Hangman's Curse (2003)

Hangman's Curse is an adaptation of Frank Peretti's novel about a potential curse on bullies placed on them by a boy who committed suicide by hanging himself. This family-friendly film is rated PG-13 for some intense sequences, but is overall tame in comparison to Hollywood's standards... perhaps too tame.

The story revolves around a family of "spies," for the lack of a better word, that infiltrate the high school to find out the source of mysterious events and illnesses surrounding a growing number of bullies on the football team. There are hints of witch craft and other supernatural events, but the local authorities have been unable to uncover the true cause and must rely on the Veritas group (Veritas meaning truth) to help them find the culprit.

The Veritas group consists of the Springfield family: The father, Nate, played by David Keith, takes on the role as school janitor. The mother, Sarah, played by Mel Harris, plays a school counselor. Their two children Elisha and Elijah, played by Leighton Meester and Douglas Smith, respectively, enroll in the school as students. Elisha joins the hip crowd while Elijah puts on the spectacles and instantly joins the nerd crowd.

The film deals with a lot of subjects... maybe too many. It succeeds at illuminating the effect of bullying on defenseless students and the price that costs them. It shows school cliques accurately and the struggles associated with trying to cross those imaginary social lines. It also deals with witch craft, curses, serpents, spiders and more. Overall, the film lacks an effectively scary punch, but is mostly entertaining from beginning to end.

If you're looking for a light weight film for your middle or senior high school student that deals with the subjects mentioned above, then Hangman's Curse is a safe choice.