User reviews

'Bethany' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing, if not exactly novel, idea and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

Found the film to be pretty weak with a lot more wrong than right. 'Bethany' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a few decent, even good, qualities in 'Bethany', at least it wasn't intelligence insulting or inept (unlike some films seen recently) though the potential was never lived up to.

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the very nice way it's shot. The music is suitably spooky and quirky and doesn't distract at all from the atmosphere, while not exactly enhancing it.

'Bethany' started off fairly spookily and the ending intrigues.

However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained. The more 'Bethany' progressed, the duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary it got, and too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it.

Acting is not good, though Zack Ward fares serviceably and it was interesting to see Ellen Gerstell, best known for voice acting, in a role. Stefania Estes is a lifeless lead though, while Shannon Doherty looks tired and disengaged and Tom Green playing it straight didn't turn out refreshing or surprising, instead it felt odd and without much personality.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense.

In conclusion, pretty weak but not unwatchable. 3/10 Bethany Cox

This isn't a bad movie. They had some budget, decent actors and fine effects. Even the story was ok. But somehow they managed to sabotage the film with some weird brainfarts. I mean like the thing about hallucinogens - they just forgot about it completely and never talk about it? And what was wrong with that hospital? Were they all completely incompetent there? And the strange doctor/friend/whatever dude, what was his major - witchcraft? And finally, why did not Bethany use the door they used in the end?

These kind of a things just ruined the movie. Next time use more then 3 dollars into polishing the script or maybe try writing it sober.

Starring and co-written by the underrated Zack Ward alongside Shannen Doherty and alarmingly Tom Green in a straight role this horror misfires on all cylinders.

Standard mish mash of common horror tropes, unoriginal storyline and unforgivable boredom Bethany is an utter mess.

It's one saving grace is it's ending (No pun intended) the twist and finale is actually quite clever but they even balls that up.

Do not be deceived by the haunting cover, you will not find scares here in fact you'll barely find anything at all.

The Good:

The twist is decent

The Bad:

Boring as hell

Everything is executed poorly

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Shannen Doherty clearly p*ssed off Hollywood for it to come to this

Tom Green without his usual wacky shenanigans is really bland

I've been lucky lately as it was a while since I watched a real stinker but luck never lasts forever. Bethany is in the category of movies I wished I never watched. There's not much positive to write about this movie, I can't think of anything actually. Everything was bad, the story, the actors, the special effects, the cinematography, even the soundtrack and sound effects, everything was mediocre. First rule to make an interesting horror movie, have a good soundtrack and avoid all that lame slow piano music. I don't get it that directors still don't get that. They all look like amateurs when using that highly irritating and numbing sound. Bethany is a movie I can't unwatch but I will for sure forget everything about it in the future. In fact, I already did, that's how bad it was.

Really drawn out and dull. Some little scares. It's definitely horrific at times but overall it's very poor.

I don't expect much from any thriller/ horror movies nowadays. I just watch anything that comes out new. When it comes to Bethany, I thought it's a bit slow paced at start but it gets creepy and intense til the end. Well plotted, and casts were pro acted. Totally worth watching I must say 👍🏻

I signed up for an IMDb account specifically to give this movie a poor review and hopefully save others the torture of sitting through this sad attempt at filmmaking.

The Plot: Unoriginal and blandly formulaic, which is even more disappointing as this is an indie title - you'd expect something more than Couple Moves Into a Spooky House and Troubled Woman's Past Comes Back to Haunt Her, but that's all there is. Seriously!

The Dialogue: James Cullen Bressack clearly missed the memo on SHOW, DON'T TELL. A film's exposition should never be crammed down your throat through fifteen straight minutes of poorly written, unrealistic dialogue. Yet that's exactly what Bethany did.

The Acting: There is zero chemistry between the one-dimensional lead characters played by Stefanie Estes (Woman with Dark Past) and Zack Ward (Skeptical Husband). I would chalk this one up to poor writing and directing.

The Editing: The shots were very nice individually - lighting, composition, etc. The rest of it is practically irredeemable. Jumps from shot to shot were jarring and terribly done (POV to extreme face closeup to POV? Why??), and the lighting is noticeably inconsistent within scenes. The editing actually disconnected me from the movie more than the acting and dialogue did.

In Summary: Don't waste your $3.99. There's nothing that makes this movie standout - cookie cutter plot, low-effort dialogue, forgettable acting, terrible editing. Your money is much better spent on a couple packs of gum or maybe a handful of chicken nuggets.

As much as I love horror movies, then there was no reason for me not to sit down and watch "Bethany", especially since the synopsis for the movie did seem interesting.

However, I didn't even get to the end of the movie, not even to the half of the movie. I gave up on "Bethany" after mere 35 minutes. Why? Well, because it was some very, very boring and long 35 minutes where nothing, absolutely nothing happened in the movie.

I am not even sure if the movie would have picked up pace at some point after the 35 minutes, and I have no intentions of going back to find out.

