Salem Falls (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

Witch Hunt

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 18 December 2011]

Ex-history teacher and soccer coach James Van Der Beek (as Jack McBraddon) heads for "Salem Falls" on his way to begin a new life in California. Out to put a dark secret behind him, Mr. Van Der Beek almost kills the alcoholic father of attractive local Sarah Carter (as Addie Peabody) in an accident; the older man's on a binge and driving his lawnmower recklessly. Grateful Peter MacNeill (as Roy) is unharmed, Ms. Carter invites Van Der Beek to stay in town and gives him a job at her "Do-or-Diner"...

Romance between Van Der Beek and Carter develops, but that dark secret from his past surfaces. Also, troubled teen Wiccan practitioner Amanda Michalka (as Gillian Duncan) wants to seduce Van Der Beek. She and her girlfriends are who we see in the opening. Missing in some cast lists are dad Rick Roberts (as Amos) and James Thomas (as Jordan McAfee). This "Lifetime" TV-movie is engaging, but loses points by not adequately explaining how a certain character's semen came to be identified.

***** Salem Falls (11/19/11) Bradley Walsh ~ James Van Der Beek, Sarah Carter, Amanda Michalka, Peter MacNeill

Three teenage wannabe witches turn out to be real sinister little (Rhymes with witches and starts with a "B")

[Ed-Shullivan · 6/10 · 12 November 2021]

This made for TV Lifetime film is a notch or two above their typical standard fare and AJ Michalka puts on a performance that would make any police department believe she was raped. The film has a great cast and I do believe that privileged teenagers raised with a silver spoon find weird ways to entertain themselves. In this case the three teenage girls form a coven and they are practising witchcraft. Gillian puts what she thinks is a spell on the newcomer to town named Jack McBradden (James Van Der Beek) so that Gillian (AJ Michalka) can fulfill her current fantasy and have the man who she thinks she is in love with. When Jack rejects Gillian's sexual advances well you have heard the cryptic line "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and so Jack ends up temporarily in jail.

This film has an undertone of a teenager acting out due to her being the victim of an unwanted incestual relationship, and how very wealthy people believe they are above the law. It does have a happy romantic ending for Jack and Addie Peabody who owns the local diner and the right person ends up behind bars regardless of his wealth and influence.

There are lessons to be learned. I give the film a decent 6 out of 10 IMDB rating.

Just too slow and not enough tension

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 1 April 2014]

Addie Peabody (Sarah Carter) has a drunk father who causes former teacher Jack St. Bride (James Van Der Beek) to crash his car. Jack is trying to move on with his life after a bad experience. Addie owns the diner and offers him a job. She can't let go of her dead daughter. Three girls Gillian Duncan (AJ Michalka), Megan Saxton (Allie MacDonald) and Chelsea (Zoë Belkin) are a covenant of witches. Gillian lusts after Jack thinking he's stuck in town because of a spell they performed. Gillian's father Amos (Rick Roberts) is on the rampage to get rid of Jack.

AJ plays it like a swooning teenager instead of something more dangerous. There are a lot of possibilities in this movie. I don't know what's in Jodi Picoult's novel. This could be a good thriller. This is more of a slow clunky romance with a horny clingy teenager causing criminal troubles. The pacing is way too slow for the first half with no tension at all. Once Rick Roberts gets involved, the movie improves a bit. It's too little too late. As a crime drama, it's a little too soft. Everything is done with such a soft touch. There isn't enough for me to recommend. And the ending twist is too twisty.

Jodi picouli Salem falls movie

[kemikmorrison · 3 February 2022]

If you are sick of watching the news,don't even watch this movie,bad acting, and drags on way too long.i tried watching it , and changed the channel,and went back to watch the news.

Terrible. Was very disappointed!

[lil_miz_borderline · 2/10 · 23 February 2013]

I was really looking forward to watching this movie. However once I did, I was severely disappointed. The movie deviated from the book far too much. It held some resemblance to the book, but not enough for my liking. There were a lot of crucial moments and character interactions that were pivotal to the storyline left out. Too many changes were made to the storyline which took it down a completely different path. I can't believe Jodi Picoult actually signed off on this. I believe a lot more could have been done with this movie to make it better. They got the basic storyline/plot right, but there were far too many changes that stole away from the book that could have made the movie so much more interesting and true to the story as it was written. I am yet to see the other two movies made from a Jodi Picoult novel, I just hope that they are not as disappointing as this one was.

Not a bad film...location was beautiful

[jvettor · 6/10 · 17 February 2012]

This film was shot on location in my town of Fergus, Ontario. I must say, it makes me so proud to live here. It is amazing seeing your town from an artistic perspective. Pretty here!

The film itself was not too bad. I wish that a few things were explained a little better...too many unanswered questions. I think that I will pick up the book because it will probably be more enjoyable. The story itself was intriguing but I thought that a little more character development would have improved the film. Because we did not know enough about the characters it was hard to invest any emotion in them or care about what happens to them.

Could have been really good but fell a little short.

A step below a hallmark movie.

[amandagoegebeur · 1/10 · 6 April 2021]

Hallmark movies are cheesy and most are awful, we know this, however this movie is waaaay worse. It was so bad that it was laughable. 🤣🤣😬 Turned it off after a few minutes in.

Good Cast, Lots Of Twists!

[oliversboise · 10/10 · 23 November 2011]

I was channel surfing this week and found this little gem! Good little mystery with good casting, locations and lots of twists and turns. An interesting look at what happens to someone once you're labeled. Some of it was pretty predictable- beautiful diner owner, evil head of the town, self-absorbed teenagers. It did have lots of twists and turns to keep me interested through the rest of the movie. It also asks how much would you give up if wrongly convicted? I sure didn't see the last big twist coming, that's a whopper! Don't miss the last 10 minutes, as a major secret will be revealed! You'll kick yourself if you do, if you ever find out what it is...

The Deep, Dark Secrets of Salem Falls

[lavatch · 8/10 · 20 June 2020]

The new kid on the block in the sleepy town of Salem Falls is Jack McBradden. Jack is only passing through, but decides to stay indefinitely after he meets Addie Peabody, who runs the Do-or-Die Diner with her old, drunken dad. But Jack must first check in with the police to report that he is a 671-B offender.

The truth about Jack is that he was a history teacher and the soccer coach at the Westbook preparatory school for girls in the town of Loyal. He was falsely accused of a crime, but took a plea due to his insistent lawyer. Now, Jack has the bad luck to be framed again, this time by young Gillian Duncan, the daughter of Amos Duncan, the pharm magnate of Salem Falls.

Gillian and two of her friends style themselves as young witches, meeting to cast spells and become "purified" when praying to the Goddess of Love and the Guardians of the East. When Gillian's obsession with Jack becomes too much for her to bear, she accuses him of assaulting her during a ritual ceremony in the woods. Of course, Jack is innocent. But he is helpless against his accuser.

The most interesting character in the film was Addie Peabody. Addie had a rough past herself when she was abused, and the result was her beloved daughter Chloe. But the girl died at age six, and the grief-stricken mom still sets out a plate for her from the delicious offerings of the diner. As her crusty old father says, "We all have our ghosts."

Addie was at first reluctant to believe in Jack's innocence. But after traveling to Loyal and learning the details of Gillian and the "wicca" from the proprietress of the New Age book store, Addie investigates the past incident at Westbrook and learns that Jack was railroaded. This revelation will be the basis for exposing the coven of the witches, as well as the darker secrets of a small town and the nefarious creature at the heart of the depravity of the little community.