''Hangman's Curse'' is a 2003 horror suspense film based on the 2001 Christian novel '' Hangman's Curse'', written by

Frank Peretti Frank Edward Peretti (born January 13, 1951) is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author of Christian fiction, whose novels primarily focus on the supernatural. , his works have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. He has been described by the ...

. The film stars David Keith,

Mel Harris Mary Ellen "Mel" Harris is an American actress best known for her role as Hope Murdoch Steadman in the ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1987–1991), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in 1990. Early life and education Ha ...

, Leighton Meester, and Douglas Smith, with a cameo by novelist and Northwest native Peretti. The filming took place in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

, with interior and exterior shots of John R. Rogers High School. Additional exterior shots were filmed at nearby

Riverside State Park Riverside State Park is a Washington state park located northwest of Spokane in the community of Nine Mile Falls. The park protects of Okanagan dry forest along the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers. It is the second largest state park in Wa ...

, as well as

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada.

Plot

The film is set at John R. Rogers High School in

. Ten years prior, student Abel Frye, a victim of bullying, had committed suicide by hanging himself on the school property. Fast-forward to the current day, when several student football players (who are also school bullies) are mysteriously becoming gravely ill. Just before falling into a coma, each victim is heard screaming the spirit's name, Abel Frye. In an effort to get to the bottom of the haunting, the school turns for help to the Veritas Project, a team of highly trained investigators who work undercover to unravel the truth about paranormal activities. The Veritas Project consists of the members of the Springfield family, including father Nate, mother Sarah, daughter Elisha, and son Elijah. The high-school students in the film represent various social classes or

youth subculture Youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, work, home and school. Youth subcultures ...

s, including jocks,

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, it had a general ...

s, and

goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

. Prominent among the students in the film are members of the goth culture, who worship the ghost of Abel Frye. The goth students are led by Ian Snyder. Unbeknownst to the rest of the school, Norman Bloom, a young geek Elisha befriended, is Frye's nephew. In retaliation for the bullying and mistreatment inflicted on the different students, Bloom exacts revenge on the popular football players. Bloom's plan includes gaining access to the locker of each targeted bully and placing a deadly male spider, trapped in a straw, inside the locker. Bloom then gives the bully tainted money, upon which he has secretly placed trace amounts of female spider

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

s. When the unsuspecting bully reaches into his locker, the waiting male spider is easily attracted to the pheromones, and then crawls out and bites the student. Among the effects of the toxin, the affected students experience hallucinations, believing that the ghost of Abel Frye is after them. At one point, Bloom accidentally puts an additional female spider in one of the straws, which results in thousands of deadly spiders overtaking the school. Elisha Springfield, attending the school undercover as a student, eventually figures out the mystery and the diabolical plot designed by Norman Bloom. In fear of being discovered, Bloom attempts to keep his involvement in the haunting hidden by poisoning both himself and Elisha with a spider, hoping that they will both die. When Elijah figures out that Bloom is behind the sinister attacks in the school, he races to find his sister and the Springfield family rush to professor and scientist Dr. Algernon Wheeling, who saves Elisha with an

antivenom Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if th ...

. In the end, the students at Rogers High School are protected not only from haunting and harm from others, but from the harm brought on by their own hatred and fear, as well.

Cast

* David Keith as Nate Springfield *

as Sarah Springfield * Leighton Meester as Elisha Springfield * Douglas Smith as Elijah Springfield * Jake Richardson as Ian Snyder * Bobby Brewer as Leonard Baynes * Daniel Farber as Norman Bloom *

Edwin Hodge Edwin Martel Basil Hodge (born January 26, 1985) is an American actor. He is recognized for portraying Dante Bishop in ''The Purge'' film series, and is the only actor to appear in all of the first three films. Early life Hodge was born on Jan ...

as Blake Hornsby *

Andrea Morris Andrea Morris (born July 10, 1983) is a Canadian actress. She plays the role of quiet, shy, homeless girl Margaret on 7th Heaven. Her character was first introduced in the Season 11 episode "The Replacements", whom the Camdens eventually deci ...

as Crystal Sparks * William R. Moses as Coach Marquardt *

Margaret Travolta Margaret Travolta (born December 31, 1946) is an Americans, American actress. Early life Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey to a Catholic family. The daughter of Salvatore Travolta and Helen Cecilia married and maiden names, née Burke, s ...

as Debi Wyrthen * Tom Wright as Dan Carillo *

as Dr. Algernon Wheeling

Reception

Hangman's Curse received universally negative reviews. Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the film an approval rating of 0% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 2.9/10. Some Christian reviewers were more lenient, with ''Christian Spotlight on Entertainment'' giving the film three out of five stars.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hangmans Curse 2003 films 2003 horror films Films about evangelicalism Films directed by Rafal Zielinski Films set in Washington (state) Films shot in Washington (state) Films shot in Winnipeg Films about spiders Films set in schools Films produced by Ralph Winter American films about revenge 2000s English-language films 2000s American films