Wraiths of Roanoke (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Matt Codd

Writer:

Rafael Jordan (writer)

Release Date:

13 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

They came from England to tame the New World, only to become the prey of an ancient evil.

Plot:

In the 1580's English colonists arrive in what was to become North Carolina and find supernatural terror.

Plot Keywords:

Native American | North Carolina | Haunted Forest | Water | Norse Mythology

Cast

Adrian Paul	...	Ananias Dare
Frida Show	...	Eleanor Dare (as Frida Farrell)
Rhett Giles	...	George Howe
Michael Teh	...	Manteo
Mari Mascaro	...	Elizabeth Viccars
Alex McArthur	...	John White
George Calil	...	Thomas Stevens
Doug Dearth	...	Gregory Hemphill
Atanas Srebrev	...	Samuel Fillion
Hristo Mitzkov	...	Ambrose Viccars
Velislav Pavlov	...	Gaius Callis
Rafael Jordan	...	Christopher Harvie
Jonas Talkington	...	William Stark
Suzette Kolaga	...	Emme Merrimoth
Terence H. Winkless	...	Father Jacob

Also Known As:

Lost Colony (USA) (working title)
Lost Colony: The Legend of Roanoke (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent content and frightening images.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Bulgaria

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

American World Pictures (AWP)

Trivia:

During the scene in Manteo's hut where it was supposed to be raining heavily with water dripping down on them, it was actually raining heavily with water dripping down on them.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the beginning of the film an on-screen graphic identifies the location as "Roanoke Island, Virginia". Although today the island is part of North Carolina, in 1580, the colony was in what was then Virginia, named in honor of the reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth I. The only child to have been born there, Virginia Dare, was also named for the place she was born.

Let's be a little fair here

I wouldn't be so hard on this film. No one has ever been able to give a good account of what really happened, and the whole mystery is there to speculate and to guess and write stories about. Sci-fi channel has had it's good stories and dull ones, and this is not at good as I was hoping for, but I don't believe it was half bad. It could have been better if they had a seasoned director and producer who is use to doing mystery/suspense thrillers, but I don't think that was the case. I wonder what George Lucas could have done with it or someone with a little more imagination. Besides, think about it, we didn't see the entire movie, we saw the edited version and I willing to bet that it would have been a lot more scarier and would have made a lot more reasonable sense if those parts were in there. Sometimes I wish when they came out with movies on DVD, they would give you a choice of seeing the extended version with the deleted scenes or the theater movie.

As for the acting, the movie, just like X-men III, it seemed very rushed and I am sure they were times constraints. However, actors do a better job when they have more time to get into the part and make some suggestions of their own and I am not sure that happened. I think they were just given the part and told to "do it!" which also does not make for a good movie. But, you can't blame the actors who are given a script that they can only do so much with and I think the actors did the best they could and were not able to live up to their talent.

I also think if just a little bit more money was put into it, it would have been a better picture. I hate it when things "happen" and there is a reason why they may be happening, but no one tells or says what it is. You see that in a lot of horror movies. People want to know background history, legends, etc. I thought a halfway descent effort was made for this. But like Eddie Murphy says, "Why do white people stay in a place that is haunted?" I am white but I would have gotten the HE** out.

The whole incident is a bit haunting itself. It is very hard to really know how many Native American nations and tribes there really were. Many died out before the settlers came and some were dying off about that time. But, the word on the tree, "Croatian" (SP) does seem familiar and I do believe it was the name of a Native American tribe that may have befriended the colonist and took them into their tribe and that word was put on their so that the coming settlers would know where to find them. But, instead, the just left it a mystery and may have wanted to on purpose because they may have wanted a plan or something to scare people about in the event of any indigenous people in the area they wanted to get rid of. I mean, look what happened after wards? I believe that those colonist did not want to return and stayed with the Croatians since a lot of tribes were nomadic during the seasons. That is just a theory with no scientific backing. But it beats thinking that they were slaughtered because the Native Americans were blamed for a lot of things they didn't do and we nearly committed Genocide.