User reviews

Michael Jackson has embraced generations with beautiful short films. Usually they are made to promote a single, but in this case he gives us something else. Sure, in this film there are also songs (which are available on c.d.), but the emphasis is on a funny story and great special effects. This release passed many people by, which is a shame since this thing is really worth watching and shows great promise at Michael's promised new acting jobs.

This forty-minute film by Michael Jackson holds the Guinness World Record as the longest music video. The film includes three songs: "2 Bad", "Is It Scary" and "Ghosts". Songs are written and performed by Jackson, the script is written by horror legends Stephen King and Mick Garris, and director is Stan Winston. It was originally conceived as a promotional film for "Addams Family Values" (1993). That was dropped, but Jackson finished it a few years later. If you like Michael Jackson you will surely like this. The story is nicely done, music and dance numbers are great, and the effects are on the level of high-budget films of the time.

7,5/10

In some way, I think Michael was trying to get another "Thriller", he didn't. But he did come out with a great music video. It worked on a lot of levels. The only creepy thing was Michael's make up, and no make up. And the kids in the video, even more creepy. I was kind of expecting Maculy Culkin to be in it for some reason. Or Liz Tailer. J/K! But I'm letting go. I thought he was wonderful. The video is original. The story is original. And even though this is no "Thriller", it's still excellent. Michael Jackson is the king of pop. No matter what anyone says, he is still the king. He can't be topped in music or videos.

9/10

This video serves as a reminder that the only thing that has changed about Michael Jackson is the way we look at him. The genius is still there and has grown 10,000 times since thriller. If you put this movie up against thriller it makes thriller pale in comparison musically, special effects wise, basically in every way, it's just that most people are too stupid to see it because like little kids, they are too caught up in the way he looks (which is just fine in this movie btw).

The dancing is jaw dropping! The music is excellent! Makes you want to get up and dance! The plot is funny and shows Michael Jackson's sense of humor about the way he knows people think about him.

EXCELLENT MOVIE! Do yourself a favor and stop believing all the crap you hear and missing out on jaw dropping perfection which is everything he puts out!

In my opinion my top 10 favorite pieces of work by him are:

1) The 'Scream' Video (over 7 Million Dollars and you see every dime) 2) The 'Ghosts' Video / Movie 3) The 'Earth Song' Video (if it doesn't move you emotionally you're not human) 4) The 'HIStory' album (easily his best work for someone mentally over the age of 12) 5) The 'Dangerous' album (every song is perfection) 6) The 'You Rock My World' video (Chris Tucker, Malron Brando, Michael Madsen & Michael Jackson how do you not have a great video?) 7) The 'Invincible' album (10 million records sold & counting, great piece of work, tuned to perfect pop precision) 8) The 'Black or White' song / video (They are both excellent!!) 9) The 'Stranger in Moscow' song /video (I mean that's where you see how much of a genius he still is) 10) The 'Blood on The Dance Floor' album (the first five tracks really show how amazing he is as a writer, it awesome) *** Thriller goes without saying, but he really has done some of his best work since then.***

This was a breathtaking short-horrormusical with Michael Jackson, finally a bit cool.

Some people think that it is a spin off to THRILLER, but I can't see any similarity at all. Let's all remember that Michael Jackson was an adult as a child, and he has got to have room for his childhood somewhere too.

I love Michael Jackson's short films, and this is no exception.

I love this as its just so cool and so Michael (all wild imagination and amazing dance routines) and brings the joys of childhood and the memories every child had of the haunted house down the road that never was haunted

Michael takes a simple Childhood fantasy adds some magic and brings it to life it's one of those short film where you can imagine you were there with superb special effects and Amazing dance routines.

Michael Jackson fan or not this short film slash music video is the totally cool to get you moving to the beat wonder how do his legs do that? and appreciating the talent MJ really does have as a performer.

Plot

The mayor of a nameless town gathers a mob to confront a hermit living in a "haunted house," but when the mob arrives, the man has a few tricks up his sleeve to convince them that he's not that bad.

Cast

Michael Jackson leads and pulls double duty in a short created by Mick Garris, Stephen King and Stan Winston!

Verdict

I watched this again recently, the reason? I forgot I'd seen it the first time round so that's not exactly a good start.

Straight up it's dated but quite stylish, it has a real Goosebumps feel to it which I appreciated. It's tone, mixed. It feels like it's supposed to be light hearted and family friendly but often feels like it's oddly dark and wouldn't be suitable for plenty of young un's or just people not inclined with the horror genre.

So what actually is it? It's 15% story, 95% extended music video and as much as I respect his music I have to say this is not the greatest of his works in the slightest.

Ghosts is absolutely essential viewing, for Michael Jackson fans. For the rest of us it's a gimmick, a niche, a one off novelty event nothing more.

