The Selling (2011) Online

The Selling is a great example of the Little Movie That Could. With a small budget, a first-time director, and a cast of mostly unknowns; it COULD have been a disaster. Most films with these conditions end up with bad acting, predictable dialogue, and aren't over soon enough. But The Selling avoids all of these pitfalls and just chugs right along, and ends up being a delightful, entertaining movie with heart (complete with pumping blood) and just enough laughs to keep older kids and adults alike entertained throughout.

Written by and starring Gabe Diani, the movie is filled almost equally with suspense and horror as much as it is slapstick humor and dialogue that would make Abbott and Costello proud. First time director Emily Lou keeps the pace going and makes it seem like this under-exposed cast has been working together for years.

Told without a swear word, this is a GREAT movie for families, although it may be unsuitable for the wee ones due to the blood & scary scenes as well as a quick drug references.

Over all, I gave this movie an 9 out of 10. Not bad at all for some first-time film makers, and I have the feeling its only going to get better from here.

It's hard to decide what genre The Selling falls into- there are elements of comedy, horror, sci-fi, and drama... but by the time the opening credits have finished, you know you are in for a great ride.

With humble nods to films such as The Amityville Horror, The Shining, and Poltergeist, there are very real moments of suspense and tension. Yet given the comedic roots of the cast and crew, it's no surprise that the audience burst into laughter throughout the film. A healthy mix of improbable situations, physical gags, and one-liners keep the film feeling snappy and smart. Personally, I found the "Sizzler" bit and actor Cole Stratton's exhaustive America's Next Top Model monologue (which was entirely improvised, taking full advantage of Stratton's talent and improv background) to be among the funniest scenes.

Simply put, the cast is superb. Writer/actor Gabe Diani handles the complex and nuanced role of Richard with ease. He reminds me of a young Tom Hanks: charming, intensely likable, slightly awkward but full of promise. Janet Varney is perfect as the beautiful but ethically flexible real estate agent Mary- a character you can never quite decide if you love or hate. Jonathan Klein provides comic relief without ever resorting to stupidity as Dave, and Etta Devine gives Ginger the quirkiness and heart that drive her motivations. Richard's mother, played by Nancy Lenehan, is part June Cleaver and part Betty White, wrapped up in a mom that we all recognize as our own. As a last ditch effort to de-spook the house, we are treated to Barry Bostwick in the role of priest a la The Exorcist. This cameo appearance is not put to waste, as Bostwick absolutely rules the screen.

The script is original, fresh, and clever. Diani takes the concept of a realtor burdened with a haunted house and guides the story in a way that feels honest and natural. Emily Lou's direction makes a relatively low budget 2-week shoot feel like a full blown studio production. Everything about The Selling is polished to a shine. The occasional use of cheesy special effects is greatly outweighed by the times it's done right. Even the poster looks like it belongs in a megaplex among the latest from Spielberg and Scorsese.

If you get the (rare, sadly) opportunity to see this film, do yourself a favor and go. It's even appropriate for the 12+ crowd; the lack of cursing and sparse gore keep it friendly without ever feeling "toned down." With any luck, someone from a financial powerhouse of a film studio will find this movie and snatch up the creators to make another gem. Until then, I'll wish them the best in "selling it" however they can.

Ask anyone if real estate agents have ethics, and you're bound to get a fair share of horror stories about those who don't, for the sake of sales revenue and to line their own pockets with fat commissions, who can sell just about any property by glossing over pertinent details and avoiding taboo ones so that some sucker out there would lay down some hard earned capital. For Richard Scarry (Gabriel Diani), he's a down to earth, all round nice guy who just couldn't lie, and finds himself in a fix when he and his business partner Dave Ross (Jonathan Klein) got duped by a rival agent Mary (Janet Verney) in getting a haunted house (along Elm Street no less) on their portfolio, only to find that getting rid of it isn't exactly a walk in the park.

Gabriel Diani, who also wrote the story, had crafted a fine, independent film that's essentially a horror-comedy treatment sorely missed these days, where its intend to scare is light, and balanced with a good dose of comedy and wit as it pays homage to a number of horror classics that genre fans will not fail to identify. What's more, there's a fair bit of narrative going on with a piece of mystery woven in, since it involves no less than 12 ghosts, where their unfinished business gets in the way of our real estate agents who try their best to auction the house, only to have their efforts thwarted since nobody in the right frame of mind will want to get something alive like Hausu.

If I can draw some parallels, it's story-telling is along the same vein as Ghostbusters as well as The Frighteners, with the ghouls are none too threatening, and despite it being modestly budgeted, have enough special effects magic in it to juice the film up, while not forsaking what's primarily essential in any film, a solid storyline. It's almost like a tale of two halves, where we get to see indirect references to recent housing woes in the USA and the comedic bantering between man and spirit as Richard and Dave try to find a compromise with the inherent occupants of the property, and montages used as set pieces for comedy when all things are light and dandy. The later half though progressively got a bit more sinister with intent and objectives being revealed, though again fit for young ones as events were kept deliberately light for broad based appeal.

