The Haunting of Seacliff Inn (1994)

I love this movie so much

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Released to TV in 1994, "The Haunting of Seacliff Inn" stars Ally Sheedy and William R. Moses as a couple who move to coastal Northern California to start a bed & breakfast after purchasing an old mansion. Curious things start to happen as they discover their new abode to be haunted. Lucinda Weist plays their alluring first guest while Maxine Stuart plays a New Agey neighbor. James Horan is also on hand.While this is a TV movie (USA), the production values are quite good, particularly the stunning coastal locations. The first 35 minutes are pretty routine, but things pick up when the couple receive their first guest, a mysterious writer (Weist). From there the story's compelling to the end. The subplot about the couple's troubled marriage is well done: The husband had an affair back in San Francisco and it simply takes time & attention to win trust back, which is hard to do when there's a ravishing half-naked brunette hanging around. Will they stay together? This is more of a haunting ghost movie than horror flick. So don't expect hardcore horror and all that goes with it. If you enjoy movies like "The Fog" or "The Amityville Horror," particularly the remakes, you'll probably like "The Haunting of Seacliff Inn." The movie runs 94 minutes and was shot in Mendocino and Adolpho Camarillo Ranch, California.GRADE: BEXPLANATION ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further unless you've seen the movie)Sara Warner (Weist) returned from the dead likely at the behest of the male ghost doing the actual haunting, Jeremiah Hastings. Her mission was to seduce the husband, Mark, away from his wife, with the intent of breaking up their marriage. The husband, however, finds the moral strength to resist and rejects Sara. Her purpose thwarted she simply returns to the dead. She committed suicide in 1882 by drowning herself at the beach so that's where she goes. Now Hastings takes matters into his own hands.

The Haunting of Seacliff Inn is set on the picturesque Californian coast & starts with Susan (Ally Sheedy) & Mark Enright (William R. Moses) looking to buy some property with the idea of converting it into a seaside inn when Susan spots a beautiful old house sitting on a cliff overlooking a beach. The house is owned by Lorraine Adler (Maxine Stuart) who says that she doesn't want to sell but Susan has set her heart on it & decides to go back the following day to try & change her mind. Susan discovers Lorraines body & according to Sheriff Tomizack (Shannon Cochran) she accidentally slipped & hit her head resulting in her death. Susan & Mark buy the house of Lorraines daughter Caroline (Jay W. MacIntosh) & begin the building work required to turn the house into an inn ready for paying customers. However strange things start to happen like an electrical incident in which a workman is injured, a menacing dog keeps turning up, the gas & water are mysteriously left on & that old haunted house standby doors opening on they're own, spooky stuff eh? Susan senses something is happening, as she begins to research the house's history she finds it has a somewhat dark past that needs to be laid to rest once & for all...Co-written & directed by Walter Klenhard I thought The Haunting of Seacliff Inn was a reasonable ghost story but was just a bit too dull for my tastes. The script by Klenhard & Tom Walla is far too pedestrian for my liking, nothing significant happens for long stretches, in fact when I think about it nothing particularly significant happens during the films entire 90 plus minute duration. It's all rather predictable, plodding & uninspiring stuff throughout. There's no real threat to anyone, nothing that dangerous or sinister happens, no-one is killed apart from Lorraine & as a whole it's more of a family ghost film. The character's are serviceable but not that likable, the break down of Mark & Susan's marriage is both predictable & awkwardly handled. The character of Sara (Lucinda Weist) the ghost is almost surplus to requirements & does nothing terribly important. The house's dark past is far from exciting & the film ends rather limply. On a positive note it tells a reasonable story competently enough if you like slow burning films such as this.Director Klenhard films the nice Californian coast line with aplomb & the house itself makes for a nice location but otherwise the film is bland, flat & utterly forgettable so it comes as no surprise that The Haunting of Seacliff Inn was made-for-TV. Forget about any scary ghosts, any violence or anything you might be looking for in a horror film because this is one extremely tame film.Technically the film is fine but wholly unadventurous, there's nothing particularly wrong with it but nothing particularly good about it either. Average stuff from start to finish. The acting was OK but no-ones going to win any awards for it.The Haunting of Seacliff Inn isn't the type of film that really appeals to me as I found it far too slow & contained far too much melodramatics & not enough horror or scares. I'm sure there are people out there who may get something out of this film but it's not for me I'm afraid so as a consequence I can't in good heart recommend it.

For a PG rated film made for television this is spooky and very chilling movie. A couple of yuppies want to move away from the rat race and open an inn,bed and breakfast to us English.They find the perfect house but it has a problem,there is an old lady living there.The old lady suddenly dies mysteriously and so they buy the house. At the start of the film when the old lady's radio and TV turn on mysteriously ,you get the feeling that something or someone also occupies the old house. The couple,Ally Sheedy and William R Moses,move in and start renovating the house quite happily and then things start to happen.An electrician,working on the house gets electrocuted,log fires start to go out suddenly and they encounter an evil black dog.Add to this mixture an attractive lodger who vanishes and a wind blowing in the attic during an intimate moment and you have the makings of a classic ghost story. The thing i really liked about this film were the camera angles and long distance shots that give you the feeling that you are seeing things through the eyes of the entity. This film did have a few potholes .The biggest one being that you never find out why the lodger suddenly appeared then vanished and what her purpose for turning up was in the first place. On the spookiness scale I definitely give this film 10/10. Overall I give this film 8/10 due to the fact that I thought the ending was a bit weak. That being said,if you want a film that sends a few chills up your spine and brings you out in goosebumps then take a look at this one.I promise you wont be disappointed.

Fun yet run of the mill spook film set in a haunted mansion on the beautiful California coast. It has the usual creaking doors, creepy attic, unexplained happenings, and a mean ghost. Fairly good, but I done been there and had a better time when I did.