‘Evil is forever’
A Haunting at Preston Castle – aka Preston Castle – is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by visual effects expert Martin Rosenberg (Van Helsing; Jurassic Park III; Starship Troopers; et al) from a screenplay co-written with Peter Bailey. The movie stars Mackenzie Firgens, Jake White and Heather Tocquigny.
Plot:
When Liz (Mackenzie Firgens) returns home on a college break with a broken heart, all she wants to do is hibernate and heal. But her best friend Ashley (Heather Tocquigny) coaxes her out of the house for an innocent, diverting rendezvous with high school ex-boyfriend Danny (Jake White.)
What the young friends don’t know is that truly terrifying things are about to happen. Sparks begin to fly between Liz and Danny, and the possibility of their reignited romance lead the three to a night time romp in Preston Castle, an abandoned boys correctional institute with a gruesome past…
Reviews:
“Although highly derivative, Preston Castle is technically well-made and takes advantage of one of California’s most striking “haunted” locations and is undemanding entertainment with some effective jumps.” DVD Beaver
“The acting isn’t too bad as the cast is actually pretty talented (too bad they couldn’t have found a better movie to star in) and the overall premise has promise, but the execution was pretty piss poor. It had a lot of issues that kept me from enjoying it (including the very end which was a total rip off of REC/Quarantine as it was almost identical).” Horror News
“The story for this one is one told so many times before with nothing new added and told in the blandest of ways. The film puts three youths in a castle where things pop up here and there and translucent figures walk down corridors and door ways. In the middle of all this is the same youths screaming like they have never acted before resulting in a real chore of a film to finish.” Horror Society
“Being trapped in a haunted place with too many twists and turns and no way out is something nightmares are made of – literally. I think that aspect gave the movie more of a creepy factor. It was entertaining. Even though a lot of the film was predictable I still enjoyed the film.” She Scribes!
Cast and characters:
- Mackenzie Firgens … Liz – The Thompsons; The Hamiltons; Sweet Insanity
- Jake White … Danny – Vengeance Girl (producer); Captured; Children of the Corn 2009
- Heather Tocquigny … Ashley
- Cody Morris … Bobby Wells
- Amanda Vogel … Girl
- Connor Kinzer … Boy (as Connor Scott)
- Carol Bauman … Mom
- Vince Murdock … Cop
- Charlie Adams … Prisoner
- Jack Adams … Prisoner
- Jordan Carey … Prisoner
- Nick Carozza … Prisoner
- Michael Deggelmann … Prisoner
- Richard Fleming … Prisoner
- Kevin Grover … Prisoner
Filming locations:
Ione, California
Film Facts:
The German title is Paranormal Investigations 8: Preston Castle
