Haunting of the Innocent (2014) User Reviews

Roaring and raping...Roaring and raping... yea....literally ...just like that... Someone call 911... This 'film' is trying to murder me

[angiris · 1/10 · 6 February 2014]

This is some of the worst most despicable garbage piece of crap I've ever seen. There is literally no red-line between the start and the ending... not to mention everything in between.

The films starts out with a rape that is almost immediately forgotten. From there we jump back and forth between instances of present and future. The family needs to recuperate so they decide to leave for a while. Everything looks interesting so far...

But then the rape is almost immediately forgotten or at the very least just forced to step aside because apparently it turns out that the rape clearly only served as a 1: way to get our main characters to a particular location which apparently they were destined to reach due to some very misplaced and outrageously looney version of ancient belief. I'll get to that. 2: so that our female 'protagonist' discovers she's a lesbian, she loves being raped, she enjoys being violated. Apparently the writer has issues he's trying to deal with by writing this. And finally 3: All in all it turns out that this family is apparently descendants of some ancient viking lineage which makes no freaking sense for various reasons (vikings never settled first of all, they never went that far west..and so on and on) and whats worse is the fact that this mythological Norse belief is being portrayed as devil worship, blood drinking and such.

A viking who died wrongfully or something ends up taking possession of the male protagonist and that is when the irregular roaring and raping begins. His wife who's been raped earlier tries to get some time off and as a result of that the male won't take no for an answer so we get a very uncomfortable rape scene...in slow motion I might add...with roaring, flashbacks of screaming bloodied viking looking fellas...and...yea. Thats that. Shortly afterwards the dialog is followed up by a: I want to help you. As you can see there is no red-line at all. Nothing makes any sense at all.

Eventually our male protagonist tries to destroy this entity by mysteriously figuring out where the body of this ancient viking is and that is when the craziness continues.

The guy excavates the skeleton, dumps gasoline all over it, grabs a sword also found there, forces it into the dry sand soil and(horrible CGI explosion) the gasoline catches fire when being hit by sword. No sparks... just bad directing.. This doesn't do anything though because the dead viking keeps on taking control, speaking with a demonic voice, carving what looks like x x x x stitch marks into the chest of the male...for no apparent reason either..

No explanation to any of this by the way...

Then directly afterwards, literally, the male protagonist, while the female protagonist is getting it on with some 1000 year old witch character who killed the viking fella who's now the ghost who haunts the male, ....yea...Lesbo action..sounds nice right...its not. Its non-sensical and just out of nowhere just like everything else. It's disgusting and outrageous due to how the film started out.

Anyway..the husband is back in the city where he follows up on some business deal with his CEO and mistress. Just like that I might add... He gets a new job, they decide to celebrate by going to a hotel. Then the son calls him and he breaks off the entire thing with one sentence that sums up how non- sensical this gargage is: "My family needs me" That comes from a guy who's currently half naked on in a hotel with a completely naked woman... That ends like that...he returns...then he's betrayed by his entire family and a lot of cultist looking fellas show up. Then the really utterly confusing and ridiculous part begins...

I'm not exaggerating one bit when saying that. He's literally saying stuff like: "I took up the runes..screaming I took them." We didn't see that or anything like that either.

Then he said: "I know that I hung on a windy tree" Again..that we didn't see or hear anything about either...no context... no information... no nothing

Ultimately the son grabs a knife and stabs the male(father) in the chest. Then they drink his blood and the film ends... Again... just like that

The End.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO CONTEXT WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!!! There is NOTHING!! NOTHING tying the beginning and the ending together.

This is it. No visible plot, no context, no information given about anything. One could even argue they make a mockery of that of being raped... Apparently to this m o r o n writer women like to be raped on some deep subconscious level.

There is a lot more to be said but I just can't keep going. I had to point all this out because while the other review are absolutely correct, they held back certain key factors of information.

All in all this film is a COMPLETE MESS! It takes the meaning of messy screen play writing to the next level. Nothing makes sense in this 'film.' It is purely frustrating to watch and the final ending of this horror show will just tick you off even more which could also serve as a closing statement from the director and writer themselves. A statement thats goes like something like this: Thanks for your money. F U C K you.

Thats it people. Don't watch this...It's not even worth watching to see what I'm talking about..its not even worth watching to see what bad film making is all about (maybe it is, its a perfect example actually) it's not even worth paying any attention to in whatever way. This is just pure messy garbage without any point or purpose.