What worked in its favour is the strength of the characters that Diani created, although some may argue that they're pretty much one-dimensional, such as Dave as the partner whose nature and mannerisms never fail to become punchlines, or how Mary as their nemesis they love to hate remains pretty much consistent throughout, each character has enough quirks to make them uniquely appealing. Gabriel Diani himself probably plays the most complex amongst all since he's the leading man undergoing profound experiences, while real life partner Etta Devine stars as the ghostly expert/blogger who lends a helping hand. Nancy Lenehan plays Richard's cancer-suffering mom who still has a degree of spunk for life and attitude, and the banter between mother and son as mentioned by Diani during the Q&A, is based very much with his own late mother.

The Selling scores in it not trying too hard, and has many endearing elements that demands a second viewing. I know it's still early in the festival, but this will probably end up as one of the most entertaining that packs a solid narrative punch despite its compact 90 minutes. Highly recommended so make sure you do get to watch it if you can as it does its festival rounds. Stay tuned throughout the end credits as well for a number of comedic stingers.

I saw this film with my husband at the Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. After seeing the trailer, I thought we would be in for a cute/silly indie horror-comedy flick. I was not prepared for The Selling to be one of the funniest comedy feature films that I have seen in many years. This film is chock full of hilarious lines (that we found ourselves quoting the entire drive back to Florida)and comedic situations that had us roaring with laughter. Seeing Barry Bostwick as the priest attempting to exercise the house of its spirits was the cherry on top of this great film.

To put it simply, this film is a must-see. I am a filmmaker myself (my film, Loverboy, played in the same festival where I saw this) and I felt it an honor to play in the same festival as the Selling. I hope a major company picks this film up for distribution. I know if they do it will be a massive hit.

Great job to the cast and crew. 10 out of 10. Without a doubt!

It's like Tucker, and Dale try to sell House 1 or 2, then just for more slapstick a bit of Mousehunt thrown into the mix. Very funny movie, completely tongue firmly in cheek all the way. Bleeding walls are a must. Great story played out by a very good cast of somewhat well knows. How do you sell a house full of ghosts in this economy without telling anyone that the house was once owned by a famous, though unconvicted serial killer? Really fun and full of life for a house full of dead people. My only problem with the movie as a whole and this always takes a point off, but the whole story is shown in the credits, and that is never good. I think you will Enjoy this one for all the right reasons, and if not then just because it is smart, and unique, and those are reason enough.

The Selling is a brilliant, expertly crafted film. The script is extremely well written, the dialogue is funny, fast and realistic, the actors welcome us into the story and are hilariously believable (the real-estate office scenes and open house scenes will be highly amusing to those familiar with buying or selling a home). And the direction of this film is superb.

Going into the theatre to see this movie I assumed an independent film would have special effects that would be slightly amateurish. They weren't. They were wonderful! And they pack a scare, so be mindful if there are kids under 8 or 9 watching with you.

Director Emily Lou's pacing is marvelous. This is a funny horror story - it's meant to be both, and that's a tricky thing to do. The tense build up to scary moments are perfectly mixed with the lighter laughs and the "over the top, screams for laughter" moments as well. This kind of thing could have been a disaster, but the pacing is expertly managed here.

There's a story within a story and that is handled beautifully as well. The performances are nuanced and bring us into the fun, and those of us old enough to remember Barry Bostwick in Rocky Horror will delight at his appearance here. Gabriel Diani is a gem and that rare performer who deftly handles humour, horror, angst and tenderness with ease.

Definitely see this movie. You'll have a little fright, a lot of laughs and most importantly, you will care about these people.

After reading the plot synopsis on the back of the DVD box, I was primed for a funny horror movie, with a clever story.

While the movie did deliver some funny/ironic lines, and was sort of a novel twist on the tired "haunted house" genre, it failed to ever really engage me, and the characters rarely rose above silly stereotypes.

Aside from some decent paranormal special effects, the overall "look" of the movie was cheap and low budget, which isn't always necessarily a bad thing, but I think it did hinder my enjoyment of the film.

I was looking forward to Barry Bostwick's turn as the priest, but was half asleep by the time he made his appearance...

All in all, I would have to sadly not recommend this movie.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. It was on Chiller channel but really belongs on a comedy channel. It pokes fun at realtors and exorcists(great portrayal by Barry Bostwick-he must of had a lot of fun with his part) and the whole horror/haunting genre in general. The acting was good and the editing came off very well. The cast is mostly unknowns but they all did a great job. One character mimics a role in Ghost Busters. I laughed at almost every scene. If it comes out on DVD, I will definitely buy it. This one is better than most big productions. It is a tribute to the low budget film field proving there doesn't need to be a lot of money spent to get a real quality product. The ghost special effects are even well done. If you see this one on your TV schedule, be sure to watch it. It will definitely cheer up your day.

