frankly the worst thing about this movie. The tormented ghost of the past. The girl in constant agony crying up a storm for half the movie. Lastly, a personal favorite of mine, the dark house in modern times that is lit only by candlelight and lanterns. Why do we continue to fumble around in the dark in horror movies?
Consider this my plea for the filmmakers to do better. There's a lot of promise here with everyone involved.
