A Casa do Medo: Incidente em Ghostland

It feels. It really does.

The movie is divided into two big sections, pre-twist and post-twist. If you are not new to the horror genre you will catch the "twist" pretty fast, but the movie doesn't emphasize on it a whole lot. Rather works with it and does its job well indeed. At first I felt like, come on, "I've seen this already, you can't surprise me with this". But then...

It is very atmospheric, it's brutal, it's hopeless, but what caught me is one emotional moment with the sisters, you will know it when you see it. It's unforgettable.

It has it's flaws but is well crafted overall. This movie was able to share it's emotion with me and I enjoyed it.

I have never heard anyone speak about this movie, and I was pleasantly surprised. Beth and Vera are two sisters live with their mother and at the start of the film are moving into their late aunts home, stereotypically full of horrible dolls and puzzle mirrors. Beth is a young aspiring horror writer and Vera is her typical teenage older sister, who thinks Beth is weird. An incident occurs where 2 people get into the house and attempt to kidnap the two girls and kill their mother, but the story has lots of plot twists surrounding what actually happened. The film is actually impressively made, the jump scares were executed well and I am honestly shocked that I have never heard about this film, as I would recommend it for any horror fans.

Pascal Laugier is without a doubt a capable writer/director. After all, he is the man behind "Martyrs", a great horrror that leaves no one cold. Ghostland, however, has good direction, photography and fast pace right from the start but the dialogue could have been better and all the jump scares somehow fail to have the desirable effect. If you are used to horror like the aforementioned "Martyrs" or "A l'interieur", "Ils" and "Eden Lake", you will probably feel nothing despite all the violence and terror that the main characters go through. The twist in the story is not bad but could still be more developed in my opinion. The cast deliver nice performances and all the make-up effects are good too. As mentioned in the title, the film feels a bit underdeveloped; it is not terrible but it is not that good either.

From the director who brought Martyrs, this one is kind of different take in mixing horror into pysychological drama. That's why I think movie is interesting. Ghostland had the intense drama and eerie moments. I know that this is not as brutal as Martyrs had before but it is also bring back cringey moments. The plot keeps me guessing because of bringing back the past into present events. That's my main concern but I love the whole acting and cinematography had the creepy feeling into it. 7/10 for making me love psychological horror.

Wow, wow, wow! I've been a horror fan for many years and many people ask me why since the genre is saturated with mediocre and flat out crap films, but I always say that I love it because when you find a good horror it's a true gem better than any other movie you'll find in any other genre and that's exactly what 'Ghostland' is - a freakin' gem!

I went into it completely blind (which I would recommend everyone to do) and based on the title and cover, I expected a typical mediocre haunted house horror, but I was proved wrong. The eerie tone that's immediately present in the opening scenes grabbed my attention and pulled me in, and it wastes no time in jumping straight into the nitty gritty. I was practically glued to my screen from beginning to end.

The acting is fantastic, the story is well-crafted and it ticks every box you could ask for from a horror. It incorporates psychological horror with sheer brutality and the result is harrowing. It takes A LOT to get under my skin and since I've seen so many horrors I'm rather desensitised, but 'Ghostland' deeply effected me. There were so many moments where I physically couldn't bear to watch, but couldn't bring myself to look away because I was so engrossed. Once again, due to the amount of horror movies I've watched over the years I find that I'm generally able to figure out the plot within the first quarter of the movie, but 'Ghostland' has so many twists and turns that you never know what's going to happen next. What you think the story is at the beginning, is very far from what it becomes and that unpredictably is what makes it so fantastic.

Although there's a lot of violence (similar to that featured in movies like 'The Hostel'), the movie isn't just built upon mindless violence, but a very intense and relentless insight into the human psyche. The psychological aspect of this movie is definitely what gives it its edge and it really got into my head. After the end credits came on, myself and my family were all saying how much it had effected us and even half an hour later, it was still at the forefront of our minds (in fact, I'm pretty sure most of us won't be having the most restful night's sleep tonight!)

'Ghostland' is the best horror I've seen in many years and I would recommend it to every horror fan, particularly those that are fans of psychological horror. Be prepared though, this movie is a tough ride and will put you through the ringer. It's one I certainly won't forget any time soon.