Rants

How could I have a rant about this subject material without bringing up the obvious. At time of writing there is a Michael Jackson stage show going around and people are moralizing whether its right for such a thing to attend due to the allegations. The thing is, did they ever transcend beyond that? I don't remember anything being proven and he's taken the truth to his grave. Do I think he was guilty, actually no. I think he was likely inappropriate but sexual assault? I just don't see it. But what do I know, a talented performer's entire legacy marred by allegations that we'll never know the truth about.

The Good

Jackson is oddly likable in this acting role Great Goosebumps-esque horror feel Jackson's double duty role is great

The Bad

Song isn't fantastic Too long Inconsistent tones.

This film is absolutely stunning once AGAIN Michael Jackson stuns us with his excellent dance moves and vocal. I love this film to bits and it is so funny. I mean his dance moves are just SOOOOO GOOD, I would recommend anyone to see this.

Yes I do. Who would think that MJ would top the amazing short film that is Thriller. This film right here is a masterpiece from start to finish. From the acting to the dancing. Its another classic by the King.

As a life long fan of Michael Jackson, you could argue that I am bias. But one of the reasons why Jacko's career is so amazing, is his music videos. No artist in history has created as many fantasical music videos as he. Billie Jean, Thriller, Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone, Black or White, Remember the Time.... This list goes on, Jacko is a quality entertainer!

The dancing is spectacular, The soundtrack is awesome, the melodies and rifts are vintage Jackson and the special fx are superb.

Sure, it could be seen as Thriller of the 90's, but who else could produce such a thing? Madonna? not a chance! anyone? not even close!

What suprises me the most is its limited release and promotion. If the music was publisised more and the short film was given its deserved air-time, then people would have to stand back and watch in ore of a true genius at work.

10/10, As music videos go, Ghost is spectacular and only the true King of Pop could produce such a masterpiece!

So this is a mini-movie where Michael Jackson dances with ghosts in a haunted house to scare some people. The concept is great, the film starts promising, and there are some nice special effects. But I feel like the actual beef is missing. The music and the dancing we want to see are lacking! There are a couple of different song pieces but they are not memorable at all, and another weird thing is that Michael does not dance much. He just shouts "HEEEEEEEEY" a lot. There are some ghost characters who dance in a weird way like gorillas with poop in their pants, then Michael turns into skeleton which does not have very convincing movements either, and then the villain guy dances. Even though this whole thing is a Michael Jackson vehicle there is too little Michael Jackson in it!

I give some points because the idea of this film is cool, and it has that grandiose overblown artistic genius/madness that Jackson often had. But I don't think the end result it a very good film. Recommended only for biggest Jackson fans, and enthusiasts of 80s style horror comedy.

Being a Michael Jackson fan since the early 1980's I've always remained interested in anything he does.

I think commercially his best days were behind him in the mid-90's, but this is still an excellent video and it far exceeds a lot of the crap that artists put out there today.

Most videos are the same thing over and over, the artists with the line dancers in bikinis behind them, YAWN!

Michael Jackson comes along and takes the music video to the next level, he puts a storyline into it and killer special effects.

When you get done, the only person the guy has failed to outdo is himself.

Like him or no, Michael Jackson is still the king of music video.

This film is not really a film at all. It's more of a TV show. It deals with a "Freak" living alone in a house that tells kids strange stories and performs strange tricks. The townspeople want him to leave, but he doesn't want to... so he does what all "Freaks" would do... dance. Just like on Thriller. I felt honored to see this, being that it was only released overseas. VH1 and MTV aired it many times during the Halloween season. I taped it... so, I can watch it any time I want. I think that you should check it out if you ever get a chance. Of course, Thriller is better... but this is a close second. A 10/10!!

Classic short film by MJ. This is edited version of the 40 minute film with the same name. And its awesome like everything else he has done. Such a genius he was. RIP MJ. We did not deserve you.

Once again The King Of POP dazzles us with an amazing short film. Every time he makes a piece of entertainment, we sit back and wonder how and why he gets those ideas. Somehow he manages to get the top of the line to help him. This piece can be watched again and again, and still be nothing else than a masterpiece.

Michael Jackson will always have a dear place in my heart, and this extra vaganza is no exception !!

Well Michael Jackson has done it again. He has made another cool short film that everyone would enjoy. This movie is very good. The plot is good, the actors especially Michael Jackson did an excellent job and the songs that Michael sang are awesome! The direction of this movie is good and the setting of the movie is great. I got this movie and when I watched it for the first time, I really enjoyed it. My nephew also enjoyed this movie and we like to watch it again and again. Good job Michael.

Rating: 10 out of 10

It's the town of Normal Valley. The Mayor (Micahel Jackson) is a fat white guy. He leads a mob to confront the Maestro (Michael Jackson) who lives in his mansion Someplace Else. Maestro entertains the local children in his scary mansion. Maestro asks the mob, "Is this scary?" and performs revealing scary faces.

