Released to TV in 1994, "The Haunting of Seacliff Inn" stars Ally Sheedy and William R. Moses as a couple who move to coastal Northern California to start a bed & breakfast after purchasing an old mansion. Curious things start to happen as they discover their new abode to be haunted. Lucinda Weist plays their alluring first guest while Maxine Stuart plays a New Agey neighbor. James Horan is also on hand.
While this is a TV movie (USA), the production values are quite good, particularly the stunning coastal locations. The first 35 minutes are pretty routine, but things pick up when the couple receive their first guest, a mysterious writer (Weist). From there the story's compelling to the end. The subplot about the couple's troubled marriage is well done: The husband had an affair back in San Francisco and it simply takes time & attention to win trust back, which is hard to do when there's a ravishing half-naked brunette hanging around. Will they stay together?
This is more of a haunting ghost movie than horror flick. So don't expect hardcore horror and all that goes with it. If you enjoy movies like "The Fog" or "The Amityville Horror," particularly the remakes, you'll probably like "The Haunting of Seacliff Inn."
The movie runs 94 minutes and was shot in Mendocino and Adolpho Camarillo Ranch, California.
GRADE: B
EXPLANATION ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further unless you've seen the movie)
Sara Warner (Weist) returned from the dead likely at the behest of the male ghost doing the actual haunting, Jeremiah Hastings. Her mission was to seduce the husband, Mark, away from his wife, with the intent of breaking up their marriage. The husband, however, finds the moral strength to resist and rejects Sara. Her purpose thwarted she simply returns to the dead. She committed suicide in 1882 by drowning herself at the beach so that's where she goes. Now Hastings takes matters into his own hands.
While this is a TV movie (USA), the production values are quite good, particularly the stunning coastal locations. The first 35 minutes are pretty routine, but things pick up when the couple receive their first guest, a mysterious writer (Weist). From there the story's compelling to the end. The subplot about the couple's troubled marriage is well done: The husband had an affair back in San Francisco and it simply takes time & attention to win trust back, which is hard to do when there's a ravishing half-naked brunette hanging around. Will they stay together?
This is more of a haunting ghost movie than horror flick. So don't expect hardcore horror and all that goes with it. If you enjoy movies like "The Fog" or "The Amityville Horror," particularly the remakes, you'll probably like "The Haunting of Seacliff Inn."
The movie runs 94 minutes and was shot in Mendocino and Adolpho Camarillo Ranch, California.
GRADE: B
EXPLANATION ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further unless you've seen the movie)
Sara Warner (Weist) returned from the dead likely at the behest of the male ghost doing the actual haunting, Jeremiah Hastings. Her mission was to seduce the husband, Mark, away from his wife, with the intent of breaking up their marriage. The husband, however, finds the moral strength to resist and rejects Sara. Her purpose thwarted she simply returns to the dead. She committed suicide in 1882 by drowning herself at the beach so that's where she goes. Now Hastings takes matters into his own hands.