I particularly want to applaud Gabriel Diani for not overplaying too much…except for one or two scenes where overplaying is, frankly, called for.

Diani also wrote the movie, and working from his script, Etta Devine creates a character who in a bigger budget movie would be a manic pixie dream girl, with whom sex or even the mere *promise* of same would heal and encourage the lead at his lowest point.

Ginger Sparks--it's a movie name, but one I'm willing to let go because she seems like the kind of woman who would change her real name to that- -has a bit more substance.

She's not fully formed yet; we don't get enough hints as to who she is or what her interests are when not serving the plot. But I'd like to see her character return...preferably in a better structured script; in a film directed by someone who better knows how to film a joke.

Credit where it is due: It's a pet peeve of mine when films try to replace dialogue with references to other films. As if characters sitting around paraphrasing movies were inherently funny. This movie contains almost nothing of that, though an early invoking of Ferris Bueller made me tense for a few seconds. Later, when a line comes that does play off a classic movie quote, it caught me *completely* off-guard and made me snort with laughter. Well played.

Unfortunately, it's the funniest part of the script, which otherwise fails to find a satisfactory balance between scares and humor; never quite delivering everything it promises.

A misfire by clearly talented people, whose names I intend remembering (luckily, they're pretty memorable).

This movie was great. I got sent a screener of it and I really didn't know what to expect from it. I knew it was a comedy/horror that was more on the comedy side than horror. So I figured hey I might get few laughs throughout it.

For the beginning to the end of this film I found myself laughing out loud and actually keeping my attention on what would happen next.

It was a great new way to put a spent on a haunting movie.

Even the skits during the end credits were hilarious!!

I definitely recommend this movie to any comedy or paranormal fan out there.

This film is absolutely hilarious from beginning to end! Every actor is excellent! The music and editing are perfect! We cannot state this enough: There is not one dull moment because the film moves so quickly and the editing is so cleverly done! We knew nothing about this movie before renting it so we had open minds. We had to stop and rewind several times from laughing and missing dialog! The writing is pure genius. Richard and Dave's characters are not "over the top" or irritating; you like them right away and enjoy every scene they are in. These 2 characters are so funny in their low-key delivery as they are forced to "accept" the haunting of the house while showing it to potential buyers. OMG-Barry Boswick is just too hilarious! He is great in comedy (we loved him as "FDR: Badass" and in "Spy Hard")! We cannot find one fault in this film and it deserves a higher rating than 10!! P.S. Including Vincent Price in the movie was a bonus to all us fans of the all-time greats in horror!

I loved the industrious, down to earth character, with the unbelievable name of Richard Scarry. His partner Dave with an opposite personality type, played a perfect foil. The quirky character Ginger increased their interest of the story. Richard's mom and Richard's priest from childhood are played by big name stars Nancy Lenehan & Barry Bostwick. Richard and Dave play real estate agents who want to buy a fixer upper, with a plan to fix and flip. An unscrupulous agent in their office sells an unmarketable property to them. As they start renovations, they discover why the property is under priced. When they hold an open house, their clients run the gamut of real estate shoppers. The hideous situation turns into a hysterical comedy! This little independent film gave me more huge guffaws, than most studio comedies. This is a must see!

Blending comedy with light horror is not often done well. Beetlejuice, Death Becomes Her, and Gremlins come to mind, but don't get your hopes up that this will deliver those sorts of special effects, acting chops, or funny moments. While this film made a good effort it is fairly predictable and solidly aimed to the younger crowd...which is fine except it's likely to scare them more than it amuses.

The bottom line: there are simply not enough funny parts. If you think you'll like this, just rent Beetlejuice again...a 1998 movie that is still the best of it's kind even as 2013 approaches. Perhaps it's not fair to compare a b-movie film to older blockbusters, but at the end of day this genre seems to have timeless jokes - so you might as well go with the best ones rather than the most current.

My wife and I saw this film together and we both loved it. And there are not many movies I can honestly say that about! I have recommended it to many of my friends, and will continue to do so.

From the opening scene to the closing credit roll, I was thoroughly delighted. This is a movie about believable characters working through a crazy situation, and it's played for laughs. The movie has a simple honesty and charm which is so lacking from many contemporary movies. The only other movie I've seen recently with heart like this is Safety Not Guaranteed. (If you loved that movie, do yourself a huge favor and watch this one.) For those of you old enough to remember, this is a movie in the best tradition of 1970s comedies. Imagine if Blake Edwards had done a comedy/horror film mash-up and this film is what you would get. This is not a high budget film with explosions and crazy computer effects, although the effects that are present do the job nicely. This movie is a comedy. Period. The horror undertones are important but secondary, and serve principally to support the story. The plot, the characters, and all their interactions are played for comedy. And it works wonderfully.

If you're looking for a fun, light-hearted comedy with excellent characters, this is your movie. If you're looking for vapid, high-budget Hollywood schlock, then this is not for you.