This is a 40 minute music video short. Special effects master Stan Winston directs. This is worthwhile for Jackson fans. For Winston fans, this is a weird side project. It's badly directed but he has some fun with the ghouls. The writing is awful and the story is nothing good. For some reason, the Mayor leads an angry mob and he brings the little kids. The story is very static with the mob mostly standing around gawking at Michael Jackson and his ghouls. The songs are not terribly catchy but the man does do his dancing.

"Ghosts" plays more as a special effects reel than as a movie or a music video. The "song" portion of the video is incredibly slight. In his heyday, Michael Jackson and his accomplices were able to produce videos that integrated fun (if not brilliant) visuals with his once unique brand of pop music. Now, his videos -- of which "Ghosts" is easily the worst -- have become half-hour-long egofests.

Stan Winston is a brilliant makeup artist, but as a director he is just awful. This video plays like a series of reaction shots: Michael Jackson does something ooky; the parents, kids, and Mayor react with horrified visages and huddle together; Michael does something "funny"; the parents and kids look amused (and for some reason comforted), while the Mayor continues to look perturbed. This series of events happens over and over and over again. At least half the video consists of those annoying reaction shots; what a waste of videotape!

Even the choreography for this video is poorly filmed, and choreography should be the focal point of any Michael Jackson video. Winston focuses on the makeup rather than on the dancers, giving closeups of their grotesque features instead of their footwork.

The video's message is obviously that odd-looking weirdos like Michael Jackson can still be lovable, but I do not see how the video succeeds in reinforcing this theory. The little kids involved seem to have no problem with Michael's ability to jump down another human's throat and manipulate him like a puppet. I dunno -- if I were ten years old, I think that might bother me a bit.

I really enjoy watching GHOSTS! I think its really imaginative and well done! The dance routines are totally awesome!!!! My favourite part apart from the dancing has to be when Michael turns into the ghoul and says to the mayor (also played by Michael) "Are ya' scared yet?". It's ACE!!!! 10 out of 10 for GHOSTS!!

Now I have been a fan of Michael Jackson since I was a baby. I LOVE this video, it's my favorite video in the world! Haha, there are some pretty funny scenes in it too (i.e. "Don't hit your brother!"), and some I was like "WHOA!" Hehee... my sister is six and she LOVES it. We're planning on getting it on video.

Those who says it's a re-cycled Thriller obviously didn't understand much of this film. Which is a shame because by some of the hateful comments it's exactly them who have something to learn from this message.

I consider this film a masterpiece and unlike Thriller it's not just an entertaining horror story. It's a lesson about how we, as a society tend to treat people who are different. We lynch them, want to drive them away, want to ostracize them. We hate them. And that all just because they are is different.

In real life Michael Jackson was at the receiving end of this kind of hatred (as demonstrated even in some comments here), so he knows exactly what he is talking about. It's also important to listen to his lyrics. The song "Is it Scary" says it all about how we project OUR OWN dark thoughts onto others and how we should be careful because the evil we assume in others might actually come from our own mind!

Masquerade the heart Is the height of haunting souls Just not what you seek of me Can the heart reveal the proof Like a mirror reveals the truth See the evil one is you

I also have to say the acting on Michael Jackson's part in this short film is fantastic! He doesn't only play the protagonist, the Maestro, but also the Mayor whose character was probably inspired by Tom Sneddon (the bigoted, judgmental, hateful right winger). Not to mention the crazy and unique dance routines where MJ never disappoints.

When this piece came out the media (especially in the US) already decided that no matter what MJ does they will trash it. From some of the criticism directed at this film it is painfully obvious that they didn't even intend to give it (and MJ in general) a chance. Criticism was often directed not at the art piece itself but at Jackson's looks or tabloid gossip. Is that serious criticism of art? But ironically exactly this phenomenon is what proves Jackson's point that he presents in this film! It seems like the people who should look into Jackson's mirror try to avoid this mirror he holds up in front of them. He certainly hit a nerve!

So the film remains very, very underrated. I don't think it will stay this way for ever. The film is too good and too profound for that. Perhaps the society which is criticized in it has to pass before a new generation comes along and will analyze Jackson's art with an open mind, without the decades long media brainwash influencing them.

Michael Jackson's Ghosts just further engraves the King Of Pop's unique ability to produce a very entertaining and high quality short film. Although this can hardly be called a short film, as it runs approximately 35 minutes. There is no doubt that a lot of thinking and money went into this, all for a music video that is. I like the fact that Michael helped write the whole script and did a lot of the work, not just the acting. This video lives up to the whole Michael Jackson standard, and would be appreciated by not just fans but anybody of all ages. May not be as organic as the Thriller days but still comes pretty close. Great music video, definitely check it out!