Contatos do Além

I caught this a few days ago on Showtime while flipping through the cable guide. I'm a fan of Elisabeth Rohm from her Law and Order days and a huge fan of Roma Maffia from the first time I saw her in Disclosure with Michael Douglas. I'd never heard of this film so I didn't know what to expect, but the opening scene hooked me right in and I immediately found myself engrossed in the story.

I thought all the characters were engaging and I became caught up in the various story lines and plot twists throughout. Elisabeth plays the main character, Jennifer, a complex woman both fragile and strong who's life is an endless series of tragedies. She's on psychiatric medication due to her feelings of guilt on being the only survivor of a car crash that killed the rest of her family when she was little. If that isn't bad enough, the morning after her and her boyfriend host a party she loses him in a car crash and then some really strange things start happening.

As you watch, you question many things such as is her boyfriend really communicating with her through video footage from the party or is it all in her head? Is her dead, bloody little sister really appearing to her or is that also in her head? Was her boyfriend's death really an accident? And if not, was she the intended target? And who is stalking her? As the homicide detective, played by Roma, begins to wonder if Jennifer is responsible for her boyfriend's death, Jennifer starts to wonder too!

Though I could tell this was a low-budget film due to the mostly TV-actor cast and the limited locations, I thought, for the most part, the acting was superb as was the writing and directing. And the cinematography and score were outstanding! As I watched the film I wondered how they were going to resolve the plot twists and, considering the setup and tragedies surrounding Jennifer's life, how it could possibly have a satisfying ending. But to my surprise I found the ending very satisfying and emotionally uplifting. Check it out, it'll be well worth it.

Soft focus flashbacks and all! the story is paper thin, theres no character development, and the acting is barely passable. better to keep up on your stories than burn an hour and a half here. why am i even writing this, im embarrassed to admit watching the whole thing.

Although this is a low-budget film, one would never know it given such a good story with solid acting. You'll see a few familiar faces and a few news ones that play a convincing roll. I was impressed with the cinematography. Great cityscapes and good locations were chosen wisely. It is clear that the director of this film has a solid grasp of the important elements of making good films! Impressively, you won't find a cheesy 'canned' soundtrack either. The music fits nicely with the storyline. I couldn't find any flaws that often plague low-budget movies.

You'll want to check this out on DVD for sure. The special features are just one more nice bonus for a good film. It also includes a video for the ending song. What could be better ?! Overall a film worth seeing. I would highly recommend this film to anyone!

I saw "Ghost Image" on TV expecting... well, nothing really. All I knew it was about a young woman whose boyfriend dies in a car crash and then starts receiving messages from him from an old recording ("White Noise" instantly came to mind, but it's very, very different).

What I got was a good, entertaining plot that, although not greatly original, works and flows great. Unfortunately there were no big surprises (at least for me, maybe because I'm way too used to watching these types of movies, but I figured it all out very early into the movie, and when I expected it turn around on me, it just did what I had imagined), but the acting is pretty good.

Music was OK, there were 1 or 2 songs that stood out for me, the rest just played together with the movie, without calling too much for attention. People can argue this is how a soundtrack should be, but I love when soundtracks also "call" for my attention, and when these songs fit perfectly with the scene, it's just movie magic happening. Unfortunately, this movie had none of these moments.

Photography was also OK, nothing too original or adventurous, but the plot didn't call much for that kind of photography as well. The editing falls under OK as well, I was a bit disappointed on how clear the image was when the boyfriend was talking through the video, but apart from that, there aren't any big visual effects or anything.

So, it's a good, entertaining movie you could watch on a Sunday afternoon / night, nothing more.

6 out of 10.

I caught this movie this morning and was shocked by how terrible the acting was. The plot was probably mediocre, but you'll have a hard time following it due to the poor acting, cheap imaging (ie: dead boyfriend), awful delivery (Elizabeth Rohm) and just another cheesy twist. Several times I had to look at the movie information just to verify this movie was not done in 1985. At some point during the movie, I zoned out wondering if actors could get paid for such a terrible movie.

I'm rating this movie a 3 because I just saw the worst movie ever, Vampire in Vegas and Ghost Image deserves a 3 because they did not blur images on clothing and spent more than $500 on location.