STAY AWAY! I am NOT kidding. You have been warned.

worst movie i've ever seen

[stuckisean · 1/10 · 1 February 2014]

I have watched Voodoo Moon and have seen Killer Holiday but Haunting of the innocent takes the cake. For some reason it came out a day early on red box and had a theatrical release for God knows why, my friend asked Ruddigur if I would pay 10 dollars to see this and I would have walked out. A nonsensical bore fest of a suspense horror that looked more like a made for TV dark romance made for lifetime. I have never been so bored watching a movie, I was so mad at the end that I would seriously get in the cage with Chris Weidman and fight in the cage to get my 1.30$ back. I tolerated it by making up my own storyline about the Grandpa having an alter ego "The Dikler" and he ends up being the "a man who gets his way" and a serial one at that. I called Red box before to demand a refund after watching the movie horrible bosses which was a horrible movie but the level of crap makes me want to demand free rentals for a month. 0 out of 10 stars

It bloody well haunted me

[adrossan · 1/10 · 3 February 2014]

This films starts with a rape.

It goes further downhill immediately, hurtling through the "cliche" gate and round the bend of "garbage" at frightening knots.

Haunting the Innocent is the misnomer of the century, it is sheer torture of the viewing innocent to inflict this pack of drivel on anyone outside of a Black Ops torture chamber.

At runaway speed this corpse of inanity splashes into the depths of the eternal sewer of failure, with no plot, no story, no reason, no explanation and no cogent destination.

BUT WAIT - IT GETS WORSE !!! Just as some gratuitous nudity and sex appears, the film takes a further turn toward looney tunes, and heads on an unstoppable streak to rock-bottom disaster, taking the entire crew down with it, and no survivors.

Honestly you poltroons, how could you dish this up and expect anyone to pay anything at all for it ? Avoid at all costs, an utter stinker and waste of everyone's time.

-minus 1 million and a jail term for the writers and producers.

Rape, Vikings, Random Images, Horrible Movie

[grim-away · 12 February 2014]

*WILL CONTAIN spoilers*

Rape. It is a touchy subject that still exists. I had to wonder, did the writer put that in there as a device to get them to move into this "viking town"? If so, at about 30 minutes into the movie, you will want to punch both the writer and the director in the face.

The movie starts with a rape then doesn't even talk about it or touch upon it until at the 70 minute mark. 70 minutes later the only way to get his wife to "open up" is to rape her again. The writer obviously doesn't understand the psychological effects rape has on a victim so he goes with the lesbian route and another rape scene because that's how we get rape victims to talk. Rape. That's like saying the only way to get victims of violence to talk is more violence. 75 minutes and 54 seconds into the movie: When the husband rapes his wife (who is a victim of being raped in her own home) says he "just wants to help her" after we know that he had been cheating on her this whole time since the beginning of the movie. He then cheats on her again after his wife picked up his phone to see a female caller with a picture of what would be the caller's booty in lace panties. If that's not a tell tale sign of "let's get a divorce" I don't know what is, only she can't because she's a rape victim and needs him. Right. What a stupid, unethical, inhumane, egotistical piece of garbage. I want to use this DVD for firing practice.

I had to quit, but for the sake of this review, I went on.

What I have noticed through the movie was the constant random images of... things. Completely irrelevant to the movie. (IE: random images of a reptile is seem walking on a tree, the wife is moisturizing her hands in some blood, random rock, a falling leaf, some bark.). Also the writer doesn't even know a thing about Vikings, what they actually worship, what they did or that they were nomadic. The ending just wraps it all up. None of this makes any sense. It's like watching a slide show of someone's vacation. It's not so much boring as how much sense it doesn't make. If the actors wore alien body suits I might have been able to put this whole thing off as another weird alien movie. It's not. Sadly.

I'm so disgusted, I can't even write a proper review. This movie is crap, garbage, not worth your time. I want my 70 minutes back. I want my dollar back. This movie was so horrible, I want my dinner I had to heave back.

Don't watch this movie. Don't bother. $1 is asking too much. They should pay you to watch this. Even then you'll want your 100 minutes and 43 seconds back.

The only haunting thing here is the sense of having wasted time that you will never get back...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 7 March 2014]

It would be to stretch it by far to say that "Haunting of the Innocent" was an interesting and entertaining movie. Sure it was watchable, but the storyline was just so out of tune that it was embarrassing to bear witness to. There were so many things that didn't make sense, and that were just bordering on being ridiculous.

For a thriller, then "Haunting of the Innocent" was a very weak movie, and there wasn't really anything thrilling about it. Sure, I had some hopes for the viking aspect that director Matt Hish tried to incorporate into the storyline, given that I am Scandinavian, but let me just put in kindly, it failed to deliver.

The story is about Brenda (played by Jessica Morris) who is married to Tom (played by Rib Hillis). Brenda becomes the victim of sexual assault while Tom is at work, and the incident is taking a heavy toll on their marriage. Together with their son, they seek to distance themselves at Brenda's fathers home far away from the city. But in the small community of Thornby all is definitely not well...

