‘A real American horror story’
Bethany is a 2017 American horror film
The movie was produced and directed by James Cullen Bressack (Pernicious; Blood Lake; To Jennifer; 13/13/13; et al) from a screenplay co-written with prolific actor Zack Ward, who also co-stars alongside Stefanie Estes, Tom Green and Shannen Doherty.
After Claire’s mother dies, she and her husband move back to her childhood home only to have the abusive and traumatic memories of her mother come back and bring unrest into the house.
Unfortunately, Claire soon finds herself in a fog of past and present when her imaginary friend from childhood begins haunting her memories. What is this terrifying thing that is trying to reach out to her, and what does it want?
Reviews:
“Bethany is 80% a perfect horror movie for an American audience. Perfectly balancing tension, drama and even moments of uncomfortable squirming as Bressack’s trademark penchant for gruesome natured horror comes to play. Yet 20% is attributed to a script that leads to unneeded deaths and subsequent consequences that will leave you forgetting the drama left behind in favour of begging an answer as to what repercussions lie ahead.” BloodGuts UK Horror
“Bethany has its highlights, working most effectively with lowered expectations. Bressack rides the line of good taste by involving the torment of children in the story (an unnecessary trend in today’s horror offerings), but he recovers with a ghoulish study of Bethany’s origin and experiences away from Claire. There are some gore zone visits to tide over genre fans as well, giving Bethany some snap to go with its spookiness, finding Bressack capable of doing something with the bare minimum of genre ornamentation.” Blu-ray.com
“Bressack and Ward go for a telegraphed shock reveal that collapses immediately under disbelief. By then, any hooks the movie had in are long gone anyway. Adding one more disappointment to the list doesn’t alter the outcome of audience disinterest one way or the other.” 35 out of 100, Culture Crypt
“Bethany has a genuinely gloomy atmosphere to it and is paced relatively well. It never really drags or outstays its welcome and the finale especially has some genuine power to it. All in all, this was an enjoyable enough film. Far from perfect; but in a very saturated genre, Bethany had enough moments that make it stand out. Highly recommend if you like your paranormal offerings with that psychological thriller edge.” Nerdly
Release:
Bethany was released theatrically and On-Demand on April 7, 2017, via Uncork’d Entertainment. The movie is now available to watch free online on Freevee, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Redbox, Tubi, Vudu and YouTube.
