Ghost Crew

From the moment I started watching 'Ghost Crew' I was immediately struck by how cheap it looked. It was half 'found footage' and half 'documentary' and there were no actors or special effects to speak of. It's at this point where you'd probably expect me to say how bad it was and how much I regretted putting it on. However, for some reason I found the low-budget effort quite captivating. And this was largely to do with the locations.

As I say, the film-makers obviously didn't have much of a budget to hire studios and create great epic sets to film on, so instead they seem to have scouted out real life locations and just filmed there. And the locations are indeed pretty chilling (mainly the abandoned building that is a 'hospital' for the purposes of this story).

Although, I still take issue with the title 'Ghost Crew' as it makes me think of something 'ship-related' where in fact it's about a team of documentary film-makers who are investigating a string of historic deaths at an abandoned hospital in Scotland.

Sadly, the acting isn't up to much. Most of the glorified extras who double as interviewees really do chew the scenery, which is a shame. The main protagonist (who looks like a Scottish Dante Hicks from the 'Clerks' trilogy and constantly wears a brown raincoat) also overacts, but, seeing as he's technically presenting the show, his overacting comes across like it's a little more intentional and a trait of the character as he tries to hype his own paranormal show.

Overall, it's nice to see a film where it does its best to provide a more 'realistic' feel, rather than relying on huge CGI set pieces and monsters galore. The only real gripe I had was from a technical standpoint where 90% of the film is shot from the cameraman's perspective, i.e. 'found footage' style, yet suddenly - and without warning - the shot will jump to a more typical Hollywood 'third person' perspective which is a little jarring in terms of narrative structure.

I probably wouldn't pay to watch this in a cinema, but if you can find it on a streaming service and want your chills a little more grounded then you can definitely do worse.

HEX is an indie studio operating in Scotland known for making micro to low-budget horror and genre films. They have repeatedly proven that the lack of financial backing from major studios doesn't mean that indie films have to stink.

Quite the contrary. Their films have been consistently made with a passion for filmmaking and storytelling, which is truly the hallmark of the studio.

Ghost Crew barely shows its indie roots, though there are tells. The film showcases surprisingly exceptional talent in front of the camera, above and beyond most indie films in the market. The lack of star power does not detract from the story at all.

The premise of the story does dabble heavily in haunted house/hospital tropes, but is presented in a way that is utterly charming, most of the charm bolstered by the bumbling main character of Tom, played wonderfully by screenwriter Tom Staunton.

The character Tom is the creator of a paranormal investigation television program called Ghost Crew, in which he and his cameraman and friend, Michael, investigate known haunted hot spots. This leads them to an abandoned, ruined children's hospital wherein lurks a spirit bent on vengeance for wrongs committed years prior.

As they investigate, they are led on a harrowing journey that escalates to life-threatening levels as those associated with the hospital, a heinous crime, and a cover-up meet their demise. Why are they dying? Who is responsible? Will Michael and Tom survive to uncover the truth?

Luckily, Tom Staunton doesn't seem inspired by David Lynch enough to leave the ending ambiguous and up for interpretation. We get a definitive answer and resolution, even if the ending seems telegraphed very early on.

For a film called Ghost Crew, I would have loved to have seen more of the haunting stuff, but again, the budget constraints lend the storytelling more of a tell, don't show vibe. It's a detriment in that large exposition dumps tend to make the move drag. Long stretches of dialogue are broken by quick bursts of violence and action, only to cut back to more exposition.

Despite this, Ghost Crew is beautifully filmed and marvelously acted. Tom Staunton delivers some seriously restrained emotion; you can sense the palpable dread and, even in one scene, the crushing heartbreak and trauma the character is experiencing. It's good to see an indie film where actors can shed tears, not dry cry.

Another standout is Megan Tremethick. She is talented, beautiful, and honestly is on the verge of breaking out. I would be SHOCKED if she remained solely in indie horror, though filmmaker/director Lawrie Brewster should utilize her in everything he does. She is definitely muse-worthy.

In all, the 86-minute runtime is perfect for an indie horror film about a haunting. In that time, we easily get our fill of dilapidated buildings, meetings in the woods, and exposition dumps to move the story to the finale.

Ghost Crew is competently made and extremely well-acted but lacks in the scares. Though, being long-desensitized to horror after a lifetime of consuming everything in the genre might have more to do with that than anything. But I can't help but recall how amazing the ending of Hex's "The Unkindness of Ravens" went, descending into sheer madness. I hoped we would have gotten the same payoff, but kudos to not being formulaic!

In the end, this film is solid on all fronts and I enjoyed it immensely. And for a few bucks purchase price, I definitely got my money's worth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Though you can tell it's an indie production, the acting is solid, the visuals work for the setting, the plot (though low on in your face scares) is consistent and enjoyable.

If you want gore or a jumpscare every 7 minutes then Ghost Crew won't be for you but if you're after a film that features a paced build up, that feels like it's making the protagonist a little mad in his pursuit of the supernatural then I would give this a whole hearted recommendation.

But more Ghost Crew shows you don't need a film to be full on horrific imagery every few minutes to be scary.

The cast and crew should be proud of what they've done here.

That's not to say the film is perfect of course, but you don't need to be perfect to be good.

In GHOST CREW, the titular paranormal investigators venture into the ruins of a burned out hospital, in search of clues about an odd girl who wandered into one of their shots. They quickly decide that the hospital is the perfect location for their next episode.

This is an ultra-low budget, mostly "found footage" horror film. It's an extremely slow-building story, but it's helped along by some spurts of humor, and by having a fairly large cast of characters. In spite of the silliness, the final third of the movie gets a bit more frightening, and a lot more fun.

Although the "big twist" is sort of telegraphed from the very beginning, it's still handled well enough to be acceptable.

Not a bad way to spend a creepy movie night...

I don't normally write reviews, so I'm not great at it. I am writing this because this was my first Hex movie and I enjoyed it so much. I was sucked in at the beginning (I am totally the annoying kid in the background) and fell farther and farther as it went on. The locations were fantastic, the actors were all so great. I don't want to give away the story because if you haven't seen it yet you need to give it a watch. Ghost crew is such a charming gem and I will definitely be watching it again to pick up on all the things I missed on my first watch. Please give this movie a try you won't be disappointed.