Sure, the story did have potential here and there, but ultimately it just failed to deliver and the movie came out ending like a series of shattered fragments and pieces attempted to put together for a greater picture.

The storyline progressed slowly without anything overly exciting ever happening, and that resulted in the movie being slow, sluggish and somewhat of a struggle to sit (and suffer) through.

And the movie has Judd Nelson brandished on the poster/cover, but what a sham, especially because the guy has less than 5 minutes of screen time.

Unless you are a die-hard fan of anyone in this particular movie, then it is hard to come up with a reason for you to waste about an hour and forty minutes on this.

I would have given this less than one star if I was able...

[GraySkies85 · 1/10 · 12 February 2014]

HORRIBLE movie. Have you seen "Wicker Man"? Same similar stupid plot and ending. STUPID STUPID STUPID. Not scary at all and kinda weird and perverted. The person who wrote this is just a freak and shouldn't write anymore movie scripts ever again.... I'm very eclectic all around and love a wide variety and even love budget films but this movie just SUCKED. School children could have written and filmed something scarier...

I just saw the cover and read the summary at the red box and figured- for a dollar something, can't lose. NOPE I want my dollar and some change back. Just ridiculously horrible and I want the time back that i've wasted watching this!

Kiosk <1

[westsideschl · 1/10 · 21 February 2014]

First sign of cheap are no subtitles. Second sign are opening scenes from an overhead or aerial view of car driving on road and either countryside or city. Third sign is the ubiquitous raven that seems to show up every where - perched here, perched there and of course at the end. What it means - who knows. Now if it was filmed on the west coast it would be a crow then that would mean looking for scraps like a flying rat. Fourth sign is overbearing sound effects and music. Fifth sign is the "mysterious woman" who suddenly shows up in the background and sometimes jumps to show up in the next scene foreground. Trite, boring, overused. Sixth sign are the townsfolk - not quite sure about them, we are. Especially when one of them says "Get out while you can!" then coughs up black blood. Seventh sign are the high pitched sounds that seem to effect certain brains. As for the movie - someone dies and the townsfolk are in on it and it has something to do with Viking spirits from long ago or something.

Middle of the road movie, but there is a strong message in there.

[face-819-933726 · 5/10 · 11 February 2014]

Surprisingly not awful. This one is not going to win any awards, but you do have to admit it is better than most of the stuff that the SyFy channel pumps out every few months, and it is a bit better than most of the Asylum stuff as well. Sort of Nordic, sort of demonic, never really does answer for itself, but the main message that they have hidden in the middle that is becoming a regular movie thing in the past couple of years, and that is that it is time to recognize that Women can not control the way that their bodies react to things that are beyond their control, and should not feel guilty for things done to them ever. None of us can really control our bodies for the first 30 or so years of life, and we need to keep this sort of communication going; even if it has to be through low budget film that we are better educated. Sorry back to the movie itself, I didn't hate it, there was a lot of very artsy direction, and the story is a bit of a mess, but I think I Enjoyed what there was on offer. I do recommend this one, but only to someone looking for a different kind of possession/witchy woman movie, otherwise click on past this one.

Worst Movie EVER!!

[hferdon · 1/10 · 6 May 2015]

The movie was grossly disturbing!! The movie has nudity, which is gross and ALWAYS uncalled for!!!!!! It has a poorly, awful made movie; the story DOES NOT make sense, it was horribly written!! The sexual acts in the movie were COMPLETELY disturbing and ALWAYS UNCALLED FOR! I don't want to see ANY TYPE of sexual acts because it's disturbing and EXTREMELY uncomfortable! The story was stupid, didn't make sense, and is the worst movie EVER MADE! If anybody ever saw this movie in the theaters, they wasted money and time watching the movie because it is TRASH and should NEVER be put in the stores because it's HORRIBLE!! Don't watch it!! And by the way, it wasn't EVEN SCARY!!!!! It was poorly made, it was NEVER SCARY, it was just disturbing ALL THE WAY ROUND!!!!!!!

Incoherent rambling rubbish from start to finish...

[FountainPen · 2/10 · 8 February 2018]

There are a few worse flicks I've seen, so I rate this putrid film 2/10. The only part I enjoyed was the lead feller carving into his chest with a pair of scissors, but that wasn't even clearly shown, unfortunately. Actors mumbled much of the time and the DVD has no subtitles, so I missed much of the dialogue; it didn't make any real difference, for the "plot" is as thin as a moth's wing, like the talent of the moviemakers responsible for this crud. The young actor who played the som may have a future: I felt he acted rather well, given the script he was presented with. My advice? AVOID THIS FILM !! 2/10.

Misleading title.

