An odd-shaped dog suddenly appeared in the field outside the farmer’s house at night. The owner John Bell shot it, but the dog’s body disappeared without a trace. A few days later, the strange bird appeared on the tree outside the house again, and Bell shot again. The strange bird seemed to fall down, but the same disappeared again.
That night, all kinds of strange sounds began to appear in the family's house, but the source of the sounds could not be found anyway. Things quickly became more and more out of control, and evil spirits began to appear in Bell's house. Bell's youngest daughter, Bessie, was possessed by the evil spirit and was even dragged into the air to torture, but the Bells had nothing to do.
The news spread quickly, and nearby exorcists and missionaries came to Bell's house to chase away evil spirits. But without exception, they all crawled and fled here in the middle of the night.
Later, this incident alarmed the American general Andrew Jackson and later the president of the United States. He was confident that he was not afraid of evil spirits, so he stayed at Bell's house at night to find out the truth. As a result, like everyone else, he quickly fled. When he later recalled the incident, he said: “I would rather face the entire enemy army alone than stay in Bell’s house overnight.” It was precisely because of his influence that this incident was lost. The Department of Justice recorded and sealed it, becoming the only supernatural event recognized by the government in American history.
No one knows the truth of the incident so far. Why the evil spirits appeared in Bell's house and why they entangled Bell's little daughter are all a mystery. It's just some speculation: It was John Bell's neighbor Kate Buzz who brought the evil spirits to take the Bell family back. Kate Buzz has always been recognized as a witch, and she has a serious conflict with Bell because of business matters. But people have not found relevant evidence.
The Bell family was tortured by evil spirits, which eventually led to John Bell reporting illness and death (some people think he was poisoned to death). But the evil spirit's affairs are not over. There are rumors that the evil spirit has set a curse and will come back for revenge in seven years. To this day, there are still rumors of evil spirits coming back to claim their lives in this small town.
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"American Strange Story" is adapted from this incident, and the characters and stories are directly based on historical records. Of course, it is difficult for the audience to be satisfied with seeing a fan, but unable to find the answer, so the screenwriter gave a guess of his own. It is meaningless to explore whether this speculation is in line with the historical truth. The brilliance is that after such an adaptation, the film has been transformed from a horror film with a simple "evil possessed" routine to an ethical film with a horrible color.
Of course, I don’t think the film’s horror is strong. The ghost in white that suddenly appears looks like Sadako’s sister. The invisible evil spirit and the strange dog that suddenly appear are nothing new. They are all abused by Hollywood. Bridge segment. Many details are very troublesome. The sound of the peasant woman getting up in the middle of the night, the way Bessie was tortured by the evil spirit, the bloody pajamas sent by the neighbor, and the phrase "You know the truth" of the evil spirit all hinted at the truth of the matter. It's a pity that the truth is often the least people want to face. The Bells have intentionally or unconsciously covered the straight phase from their memory, fantasizing about other scenes to conceal what they saw. Unfortunately, the trauma caused by the incident cannot be erased, and the tragedy is doomed.
I think the storytelling in the film is a bit redundant. Cutting off the beginning and end will not affect the film. When the tragedy happens again, it is inevitable that people feel that this family is born with incest hobby, and even doubt whether American parents infringe on their children are widespread. I can't help but think of the perversion of killing a child in "Sustaining the Child". It is said that this person is the product of a father-daughter incest, and he has been sexually assaulted by his father, mother (sister), and grandmother since he was a child. . .
In addition, Rachel Harwood is so beautiful, drooling! From "Peter Pan", "American Strange Tale" to "Perfume", it seems to see another angel coming (the last one is Jennifer Connelly in "Once Upon a Time in America"). Uh, forgive me for being a little lyrical^_^.
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