The Haunting of Lisa (1996) (TV)

Director:

Don McBrearty

Writer (WGA):

Don Henry (written by)

Release Date:

10 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A young girl experiences disturbing visions of a massacre that took place 30 years earlier

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Child Murder | Character Name In Title

Cast

Cheryl Ladd	...	Ellen Downey
Duncan Regehr	...	Mitch Graham
Aemilia Robinson	...	Lisa Downey
Don Allison	...	Fr. Edward Eakin
Kate Lynch	...	Ann
Tony Rosato	...	Dr. Perry Azzaro
Wayne Northrop	...	Bob Marsden
Philip Akin	...	Sgt. Hill
Patrick Galligan	...	Hank Dodge
Amanda Tapping	...	Gina / Angel
Corey Sevier	...	Buddy
Douglas O'Keeffe	...	Capt. Morgan
Wayne Robson	...	Simon Falk
Tabitha Lupien	...	Patricia
Colin Fox	...	Bishop McCarthy

Also Known As:

Les prémonitions de Lisa (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

USA:99 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG

Company:

PhiliPiCo Company

Creepy, good performances by kids

In Haven Lake, Michigan, five years after her father Tom died, 9-year-old Lisa Downey is taken to the park by her mother Ellen. While Lisa is at the park, a groundskeeper makes a horrifying discovery--the body of a child.

Meanwhile, Lisa hears the voice of a woman who seems to be calling for help. She goes to a shed. (At this point, if you get dizzy on a merry-go-round, you are advised not to watch.) Eventually, a beautiful, angelic woman appears, with the most pleasant voice, advising Lisa that the killer needs to be found before there are more deaths.

Ellen works in the same building with Mitch, the chief of police, who she is marrying in several weeks. When she hears about the body, she is naturally upset because she doesn't realize the body has been there awhile.

Lisa tells the story of her vision to her mother. Unfortunately, a nosy TV reporter is right there with his camera to record the whole thing, and soon Lisa and her mother are celebrities with cameras and fans camped outside.

Father Edward Eakin feels the need to offer his help. Ellen and Lisa are not that religious, but Ellen reluctantly accepts.

Another body is found in the shed where Lisa saw the vision. The investigation of the murders begins.

Lisa continues to have visions. Scary ones. In one, a little boy named Buddy is upset that his mother is remarrying. His sister taunts him, and Buddy gets angry enough to kill. This vision appears fuzzy, with sound that seems to be coming from a distance. And it advances forward every few seconds, sort of like a camera I used to see at Radio Shack, where I would see myself in one location and then a few feet away several seconds later--I wasn't moving. A really eerie effect.

The climactic scenes just before the ending offer quite a bit of excitement, and we are kept guessing about what will happen and who the killer is.

Aemilia Robinson has quite a challenge here as Lisa, and she meets it very nicely. Corey Sevier is genuinely terrifying as Buddy.

I wouldn't recommend this for kids, even though it is primarily about Lisa and her abilities. The visions, even in the shed, are quite scary. Most of the time, though, the movie isn't so bad.

It's a standard TV-movie mystery, but the young actors make it just a little more.