GhostWatcher

Every now and then a film comes along that makes you wonder why you purchase any DVD from the $1.99 bin. This is certainly one of those films. Director David A. Cross really needs to keep his day job, and stop insulting our intelligence. The film really has no plot outline at all, and the characters are about as believable as "Mickey Mouse" (sorry Mickey). Watching the film, the viewer starts to wonder if these "actors" have ever acted in anything before. My daughter's second grade class productions show more talent then this entire cast combined. The special makeup effects are the equivalent of what one might find at K-Mart during an after-Halloween sale. If I wasn't so embarrassed that I bought it in the first place, I'd return it in disguise... This film deserves NO rating.

Crummy music,horrible acting and bad directing align themselves in a way that I could never have imagined to be possible. Scenes where a simple shot of two persons speaking to each other were clumsily "over- directed" by quick cutting back and forth between the two to the point where I was getting dizzy. What's even more pathetic is that even the makeup sucked in this movie. The ghost makeup made the actor appear as a demented version of a dude from Blue Man Group. The Elizabeth Dean character had so much blush applied in some scenes that you could swear the she had just been involved in a bitch- slapping session.Anyone who thinks this is even SOMEWHAT remotely watchable needs their head examined. This effort is so lame and unprofessional I was actually chuckling from the very beginning. I enjoy low budget pics but this stoops to an all-time low in cinema. Pure excrement. Only to be viewed with a trusty can of Lysol, yes, it stinks that bad.

Why is that even the most ambitious shot-on-video-we-had-no-money thriller gets some things right, but always manages to get something else horribly wrong? One film will have great visuals and a dynamic soundtrack...but the story makes no sense and nobody can act. Another film will have a fantastic story, but the film looks like it was shot with a camcorder strapped to a hyperactive puppy.

Such is the case here - good story (for the first half), surprisingly decent acting, character development (Shocking in a shot on video feature like this) and even a few creepy scenes. BUT - the story falls apart very quickly and the plot holes begin to get bigger and bigger...

THE GOOD: The leads. Really - I must tip my hat to them. All three were quite good. Most films like this cast either one of two types of actors: either they OVERACT and chew scenery in the worst way, or they mumble their lines and go for most of the running time of the film doing their impression of cardboard. Here, I actually found myself getting a bit into the story because I started to grow fond of the leads. That is also why I really got ticked off when the film falls apart.

The scares. One genuine moment of creepiness - I won't spoil it, but it happens during a very unconvincing fake offscreen storm complete with indoor lightning (someone flicking the light switch on and off real fast). The subtle GOTCHA moment is pretty good - smart, low key and effective. Also, a visit to a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere is handled quite well. Bravo to the filmmakers for really getting the most out a location.

The story. Again, tip-toeing lightly here to avoid spoilage...the reason for why the ghost was haunting her? Good idea. Very effective.

THE BAD: Without giving away the ending...C'MON GUYS! Why? Why after setting up a truly interesting idea and concept do you throw it all away on a ridiculous Hollywood cat-and-mouse sequence with special effects you know you didn't have the money to pull off? It's silly and does not work.

THE WTF??: When our hero starts looking into the world of ghost hunters...she runs across a website run by our other "hero" which is half ghost hunting, half peep show "voyeur dorm" type website. Our hero rolls her eyes at the idea...BUT THEN EMAILS HER WITH A DESPERATE PLEA FOR HELP! There are hundreds of ghost hunting websites out there...why only this one, which is obviously a farce? When her and her friend later berate the website owner for being a fraud and only concerned with money - I kept waiting for the web girl to spit back "Well what did you expect?!?" They knew she was running a peep show - so why do they pin all their hopes on her? Perhaps a simple scene showing our hero auditioning various ghost hunters in the area would have made the scenario work more, make the peep show girl the last resort...but as it stands - you just want to smack her upside the head and tell her that when your life and sanity are on the line, it's a good idea to shop around before choosing a ghost hunter.

When I first put it on.. I was tempted to shut it off. It looks like it was filmed on a home video camera. But once you get past the actual look of it, and get into the story, you won't want to turn it off. It has a really good story that leads you to a rather creative ending, which most movies don't really have anymore. It's really going back to when scary movies actually had a story. Some of the effects are pretty good considering it's so low budget, and the actors themselves are alright.. no crappy over acting here. Some of it makes you laugh, some of it makes you jump and some of it makes you wonder where they got the inspiration. I would have loved to been on the set for the making of this film. All in all its pretty good, worth the rent. Or if your like me.. and a nut for B Movies..worth the purchase.

Ghostwatcher uses some of the most classic, horror techniques to weave an edge of your seat thriller that will scare the pants off of you, combined with an edgy and contemporary soundtrack that features great music. I got a chance to speak with Dave Cross(director) at one of the screenings and was very impressed with, not only his enthusiasm for his film, but for the genre of horror as a whole. The entire cast does an excellent job maintaining the suspense as the story unfolds. The movie has already picked up several film festival awards and Marrianne Hayden(Nikki Brandt) won Best Actress at the 2002 Screamfest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA. I just got word that the film is supposed to be released by Artisan Pictures on DVD October 1st. Do yourself a favor and buy this movie. It should be in every horror fan's collection!!