Judas Ghost

I've been watching a lot of these 'ghost chaser' type movies lately... a lot of them are first person and often feature a group of amateurs who aren't really expecting much to happen... then get in over their heads. Judas Ghost differs in that the protagonists are supposedly seasoned professionals who have dealt with many verified hauntings along an established spectrum of difficulty/danger. In that way they're more like the academics in Ghostbusters than the dumb college kids in The Blair Witch Project. Also, seeing as the supernatural is an established and 'known' thing going in for these characters it does away with any chicanery of verisimilitude... it's pure fantasy from the get-go. The 'psychic' character is as powerful and reliable as their technology. Their techniques are scientific and magical. In a way, it's a bit more like a low-powered superhero movie or an episode of Dr. Who. And like Dr. Who, it felt a lot like a low budget TV show.

All in all, it wasn't very interesting and certainly not suspenseful or scary. Not particularly gory either. The writing is adequate but pedestrian. The acting is good enough. The special effects are TV quality and, again, adequate. It would be passable as a standard episode of some second-string occult show like Friday The 13th: The Series but as a movie? It's pretty weak stuff.

I guess I have a soft spot for independent horror movies and weird characters. And you have to get involved with them, which may sound easier for some than done. The low budget aspect is not that big, playing in one location (maybe the effects here and there, but other than that ...) ... still you have to dig what you are being served.

If that is the case (maybe watch a teaser to see how this is mood wise), enjoy the ride with the characters, that may be simple but somewhat likeable. What else can you ask for? Some twists of course ... and you'll get them. Are they sufficient? You be the judge

I came across this film randomly and after reading the one review here, I thought I'd take a chance and give it a go. Like most people, I'm always wary of fake reviews on here, and I did wonder if that was the case here - but it wasn't. Wow. I'm a total horror addict and I loved this film. It wasn't perfect, but it was still excellent. It was very, very creepy, and one of those where you daren't look behind you throughout. I'll also be sleeping with the lights on tonight!

The effects were great and perfect for the film, and everything was the right amount of creepiness without becoming boring or silly.

If you like your supernatural/ghost films, definitely give this a watch.

A lot of people really don't understand the movie. To be fair Simon Green wrote this in such a way that unless you are familiar with his shared universe, i.e. The Nightside, Ghost Finders and Secret Histories books, it doesn't make as much sense. The Ghost Finder novels were fantasy-mystery stories not horror. The books revolved around finding the cause of various paranormal occurrences and resolving them. They also fought a competing organization that wanted to exploit ghosts.

The magic they use in the movie is a result of the universe he created that included magic, gods, demons and any number of other creatures and powers hidden from the general public. The team is a fairly accurate replica of his Ghost Finder team in the books. Although the tech person isn't nearly as nervous in the books. There was usually more humour in the books as well. I have a distinct feeling that he was pressured into the ending since it differs so much from all his books.

If you approach the movie as a non-horror fantasy it actually works quite well, although the ending wasn't very satisfying.

Overall a good try at capturing a very difficult and intricate universe on film. There are 30 books in the various series and they share a common universe, there's no way to set it up in one film. The Ghost Finder books were written after the other two series were well underway and they kind of assumed a familiarity on the part of the reader with the universe.

.. it is an OK movie to watch.

First things first. I wasn't scared, at all. TBH, I only get scared when movies do psychological horror right, and those aren't exactly common (hardest to pull off).

BUT, that said, was I bored when watching this movie? Not really.

Actors do their jobs well enough, they are playing clichéd roles (geek, a hot psychic, macho man, broken man) and play them just fine. The dialogues aren't painful, they are realistic enough (for the kind of people these are). And last but not the least, the CGI isn't completely bad (that darkness effect looks terrible in every "horror" movie tbh).

I didn't really care much for the ending and the movie doesn't exactly show us the "big bad", but only his minion.. which I guess is the case because they wanted to set up a sequel considering a lot of things (like the people they work for or their holy magic thingy) aren't explained properly.

BUT, like I said, it isn't boring. It's a popcorn movie and still way better than the abominations called "horror", Paranormal Activity directors poop out every now and then.

So yeah, popcorn horror. 5/10