A Town Full of Ghosts

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the 2022 horror movie titled "A Town Full of Ghosts" prior to sitting down to watch it. And had I been familiar with it and known it was a 'found footage' movie, I wouldn't have given the movie the time of day. I absolutely loathe that subgenre of movies, as they are usually nothing more than amateurish attempts to make movies with a handheld camera.

The storyline in "A Town Full of Ghosts", as written by writer and director Isaac Rodriguez, was actually not all that bad. But the movie suffered terribly from being a 'found footage' movie, and that totally drained away my will and interest to really delve into this movie. Suffice it to say that I didn't stick around to the end of this ordeal.

The whole concept of 'found footage', social media video-makers, content makers, influencers, or whatever these type of losers call themselves, just doesn't appeal to me. And thus, "A Town Full of Ghosts" was a bitter pill to swallow.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but then again, I can't claim that I was particularly impressed or bedazzled by what I witnessed on the screen, as I just can't take the 'found footage' genre seriously.

Visually, then you're not in for anything grand here.

If you enjoy horror movies, do yourself a favor and skip on this one. It just simply isn't worth the effort. If you, however, enjoy the travesty that is 'found footage' films, then you might enjoy this 2022 movie from writer and director Isaac Rodriguez.

My rating of "A Town Full of Ghosts" lands on a two out of ten stars.

After buying an abandoned ghost town, a couple documenting the experience for their fans on social media of their turning it into a potential tourist attraction, but the longer they stay there the more they come under the belief that something's there in the town protecting a deadly secret.

There's a lot to like with this one for the most part. The initial setup on display for this one, focusing on the couple going through the town and documenting what's going on manages to offer a rather impressively chilling starting point. The fact that it's genuinely chilling with how the place looks abandoned and deserted with their walk-through of the town makes it appear as though they're by themselves in the area with the rather twisted designs and layout of the area as well as the first signs that something's going on. The constant hints that something's not right, from the sleepwalking claim to hearing odd noises in the middle of the night and finally getting suspicious of the constantly-growing wasp hive that draws their attention. That manages to pay off quite nicely in the second half where the film shines rather nicely. By finally managing to unleash the real explanation for the town's deserted nature with the full reveal of the backstory in the past regarding how the stories spread regarding the figure haunting the area, this one picks up the energy rather nicely in getting to the frantic chases and attacks that take place in the town. As it introduces a fine possession angle to enhance the chasing and action rather nicely, this aspect becomes a lot of fun and steers the film along into a frenetic finish that's enough to lift this one up quite nicely. This one does have a few drawbacks that hold it back. Among the biggest drawbacks featured here is the rather obvious detriment of the film's unnecessary use of the unsupportive spouse cliche that's present here. This is a highly uninvolved setup that is brought to the forefront here for absolutely no reason at all other than to provide a bit of spice into the situation regarding how they're going to get through the predicament due to the just-as-cliche setup of the funding getting pulled at the last minute. That combines together into a rather aggravating cliche that is only there to provide a storyline to take up time in the middle of the film. The only other issue to be had here is the rather stagnant pace that transpires in the first half where it takes a while to get going. The series of walk-throughs that take place, the hints that something's going on and the random encounters here don't add much in terms of exploring what's going on as that reveal comes about completely at random at the start of the third act since the film is so short. By not having that much of a clue as to what's going on as you're more focused on other areas than enhancing the dread, it makes the final half feel far more frantic and speeds through the scares rather than enjoying a natural progression which is a bit of a shame. In addition to the as-expected troubles trying to keep the found-footage aspect realistic in the situation, these here hold this one back.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

The movie started out incredibly strong with a very interesting idea. I would love to be able to afford to purchase a ghost town three hours from the nearest neighbor. Especially if it is actually haunted! That would be a dream come true for myself and my wife. Unfortunately, the movie did not remain on the great path it had started out on. After the strong intro the film slowed to a crawl for 40 minutes or so, when some small speckles of events- however, still nothing to really keep the interest. It is not until a couple of minutes before the ending that the movie ultimately becomes eventful. The finally was fun, hence the 3 star rating, though it could have and should have been much better. It is such a shame the potential was wasted.

This is another of those films that wouldn't have been missed had it not been made. The acting was decent, but really...aren't we all over found footage films? I know I am. In about 2019. Besides, this movie offers nothing new to the genre. The ending is a bit of a mess, and the viewer is left to create this part. It seemed to me that the writer just wanted to finish the story.

Oh and the found footage within the found footage was just a bit too convenient, and too produced, to be credible. This coupled with the rushed ending makes me wonder the reasoning behind it since the film is only just over an hour long.

It's not a bad film. It's just not original and comes off as a bit of fluff when compared to what's already out there.

I thought it was a pretty decent FF movie.

The whole town setting was great and had a good crewp vibe to it. I wish they would have had a few more jump scare@ but all in all definitely worth a watch.