User Reviews

Jill (Brianne Davis), who is blind, inherits a manor from an aunt she never met. She goes out to the manor and stays there with two friends while ghosts and "imprints" haunt the house.

The film was rather boring and at no time scary. C. Thomas Howell has a minor role near the end. Made for TV quality.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

This low-budget project features Brianne Davis as feisty Jill, who gives her obnoxious lawyer short shrift when he attempts to patronise her when revealing the contents of his recently deceased aunt's will. Jill is blind and is still coming to terms with people's reactions to her. A possible stroke of good fortune comes about when it is revealed her estranged aunt has left her home – a spooky old mansion.

I mention the low-budget production values because this can put some viewers off. I bore people rigid by saying that independent films are only constrained by their lack of finance, and better that than to have the project diluted by the creativity-sapping, restraint-soaked wishes of more mainstream organisations. And yet it is true. If you want spectacular stunts and humanity-stripping CGI, this won't be for you.

If you wish to look beyond superfluous production gimmickry, there is much to enjoy here. Writer/director David Sapp makes the most of his locations and particularly the Manor itself. The three main players Davis, Ken Luckey and Christine Woods (as Jill's two good friends Rob and Erika) are terrific naturalistic and unaffected performers. Above all, their friendship is real and we can relate to them as people. When Jill starts seeing apparitions, she optimistically believes her eyesight may be returning.

The pace doesn't pick up, but neither does it falter and there are a few decent scares. The most effective for me concerns Jill's audio diaries – when playing back her latest entry, there are other noises in the background. Of course, people being people, an element of distrust grows amongst Rob and Erika, and for a time it is entirely possible (though unlikely) that one of them is deliberately trying to unnerve poor Jill.

The end is satisfying. And no, Jill does not magically recover her sight. She does, however, become more accustomed to her situation. Ultimately, 'Marsten Manor' is a decent chiller and well worth your time.

The acting isnt perfect, but the message is. I am disabled so i really understand this film. This is a much watch film for anyone trying to overcome a difficulty.