Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Movie review: Ghost Stories

 
 Paranormal activity skeptic Phil Goodman is set on a journey to debunk three hauntings reported by a twitchy teen, a night watchman, and an ex-banker only to end up questioning his own beliefs and sanity.

Andy Nyman (Goodman), Martin Freeman (Mike), Paul Whitehouse (Tony), Alex Lawther (Rifkind), Paul Warren (Wolly), Kobna Holdbrook-Smth (Father Emery), Nicholas Burns (Mark), Louise Atkins (Steph).

Ghost Stories begins with character introductions and plot setup that looks a lot like a documentary or reality show. From there the film shows us the haunting stories of three different people; a twitchy teen, a night watchman, and an ex-banker. While the stories are okay the ending fell flat when the film tried to tie the three stories together without the supernatural aspect.

Acting was decent with Nyman doing okay. Freeman delivered nicely as usual. Lawther was enjoyable as well in a role which suited him. Whitehouse, Warren, and the remainder of the supporting cast were decent.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were mild but fitting and solid. CGI and effects were also mild but good. Dialogue was okay though it could have added some intensity or depth and we did end up turning on subtitles. Sound was rough requiring some remote manipulation.

Overall Ghost Stories was a miss for us. While the stories headed down the supernatural road and were doing fairly well, the ending drained any pleasure. The result is a lackluster supernatural horror flick that in the end has little of either.

With some foul language, violence, gore, and disturbing scenes, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 6.20.19
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Horror, Supernatural Horror, Indie Thrillers, Indie Dramas

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

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