The St. Francisville Experiment

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
The St. Francisville Experiment
File:The St. Francisville Experiment DVD Cover.jpg
Directed by Ted Nicolaou
Produced by Dana Scanlan
Paul Salamoff
Gary Schmoeller
Starring Madison Charap
Troy Taylor
Ryan Larson
Paul James Palmer
Cinematography Tim Baldini
Edited by Jeff Bradley
Tom Vader
Production
company
Distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment (USA)
VCI Home Video (UK)
Release dates
<templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • April 15, 2000 (2000-04-15)
Running time
79 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $250,000

The St. Francisville Experiment is a 2000 low-budget found footage horror film directed by Ted Nicolaou. The film was released direct to DVD on April 15, 2000 and centers upon a small group of paranormal investigators who spend a night in an old haunted mansion located in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The haunted mansion's back story was loosely based upon the true story of Delphine LaLaurie.[1]

Synopsis

A group of paranormal investigators are given video cameras and the opportunity to spend the night in an abandoned house rumored to be haunted. The group finds several strange things, but initially their discoveries are easily explained away. However as the night progresses they become more and more unsettled and wonder if there is truly a supernatural force in the house.

Cast

  • Madison Charap as Psychic - Madison Charap - Participant
  • Troy Taylor as Ghost Historian
  • Ryan Larson as History Student - Ryan Larson - Participant
  • P.J. Palmer as Paul Cason - Team Leader (as Paul Carson)
  • Tim Baldini as Videographer - Tim Thompson - Participant - Film Student (as Tim Thompson)
  • Paul Salamoff as Producer (as Paul I. Salamoff)
  • Ava Jones as Voodoo Priestess (as Ava Kay Jones)
  • Katherine Smith as St. Francis Paranormal Expert
  • Sarah Clifford as Psychic

Production

Filming for The St. Francisville Experiment took place in Louisiana and California, and the filming was actually done in three houses.[2] Author Troy Taylor helped put together the film's concept, which was initially supposed to be a documentary rather than a fictional film, a move that he stated was done mid-production.[2] Taylor also stated that one of the houses wasn't abandoned and that a family was currently living in it.[2] Upon its release the movie was promoted as a real encounter with the supernatural and the names of the film's actors were not disclosed.[3]

Reception

Critical reception for The St. Francisville Experiment was extremely negative.[4] A reviewer for JoBlo.com criticized the film, noting that "there are many scenes where it’s impossible that the "actor" filmed himself from that angle", which made it "obvious that there’s a cameraman there with his own equipment".[5] Variety gave a mixed review, remarking that it "is ultimately undone by its inability to reconcile its two contradictory impulses — to be the next “Blair Witch” while mocking the hand that feeds it."[6]

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links