HANGMAN'S CURSE

REVIEWED BY CARISSA HORTON

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: thematic elements

Rated:

"The forbidden hallway." A frightening name for an unnerving area of Rogers High. The reason: ten years ago a boy, Abel Frye, hung himself in that hallway. Not much of a mystery perhaps, but incidents are now occurring in Rogers High. Football players are hallucinating and going insane for no reason, except a ghost. The apparition of Abel Frye is said to walk the halls of the school, dealing out justice to those who torment the “weak” and “weird”. These worrisome “accidents” are reason enough for the Veritas Project, made up of a close-knit family named the Springfields, to become involved. Parents Nate (David Keith) and Sarah Springfield (Mel Harris), along with their teenage twins Elijah (Douglas Smith), and Elisha (Leighton Meester) are the perfect undercover agents for this job, what with their extensive experience and crime lab on wheels which also serves as home away from home.

Elisha, being naturally outgoing, ingratiates herself to the “In” crowd almost immediately while Elijah becomes easily acquainted with the nerds and braniacs of Rogers High. The school appears normal on the surface, but there’s an underlying current of tension running through the students. Part of this is due to the “witchy bunch” as they are called; with leaders Ian Snyder (Jake Richardson) and Crystal Sparks (Andrea Morris) presiding. Gothic clothing, hair, and even expressions; Ian, Crystal, and their cadre of hostile misfits are subjected to continuous abuse, but they have their own type of dominion which proves far more deadly. Ian is feared for his reputation with the spirits in general, and Abel Frye in particular. With hostility bringing power, Ian and his friends have cursed each of the fallen jocks; the results speaking for themselves.

With almost nothing to start with, Nate, disguised as the school janitor, begins rifling the lockers of the hospitalized teens. Each locker has only two things in common; a soda straw with curious plugs of sugar in each end and a symbol of a hanging man scratched somewhere into the locker. Along with the straw and symbol, an oddly scented $50 bill was discovered in Jim Boltz’s wallet which sparks the interest of Max, the Springfield’s drug-sniffing dog. While Sarah and Nate work on the technical research, Elijah and Elisha are free to roam the school, and, after a few confrontations with both jocks and goths, they head for the area that started it all: The Forbidden Hallway. With a digital recorder as backup, Elijah and Elisha, hearts tied in knots, arrive at the prohibited corridor and adjacent rooms, hoping to locate the voices they were pre-warned about.

Suddenly, the voices reverberated as expected, emitting from a vent in the wall, though with no perceptible words. The sounds halt as swiftly as they began and the twins bolt out the door, rushing toward the supposed source (a boiler room) in hopes of uncovering whomever or whatever was making the unearthly noise. The door is bolted and no amount of shoving will pry it open, though Elijah nearly breaks his foot in the attempt. After a terrifying sneak encounter with Ian Snyder, Elijah and Elisha set out for the motor home, discouraged that, though they heard something, they were unable to disclose the source.

Some breakthroughs are occurring, despite the disappointment of the previous night. Elisha has befriended one of the “bullies," Blake Hornsby, and he is repentant of the horrendous torments he and others have placed on Ian Snyder and his friends, and is even beginning to reach Crystal who is not as tough as she appears. Ian is another story. While he has a definite soft spot for Crystal, he detests the rest of mankind, and keeps Elijah at a definite distance. However, Elijah is persistent, and Ian begins to mellow just a bit toward his ministrations. Sarah, having recovered the tape from the digital recorder, analyzes the disembodied voices, and discovers the voices are forming a sort of mantra. A name repeated incessantly; the name of Leonard Baynes, a bully who Elijah has encountered, along with countless others. Sure enough, the next day, Leonard becomes deranged in his wood shop class, and is removed to the hospital exactly parallel to the other victims.

In desperate need of backup, Sarah and Nate contact an old friend of theirs; Algernon Wheeling (Frank Peretti) a professor of Entomology. The players have been set in motion, but the outcome has yet to be decided. There are definite human machinations working under the guise of a phantasm, but who could be the guilty party? There is more to this mystery then meets the eye, and the outcome will have you riveted to your seat.

Hangman’s Curse is rated PG13 due to the violent content. You witness two young men hanging themselves, different times of course. There’s the bullying tactics used; people shoved against lockers, smacked around, and the mocking words used can create far more damage then anything physical. An occult undercurrent throughout the film could be cause for worry, except it is proven in the end that the occult has no power over truth. An insect invasion makes an appearance where several people are bitten or stung. A girl handles a python and places it around her neck, which could prove frightening for those of us who hate snakes. There’s also the reaction of the victims to the Abel Frye Syndrome: they go insane, shake violently, and scream in anguish for help against unseen enemies. 

Elisha struggles for her life with a guy dressed in a Halloween mask, and then a second encounter occurs, only this time the teen has a knife and is willing to use it. Be prepared for the sight of a shimmering apparition bearing a broken neck. There’s a bit of flirting, and Blake makes an obvious come on to Elisha which she firmly rebuffs. He does kiss her once, but Elisha firmly requests that he not do it again. Ian kisses and hugs Crystal once with nothing objectionable added. Clothing is mostly modest; except for a few of the goths who wear skin tight shirts that reveal their stomachs though no cleavage. Temptations arise in the twins’ lives but are spurned, if not immediately, at least before the sin is committed.

In my opinion, Hangman’s Curse is a fantastic movie based on Frank Peretti’s novel. Some changes were made for the sake of the film but make a better movie in the long run. The actors are fantastic, the scenery and special effects are superb; this is not the B-Grade film Christian films are usually accused of being. Frank Peretti is the epitome of an eccentric professor. You can’t help but smile at his antics, and he’ll have you roaring with laughter at times. The relationship between the Springfields is believable for a loving family unit, even down to the playful teasing of Elijah and Elisha. The lesson of Hangman’s Curse: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Don’t treat people as if they were lesser beings, and therefore deserving of cruelty. God loves each one of us, and if Hangman’s Curse has gotten that idea across even a smidgeon, then it has succeeded. I personally, have found it to be one of the best Christian films produced in a long time, and I hope we’ll see more of the same!