[mattfrancis-60254 · 1/10 · 12 March 2023]

Don't be fooled. The title isn't actually this title in the uk. The uk title is a haunting in Massachusetts. This is titled the haunting of the innocent. But ask yourself is she innocent? The blonde who claimed she enjoyed what happened to her whilst her husband worked. I felt sorry for the child stuck in the middle.

The dvd looked like one of them gripping, entertaining put you in edge certificate eighteens you get where you can chill on a Saturday evening and have a good watch, this was the complete opposite. Ridiculous, poorly paced, not in the slightest bit thrilling, barely engaging and as for the haunting, flat as a pancake.

The movie centres around some blonde woman who is attacked (ahem) she takes her child and poor husband to move in with her creepy over the top dad. The dad has an issue with the husband. But providing the blonde does what she wants whilst feeling vulnerable then we're expected to accept this. No. I didn't like her from the start. Then her husband isn't tested right which makes him aft out. (This really annoyed me for the way he was treated) until a busty blonde (not sure why these two female leads expected to save the film by trying to be alluring and seduce us into their disturbing and cringey touchy felt behaviours) who is actually some form of witch keeps turning up. She goes in about Viking's but we only see one. It's illogical, woefully played and beyond cheesy. Wasted money. Avoid, you've been warned.

SOMETHING IS OFF

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 24 July 2018]

Tom (Rib Hillis) has everything: A beautiful lily white wife (Jessica Morris), a wonderful son (Dane Hillis) a great job as a successful architect and an assistant (Mariah Bonner) with benefits. When his wife is raped in the first scene, the family must get away to her home town of Thornby where they stay with her dad (Neil Dickson). The town is a bit odd and the women are overly flirty with both Tom and Brenda, his wife.

Brenda discovers her Viking/Norse/rune magic/witchcraft roots as the film PLOT SPOILER becomes eerily similar to "Harvest Home."

The film suffered from several problems. First and foremost was that it dragged. Things moved very slowly to get us to a climax, where the audience is half asleep, just waiting for the film to end. The acting wasn't that great. The dialogue needed some zip. The film was a good idea, at least when Thomas Tryon wrote it, however it failed to keep people engaged. The nude scenes were all end loaded too. If you are going to use nudity to spur interest, they need to be spread out. 2 1/2 stars

Guide: F-bomb, rape, sex, nudity (Mariah Bonner, Jessica Morris, Hannah Cowley)

The Style, man, the style

[gpeltz · 7/10 · 10 January 2015]

The Haunting of the Innocent (2014) was Directed by Matt Hish, And there will be spoilers ahead, If you are wondering if you should watch this movie, I'd say, go ahead, then come back and read my take on why this movie may not be anyone's cup of tea..

Something is off kilter here. The story is complex, and it sometimes gets lost in the style of the telling. Truth is, the Style here is distinct. Deliberate and pensive, to some, Slow and Boring to others. On the plus side, all the technical aspects are up to par and then maybe a little more so, visually . The sound design is carefully figured into the mix, and plays a big part, in the early "Made you jump" scenes. A bit later in the movie, The volume increase giveaway, looses it's power, and we no longer start, at the "Boo" scenes. Not all the dialog is easily understood. Darn my ears, but I can not make out what whispering actors are saying.

This movie makes no sense on so many levels, but because of the unique pacing, more akin to a Terrence Malick movie I find it worth viewing. The camera lingers on shots long after the directer shouts "cut" Phantasmagorical photo collages strobe before you. You actually feel the mood of mystery at times, more so then understanding whats going on. They contribute absolutely nothing to the narrative. Kudos to the cinematographers who kept the shots tight the lighting appropriate, and the images consistent with the super natural theme.

The actors here try their best, but the multifaceted plot line becomes hopelessly twisted. Opening Credits place the start of the action just outside LA. The movie is about Rape. Brenda played by Jessica Morris is assaulted in the opening scenes, A random act of violation, her Husband; a successful but philandering Architect, played by Judd Nelson , wants to do, "The right thing" and take care of her after her ordeal, particularly for the sake of their young son, played by Dane Hills. In spite of the fact that she continuously is becoming more distant, from their marriage vows. He feels remorse about not having been there to protect her from her assailant. This is the guilt trip, she lays on him Sounds OK so far ? Throw in some hostile in-laws, some cryptic town folk, some ghosts from the past, and a smattering of Norse mythology. Add a pinch of nudity, sex, and Lesbian attraction. Shake it all up and this is what you get. Understanding is futile. Three out of five stars, for the Style.

Rune lore

[milewski-26548 · 7/10 · 17 May 2020]

Yes it starts with a rape scene so what the Viking story and the rune description is pretty accurate was actually a good movie if u take the time to understand the story behind it