Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A lumbering pseudo documentary, February 1, 2005
You have to love a good ghost story to enjoy "The St. Francisville Experiment," a rehash of the immensely popular "Blair Witch Project" which came out the year before in 1999. Both films are pseudo documentaries filmed by annoying youngsters who set out to crack the mystery of ominous old legends. In both cases, the kids start their respective expeditions confident and self-assured, hand-held cameras jerking about while they spout wisecracks at the nearest shadows. Eventually, the kids end up terrified, surrounded by supernatural forces they could never have imagined.
I consider "The Blair Witch Project" to be a modern-day horror classic, well acted and perfectly executed. It frightened me, and I enjoyed the fact that the monsters could never quite be seen. The filmmakers caught lightning in a bottle, and when they released its fiercely mediocre sequel a couple of years later, it was apparent the magic was gone.
There is some magic in "The St. Francisville Experiment," but it is still inferior to "The Blair Witch Project" in almost every way. The acting is forced, the locale at a supposed haunted house in Louisiana is only slightly eerie, and the conclusion is never believable. And yet there's a scene, when a ghostly specter makes an appearance, that will definitely give you the creeps. It's all fun, and perhaps the young at heart will get a kick out of this carnival ride.
Four kids, including a filmmaker, historian, psychic and the obligatory "team leader," decide to spend the night in a haunted house. Prior to the big bash, the history of the house is documented. Somehow, and none too convincingly, they connect the house's history with the infamous New Orleans' legend of Madame LaLaurie. An 1830s Creole socialite who lived in the French Quarter, her house supposedly burned down and discovered within was a torture chamber where she conducted hideous experiments on slaves. She fled New Orleans in the middle of the night and, according to this film, eventually holed up in the secluded St. Francisville home.
The Madame LaLaurie legend, the Grand Guignol of New Orleans ghost stories, has never been convincingly proven, though it has been recited for over 100 years. I actually enjoyed the fact that "The St. Francisville Experiment" attempted to connect its story with this most famous of urban legends. The tale is as creepy as the set-up for "The Blair Witch Project," and unlike the latter film, the legend is at least partially based on fact.
The kids arrive in the middle of the night, enter the house and begin exploring its interior. The house is certainly authentic, but it's apparent that at least someone arrives on a regular basis to dust and clean its interior. But never mind. Closets are explored, a seance is conducted and a chair flies across the attic - and it all works for the most part. My problem at this point is the growing fear of the actors. Their hyperventilating terror is never convincing and it is abundantly clear they are mimicking the very good performances from "The Blair Witch Project." Additional secrets are discovered, including hidden chambers, but I realized I could have just as well bought a ticket to a Halloween funhouse for the same scares.
The beauty of "The Blair Witch Project" was that during its frantic running time, there was never a moment of doubt. Certainly the documentary was fabricated, but it was always convincing. I was never convinced by "The St. Francisville Experiment." Had the filmmakers spent a bit more time with their idea, they could have struck a nerve. There is always something unsettling about an old abandoned house, similar to what was seen during the final moments of "The Blair Witch Project." But the house used in this film, even with its hidden chambers and old furniture, looks like a display at the local museum.
It took a great amount of skill and imagination to pull off "The Blair Witch Project." There were so many missteps that could have been taken. None were. "The St. Francisville Experiment" lumbers around and makes these very mistakes. We see chains falling, chairs flying and ghosts hovering within mirrors. I liked the ghost, but the film leaves little to the imagination, and thus its authenticity is compromised. For a low budget flick such as this, that is a mistake.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I gave this 3 stars because it is a special film..., April 16, 2001
I gave this movie 3 stars. This all depends on what you are looking for in a movie. This movie is embarassingly horrible... it is a great laugh... it is a travesty caught on tape. But if you are in the video store looking for the worst movie ever made... THIS IS IT. The St. F Experiment is the WORST MOVIE EVER MADE! So rent it while expectations are at an all time low and have some fun. Trash does not always need to be taken out... James
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What were you looking for?, August 6, 2004
I've read some of the reviews of this film (good and bad) and I cannot believe the people who wrote the bad reviews actually thought it was supposed to be real. Did you really think the Blair Witch Project was real as well? These are MOVIES!
If you accept BLAIR WITCH and ST. FRANCISVILLE for what their producers intended; Cheaply made, scripted movies pretending to be documentaries, then you'll begin to see the fun in them.
And St. Francisville was a fun film. There were actually some very good (and frightful) moments. The chair flying across the room, for one. The people who are upset that B.W. and ST. Francisville are "obvious fakes" are probably confused as to why The Beatles allowed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to perform on one of their albums.
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