Ghost Town: The Movie

About 20 minutes into this movie you begin to wonder just what is going on. What should have been a straightforward western tale of revenge is muddied up by poor storytelling. Too many cuts back to the back story and confusing choices of shot selection constantly nag at the viewer. Just when you think you have an idea about what is going on, the editor throws something totally irrelevant on the screen and you are left wondering what happened? This is incredibly frustrating! I can "see" the story on a basic level. I can sense what the film is trying to do. But it as if the editor is purposely trying to throw a wrench into the works. I am left with a simple question: Why would he do that? Nothing is more straightforward than a western. The good guys and the bad guys are easily distinguishable. And the plot is usually quite linear. Why then would you take a simple story such as this and assemble it in such a dyslexic manner?

I agree with Lawrence. I saw this at AOF. The editing was extremely difficult to digest, very D grade and amateur editing. The scenes drug on, very painful at times. They almost had a story and characters were just lost. It's a shame cause some of the shots were really, really nice and this movie could of been OK with some proper, professional, post talent. Rating this a ten is very humorous, very few ten professional movies exists, and it is very obvious that these must be people from this production rating it. That's OK, everyone wants their movie to be the best ;) but this film is far from a ten but a very good try for real amateur film makers. It looks like a first film but apparently it's not the companies first attempt. They are really going to have to step it up and make QUALITY projects if they want to compete and play with the big boys. It's a bummer to see the director also commenting on this page defending the movie, that will surely loses the integrity of the project fast. Directors should step back and let the film speak for itself and let the peoples honest judgment take play, people are smart they will tell you what they like and don't like. :) On a good note the setting was nice and the costumes looked great and some of the characters were really fun but should of been given a little more time to develop, seems like some characters had too much of the screen and others needed more. Very Confusing. Needs serious tightening and attention. Hope this is constructive criticism not to be taken to heart. Good luck on the next project! JBerg

If you type in Dean Teaster on IMDb you get the page for Dean West. Mr. West produced, co-wrote the story, co-directed, and acted in Dean Teaster's Ghost Town. Not only that but the major characters in the story are named Teaster as well! So I guess I can assume that this is Mr. Teaster/West's movie. Actually it's his first movie. He had a co- director but his name is not all over the credits like Teaster's. This all leads up to an important question: Does he know anything about film and story structure? Judging by this movie I would have to say no. But don't take my word on it. Check out most of the previous comments. If you do you will notice a very common theme running through all of them. Mr. Teaster/West does not have a clue as to how a film should be assembled. If the flow of individual scenes are not rough and jarring they are too long and vapid. There are cuts in the wrong places, no cuts where there should be, and disturbingly few masters used and when they are they are not in the correct position. Take it form a film school graduate, Mr. Teaster/West and his editor need to go back to film school. This time pay attention to film basics 101. Take notes

First of all let me tell you I teach several film classes at a prominent university. One of those classes involves an emphasis on western archetypes in American film. So naturally I'm always interested in any new western that comes out. Ghost Town peaked my interest as it appeared to be a throwback to the classic western. Being as it is and independent film, obviously shot on a lower budget, it is not without it's faults, but unfortunately the major problems are not related to limited funds. The first thing you notice is that it is titled Dean Teaster's Ghost Town. This begs the question: Who is Dean Teaster? According to IMDb this is the first movie he has ever directed, and he did not direct it alone. If you are going to put your name on the title like this, you should actually be somebody. In other words it should be a selling point, not just an ego boost. Once I go into the movie I was pleasantly surprised at how it was shot. The angles, composition, and camera movement were all quite reminiscent of westerns of the 40's and 50's. As another commentator noted, I picked out several instances of whole scenes that were obviously influenced by pictures like High Noon and The Searchers. Bill McKinney, the perennial western bad guy for the last 50 years turned in a very good performance. Herbert Coward, DJ Perry, and Rance Howard all turned in credible performances that added to the classic atmosphere of the movie. The one major problem that Ghost Town had, and judging by previous comments I am not alone in this, was the lack of coherent storyline. It was, at times, difficult to follow the plot. There were so many times when the scenes were apparently pieced together with little regard for the story. The most glaring aspect of this was the constant cutting back to an image of the "dead Suzie Teaster." After several viewings and a close perusal of the credits it became clear that Suzie Teaster was played by Tammy Stephens Teaster. Yes, the main characters have the same last name as the director (who also plays Digger?) And this actress is somehow related to him as well. Confused? Nepotism in film is nothing new. Minor roles are often filled with wives, uncles, sisters and brothers. The problem here lies in the lack of restraint. Judicious use of minor characters is essential for a smooth flowing story. Unfortunately "Suzie Teaster", who does not have much of a full blooded Native Amercan look as much as a a Florida tan, appears way to often, and at inopportune times, which further muddies and confuses the plot.

Ghost Town has all the essentials for a good solid western. A better eye for editing, concentrating on the story, could make this into something very good. As it stands right now, it appears that one of the director's has an ego problem that spoiled what could have been a true classic.

First off let me tell you I worked on this movie in a small capacity. I have worked on quite a few television shows and movies in the North Carolina area over the years. I usually don't comment on these things for obvious reasons. But in this case I feel I should point out a few "behind the scenes" items and let you come to your own conclusions. For an smallish independent movie it was quite well organized and planned out. Usually these things are often disorganized messes due to the lack of experience amongst the producers and crew alike. This was not the case. I could see that this feature was going to turn out quite well. It wasn't going to start any fires, but it should have been a decent little story. But this did not happen. I remember many days and nights on the set were miserably cold and/or wet. I also remember that the "second" director (his first time according to IMDb)was often missing on set for long periods of time. I remember this as it was noticed out by several other members of the crew as well. The bulk of the work was done by the first director and the crew, all of whom were very professional and diligent. Yet the first thing I noticed was that movie title has the "second" director's name prominently displayed above the name Ghost Town. Quite strange. Somewhere along the line what I witnessed on the set was not translated into what I just watched.