Claudio Carvalho In a provincial small town in Kansas, the low middle class young couple Jeff (Gabriel Olds) and Pam (Thea Gill) invests all their savings in an old mansion. Their intention is to restore the house and sell it, making good money. However, ghosts haunt them, and Pam decides to call the skeptical reporter Derek (Beau Bridges) and his crew, specialized in paranormal phenomena and formed by Lou (Nia Long), Allen (Miguel Ferrer) and the cameraman. There they realize that the situation is real and the unrevealed truth about a former family who lived in that house. This movie is another reasonable (television) movie about haunted house. There is nothing special or different in this story from other similar movies about this repeated theme, but may entertain. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): ` Amaldiçoados Pelo Passado' (`Cursed by the Past')

FionualaO Viewers may recall the Sci-Fi Channel series, SIGHTINGS which covered all manner of paranormal happenings around the world. Well, one case they investigated defied all explanations and brought comparisons to the most infamous US "Poltergeist" case, The Bell Witch of Tennessee. Like the Bell Witch, The Heartland Ghost case, as it was dubbed, consisted of all manner of phenomena but by far the most distressing were the multiple physical attacks directed toward the Dad in the house. He was scratched repeatedly and the cameras even managed to capture these attacks on film. Well, it was probably inevitable that there would be a movie about this someday and this attempt to cover the events is about as good as you can expect.The film covers the basic story of the young couple with a child who buy the Victorian house as a fixer-upper and encounter cold spots, flying objects, slamming doors, electrical weirdness and so on. The film contrasts the basic skepticism of the dad and the SIGHTINGS Producers with the convictions of a Ghost Hunter played by Miguel Ferrer. As a dramatic device, we are treated to flashbacks of the various possible ghosts lives and dream sequences. These interludes are not so fantastic as to be annoying and they move the story along. In the real case, the names of the alleged ghosts and their background were uncovered through research.Overall, this is an above average TV Movie about a disturbing apparent Haunting or Poltergeist. Unlike the silliness of TV Movies based on the exploits of the self-styled Demon-Hunters, Ed and Lorraine Warren, this movie simply lets the story unfold with a minimum of preaching. There isn't any sanctimonoius bible-waving or Holy water sprinkling and the SIGHTINGS crew and their Psychics are not portrayed as the afflicted family's saviors. In the Warrens' films, they are always shown to be the equivilant of Father Merrin in demon-infested homes of surburbia!THE HEARTLAND GHOST is a straightforward retelling of the events in a sleepy Kansas community that which drew in a fairly serious investigation by a Television show dedicated to just such happenings. The Case was rarity for SIGHTINGS since they were there as the events unfolded as opposed to merely retelling the story afterwards which was what they usually did on their show. The SIGHTINGS teams camped out at the house with all manner of equipment and came away with more questions than answers. As a film, the story works but it doesn't come down on one side or the other. It does show the terrible toll the events took on the life of the young family whose whole world was turned upside down.For viewers who saw the original SIGHTINGS Episodes on The Heartland Ghost, this film is a nice overview. For those that didn't, it's a decent introduction to the case.

KipTH This movie is based from a true story, right? I remember that I saw it from a TV show SIGHTINGS some time ago but never known until last night it was made for a TV movie too. Personally I quite like this movie, it still caught my attention through from the beginning to the end even I know the summary. I saw it alone after midnight and let me tell you it was really getting me scared and feeling like bewaring my back!!! If you used to see what was going on in real life with that family from tape of SIGHTINGS you know this movie is not bad. Not kind of making you jump from scary faces but gradually making you chill. It's good one!!! Watch it alone by yourself after midnight and remember it's something that really happened. Of course I don't know if it was true but if you just following like I said you will found how this movie could be scared. If you like kind of supernatural movie, fake or not I don't know, you will enjoy this film.

parriepenn I like haunted house stories and this is a fun one to watch. The plot centers on whether or not the haunting is real and, thankfully, it spares us the typical screaming, gore, and fake monsters that are NOT scary. All that latex is just a reminder that I am watching a movie and quite rudely inserts the filmmaker between the film and me. Despite the positive aspects of the film, though, there is a flash of breasts which is pointless and perfunctory.Nevertheless, this is a well-acted movie--underacted, if anything, which is a rarity within this genre and quite refreshing to see. Beau Bridges is a credit to any cast; he is so comfortable with his craft he appears not to be acting. His agreeable manner and blue-collar charm make him seem as though he is a beloved and much-missed family member. Likewise, Miguel Ferrer is a welcome talent who can sleepwalk through this part, which is far beneath his extensive ability. The character is sketchy and doesn't always adhere to the expected behavior of its personality or background. However, the character's inconsistencies are not due to the complexity of character we all have, but rather a lack of complexity.This is not a frightening movie and not altogether memorable, but if you want to just kick back and watch a satisfying movie, this is a good one to watch.