''Altergeist'' (also known under its working title ''Sighting'') is a 2014

science fiction horror film This is a list of science fiction horror films. 0-9 *'' 4D Man'' (1959) *'' 9'' (2009) *'' 9'' (2019) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O *''The Omega Man'' (1971) *'' Outland'' (1981) *''Outpost'': **'' Outpost'' (2008) ...

that was written and directed by

Tedi Sarafian Tedi Sarafian is an American screenwriter. He was a co-writer of '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003). He is the son of Richard C. Sarafian, and the brother of Richard Sarafian Jr. and Deran Sarafian and the nephew of Robert Altman. ...

. The film had its world premiere on 25 August 2014 at the

London FrightFest Film Festival FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween event ...

and received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 7 November 2014. The film follows a group of paranormal investigators that find that trying to discover proof of the supernatural might be the death of them.

Plot

A group of six eager paranormal investigators have been allowed to explore King's Ransom Winery, a location with a history of strange suicides and a reputation for being haunted.

Cast

Kristina Anapau Kristina Elizabeth Anapau Roper (born October 30, 1979), better known as Kristina Anapau, is an American actress and writer. She is known for her roles as Maurella on the HBO series ''True Blood'' and as Galina in the 2010 film ''Black Swan''. ...

as Theresa *

Mark Hapka Mark Hapka (born May 29, 1982) is an American film and television actor who first gained attention for portraying the lead role of the spirit 'Zach' on the '' Ghost Whisperer'' spin-off '' Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side''. Hapka is most notabl ...

as Dax *David Weidoff as Ashen Till *

Linsey Godfrey Linsey Michelle Godfrey (born July 25, 1988) is an American actress. She played Caroline Spencer on the CBS soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from March 2012 to October 2016, before returning in a recurring capacity from December 2016 to ...

as Sarah *

Brendan Fletcher Brendan Fletcher (born December 15, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He first gained recognition as a child actor, winning a Leo Award and being nominated for a Gemini Award his acting debut in the made-for-television film ''Little Criminals''. He ...

as Jason *

Alexis Cruz Alexis Cruz (born September 29, 1974) is an American actor, known for his performances as Rafael in '' Touched by an Angel'' and as Skaara in ''Stargate'' and ''Stargate SG-1''. Biography Cruz was born in The Bronx of Puerto Rican descent. His m ...

as Mike *

Sarah Oh Sarah Oh (born 1990 in Glendale, Arizona) is an American actress and model. She is of Korean American, Korean-German American, German descent. Biography She began acting when she was 13 at her school's theater department and starred in every si ...

as Maya *Olivia Stuck as Beatrice Blaine *Richard Sarafian Jr. as Jim till *Jessica Spotts as Rachel Till * Ed Corbin as Henry Blaine

Development

Plans to film ''Altergeist'' (then called ''Sighting'') were first announced in 2011, and the film moved into post-production in November 2012.

Michelle Rodriguez Mayte Michelle Rodriguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress. Rodriguez began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Award and Gotha ...

was initially set to star in the film, but later withdrew from filming. Sarafian took his inspiration for ''Altergeist'' from the

Korbel Champagne Cellars Korbel Champagne Cellars is a winery based in Guerneville, California. Since 1882, Korbel has primarily manufactured California champagne, using the ''méthode champenoise'' process. In this process, sparkling wine is fermented inside the same bo ...

Guerneville, California Guerneville ( , ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, United States. The town is historically known for the logging community, formed in the late 1800s. Guerneville ...

, where Sarafian and producer Aaron Heck listened to stories about strange occurrences and a suicide in the winery's Korbel House, which also served as the set for ''Altergeist''.

Reception

''Grolsch Film Works'' praised ''Altergeist'', writing that it "fully exploits its unusual vineyard setting, makes fun of its own hackneyed tropes..., and finds novel ways to reverse-engineer an apparent ghost story into something with a rather different genre frame." ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'' gave the film three out of four skulls, writing that "Despite its dark setting and often fairly horrific murder sequences, ''ALTERGEIST'' is light hearted stuff, with clever banter and humor amongst the group of hunters, and actor Brendan Fletcher (''

FREDDY vs. JASON ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...

'') being exceptionally funny throughout."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1985196 2014 films 2014 horror films Films shot in California Films scored by Anthony Marinelli 2010s English-language films