by Karl Madsen, Media Editor, Horror

You know what’s worse than going on a vacation in a foreign locale, meeting new people, and meeting an untimely, and usually painful and messy, demise? Why, it’s moving into a house with a bad reputation, especially if it’s an ancestral home. And if you’re moving in because of financial problems, to win a bet or you need to make a fresh start, and it just happens to come available at a most opportune time.

And in Fertile Ground, Emily (Leisha Hailey – The L Word) and Nate (Gale Harold – Hellcats) do just that. The film starts out with a pregnant Emily having a miscarriage, and in her depression gives up her lucrative clothing design business. Nate can do his art anywhere, so when the house in the country comes available, they jump at the chance for a fresh start. The house welcomes them in a manner befitting a haunted house; with eerie pictures, a sordid history, possession, apparitions, and mysterious events.

So getting to the house was pretty easy, but leaving is the hard part. At first it’s a quaint home with its interesting quirks such as little noises, items that move on their own, and things like unexplained hand prints on windows. The tipping point is the cache of photographs that shows an uncanny resemblance of Nate to his forefathers. This is when their lives take a turn for the worse. Apparitions become more prevalent, the noises are louder, and husbands are more possessed. In fact, the house becomes so involved in Emily’s life that she can’t leave it. And not in a good way. Friends and family are allowed to visit, once.

Special Features:

Commentary with Actress Leisha Hailey, Writer/Director Adam Gierasch, and Writer Jace Anderson

Storyboard Gallery

Widescreen Presentation

English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio

English and Spanish Subtitles

Karl’s Scores:

Acting – A

Setting – A-

Special Effects – B+

Creep Factor – A

Tension – A

What the Heck Moments – 3 or 4

Overall – A

Fertile Groundis one of those movies that need to be watched more than once to be fully appreciated. On first watch you might think of a cross between The Legend of Hell House and The Amityville Horror has been used for the basis of this flick. And these movies may well have been part of the template, but with subtle differences that enhance the mood and feel. Fertile Ground isn’t a movie of effects and graphic detail, but instead preys on the viewer’s anticipation and imagination. And while you may know what will happen next, you won’t always be right. That makes this movie worth watching, at least twice.

ComicsOnline gives Fertile Ground 5 relatives that look like your spouse out of 5

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Pick up your copy of Fertile Groundon DVDat Amazon.com.

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