There was nothing appealing to the story, as director James Cullen Bressack managed to muster an incredible slow pace that utterly killed the atmosphere of the movie, and there was no tense build-ups of suspense or dread. Essentially, there was nothing aside from Zack Ward and Stefanie Estes sitting around in an old house trying to come to terms with something through means of slow paced dialogue.

As for the acting, well I can't claim to be impressed with what I saw during the 35 minutes that I managed to endure. I am not familiar with Stefanie Estes, so I don't know how she usually performs. As for Zack Ward, well he wasn't really putting on what could be ranked among his top performances here.

For a horror movie, then the only thing truly frightening about "Bethany" was how slow paced and how devoid of anything even remotely scary or frightening the movie turned out to be.

If you enjoy a good horror movie, then "Bethany" is not a great pick.

I almost turned it off 6 times but I stayed with it bc I wanted to see what the big surprise would be...it wasnt that big. Plenty of other reviewers have given details so I'll just say that if you need a movie to fall asleep to, watch this one, if you want a thriller/horror, look elsewhere.

Horror movies with a low budget do have quite the hard standing with fans of the genre. And even more so with the occasional viewer. If you are part of the latter group I don't think you'll find much worthwhile here - especially in the slow beginning.

It does take its time and is rather dull at first (some moments excluded). The actors are fine and the special effects are ok considering the budget. It does take up pace and has some interesting ideas towards the end. Again not sure if you'll be able to stick around or care after a certain point. Not really the worst I've seen, but also not as original as it may think it is. Still decent effort overall.

'Bethany' is James Cullen Bressack's most recent film and is a return to his much-favoured horror genre. 'Bethany' is definitely his best film to date, although I really enjoyed 'Pernicious' too.

It's story of a woman returning to her childhood home, which stirs up memories of maternal abuse and fear. The full story of her past unfolds throughout and is not until the end that we find out the truth. The film has a very claustrophobic feel and we can really get a feel of the tension and pressure that the lead character feels.

The only drawback for me was that it is a bit dialogue-heavy in places and some of the genuinely good scares are kept for the final act.

However, it is definitely worth a watch.

Really enjoyed James Cullen Bressack latest movie, Bethany. Loved the performances by the whole cast and nice to see a new side of tom green. Shot well with a good score and creepy story. Warning you may be scared if you watch alone....Definitely recommend checking this one out so grab your popcorn sit back and enjoy.

Although it starts out slow paced, it gets better as it moves along. A few scenes throughout, made lasting impressions with me. I'm still thinking about it two days after I watched it and I can't say that about a lot of movies. Loved the gloomy aesthetics and of course, the Bethany makeup was incredible! I will watch this one again!

I wanted to like this movie cause of shannen doherty , even watched it cause of shannen doherty But I struggled hard and in the middle not even shannen could carry this cowpuke anymore

Its just not a good movie, not sure what it is that make this so bad, its boring and slow, story is a bit strange, direction is on the limit and acting the same, its close to be an ok movie but its just not

I think the story was the biggest problem, they did not have a good idea and they had no material , so they tried build it with nothing and thats why it went just boring, actually even when something was happening, it was still boring.

Having inherited her former house, a woman and her husband move in where she is immediately assaulted by the ghosts of her tormented past with her mother which begins to affect her relationship with those around her forcing them to help her find a way to get past her inner demons.

This here was quite the enjoyable haunted house effort. One of the finer points involved with this one is the intensely intricate and involved backstory that has a lot to like here. The complicated relationship with the mother, with her incessant belief in pageant work above all other forms of contact or interaction, forcing her to practice and prepare all the while turning everything around her into a potential way to keep her moving forward in her career which gives this a strong and healthy backstory that goes a long way to making this one engaging. The flashbacks to them going through the motions of preparing for the next pageant with them practicing the piano or applying makeup gives this one a healthy starting point for the later horror-based scenes to spring from strongly, as the hallucinations that emerge from these scenes such as the ghostly mother playing alongside her or the hair that she pulls out of her body while brushing herself are insanely creepy scenes. Other big horror scenes, from the freakout at the dinner table to the figure she sees around the house after getting out of the shower means this one has a very strong series of scenes that really play up the atmosphere within the house. That this one plays more as a psychological breakdown more than a traditional ghost story with these scenes is where this one really gets interesting as it moves along into the gripping psychologically-gripping final half where the full exploits of those around her give this a rather strong tone that keeps this one in truly dark realms. The revelations that occur here are quite striking and really move this into rather intense areas with the truth about her history and what's inside the house to the great scenes with them inside the walls of the house to finally put this to rest with some tense ideas. That this provides some creepy action inside the darkened corridors deep inside the house alongside the fine revelations of the past makes this one a really strong and potent ending that scores nicely. As well as some really nice realistic-looking gore when it needs to, these here really make this one fun enough to hold out over the few minor problems featured here. The main issue is the slow-burn pace that really takes a while to get going, as the lack of action and turning everything around into being her fault means this one does take awhile to become enjoyable. That this one is more psychological rather than overt in its hauntings means that very few of these actually scare which does go against the theme it's built upon. However, these aren't as bad as the more impactful positives.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity.