Puzzle

If you like neo-noir and Michael Madsen, then this will be entertaining.

First, it has a great cast supporting Madsen: Shannyn Sossamon, Gary Busey, Michael Rooker, and the always interesting Danny Trejo.

Sossamon did a really good job in this low budget indie. Madsen was great as a dirty cop that is handling one last case that may reveal his secrets. Corey Large is a mysterious cop brought in allegedly from Miami to help.

There is a big twist at the end a la The Usual Suspects.

Outstanding cinematography.

Chasing Ghosts is a shadowy neo-noir treat, a throwback to the hard boiled detective thrillers of golden age Hollywood. Michael Madsen even said in an interview for this that a lot of the time he bases his acting work on old school tough guys like Lee Marvin and Robert Mitchum, making him the perfect guy to headline such a deliciously nostalgic flick. Here he plays Detective Kevin Harrison, a good cop who has found himself entangled in a dangerous web of corruption. He's a good guy that happened to make a lot of bad decisions which led him into the company of treacherous people. He is dealing with a mysterious serial killer who is targeting high ranking mob figures, which in turn dig up old memories involving old partner and friend Mark Spencer (an implosive Michael Rooker) who he couldn't save. He feels like a father figure to his Rooker's daughter (Shannon Sossamyn) who is now an inquisitive journalist. He's also got a timid new partner (Corey Large) who tags along, not knowing the danger he'll wade into simply by being close to a guy like Harrison, who has danger written all over him. The plot thickens, then coagulates, then boils, hardens and gets shattered again by all kindly third act revelations and labyrinthine exposition that takes some patience and a love for this kind of genre stuff. Madsen makes a sympathetic, frayed protagonist who is anything but a hero, yet trying to right some pretty heavy wrongs that weigh on his soul. Gary Busey brings his trademark bugnuts weirdness as Marcos Alfiri, a powerful gangster with ties to Madsen's past. Meat Loaf is an energetic police captain, Lochlyn Munro another department grunt, Sean Whalen the obligatory perky, wiseass coroner, Patrick Kilpatrick is a going ho SWAT commander, and Danny Trejo shows up for a verbose extended cameo as another underworld figure. This one deserves way better than the scant distribution and lukewarm reception it got. It's neo noir done right, and doesn't disappoint.

I actually found this film which is rated pretty low on IMDb and seen by very few (only 337 votes) to be pretty effective. I mean it wasn't amazing suspense film, but it definitely wasn't what some described as "no better than a TV movie". It was much better, Michael Madsen did very well and the supporting cast was decent too, the direction was kinda average but the screenplay and plot made sense and actually executed pretty well and wasn't predictable. I liked the cinematography from Andrew Heubscher and dark score from Scott Glasgow. I also liked the editing in this film done by the director Kyle Dean Jackson, perhaps thats his main talent. Overall it was a movie worth renting, i was satisfied, nothing amazing, but a solid suspsense film. ---IMDB Rating: 5.3, my rating: 8/10

The film has its merits and is quite an accomplishment for $1 million budget that it had. The story can be slow in parts but overall if you like the intricate puzzle story then you will enjoy this film. It is not a shot em up action movie so don't go in thinking that or you will be disappointed. The acting wanes a little for the young detective but overall the cast is good. Madsen plays a role that seems to peak at his real life antics sometimes. The direction is good considering the budget and limitations of being an indy. There were several times in the film where I forgot I was watching a LOW DOLLAR indy and it felt more like any other studio flick. I read an article that said the film was shot in something like 20 days so for that I am impressed. It is not the best movie this year but if you like old noir films and have a thing for Shannyn Sossamon, it is definitely something to catch. The last 20 minutes are GREAT if you have been attentive enough to follow the story up to that point.

Better than most....Not as good as some.

It's a talky, alright. Think of Usual Suspects in semi-reverse when you see it and it will still surprise. Since this went straight to DVD I wonder how many have actually seen it. It's written to hedge; and it makes you go back to Usual Suspects and ask yourself which script gave out the better misleading information. Sure, US has a better score, more meat in the casting, a higher calibre of editing, and more humour in the lines. But Ghosts keeps on talking and talking and Madsen keeps on sighing, shifting his feet, throwing butts all over the place, and acting like himself. Within the first five minutes you know he's a dirty cop, you just don't know how he is involved in this latest case. If you make it through the first 15 minutes your're going to stay the course till it's finished. This script is no slacker. Probably the best "B" movie Madsen ever made. Worth renting from the VDO store, even worth having for your own collection. Try it, you're gonna like it.