Based on the novel by Ridley Pearson, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer is a prequel to the goose-pimply 2002 TV miniseries Stephen Kings Rose Red. In its efforts to explain the supernatural events in the earlier project, this made-for-TV chiller is set at the turn of the century, when the stately, sinister Rose Red mansion is constructed by powerful Seattle oil magnate John Rimbauer (Steven Brand) as a wedding present for his timid, submissive young bride, Ellen (Lisa Brenner). At first impressed by her husbands extravagance, Ellen eventually comes to hate and fear John, especially when learning a few unsavory facts about his past. Meanwhile, the mansion seems to be festooned with ghosts, possibly those of the many people close to John Brand who have mysteriously vanished. Can the eerie moanings and manifestations be interpreted as a warning to Ellen that she, too, may some day disappear without a trace? This is the sort of film in which, after someone exclaims Ill be damned!, someone else replies, You already are. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer originally aired May 12, 2003, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
USER REVIEWS
|