GhostWatcher 2

Ah, yes, it's Halloween once again and time for the onslaught of "scary" movies to flood the multiplexes and video stores (or Netflix if you swing that way). We've already been subjected to THE FOG (garbage) and at the time of this writing SAW 2 is poised to hit theaters (this time the killer will lay on the floor for 22 hours just to prove how crazy he is, and was anyone really begging for a sequel to that movie anyway?). If you're like me, you want something scary to watch this time of year and you've already exhausted your DVD collection and don't want to trek to the theater because you can watch commercials at home for free. If this sounds familiar, you're in luck.

Ghostwatcher 2 is a great movie to watch this year (I don't know how it would fare the rest of the year, but I'm definitely adding it to my annual film festival on that night of nights). It's an unusual and ambitious horror film that doesn't treat its audience like a group of mongoloid idiots and has more than a few good scares to goose you when you least expect it.

Short synopsis: Tracy Cain suffers trauma from a car accident and soon after begins hearing voices which drive her to the point of seizures. Exhausting all other avenues, her father hires the Ghostwatcher, Laura Kove, to investigate and find out what's what. That's all you should know before you watch this movie because the fun is in discovering the source of the voices along with the characters. I will tell you that a very nasty ghost is involved (and if you don't already know that, you're really not paying attention) and that more lives may be at stake than just Laura's.

So, if you're in the mood, turn down the lights, pop this one in on Halloween night and go along for the ride. I will be. And hopefully next year Mr. Cross will give me another one to add to my collection.

A confusing and must be said rather dull sequel to a very good, if very very low budget original. It is a bit better made on a technical level but the story is confusing and lacks most of what made the film so good. A protracted and pointless sequence in a dance club and a number of other "song" interludes distract and the ending, which is really stolen from THE EYE and MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, is too cheaply done to be effective. The basic premise of the first film is mostly forgotten and the ghostwatcher elements here have ultimately not much to do with the plot. Creepy moments and few and far between this time.

This film does feature a short TV horror movie spoof which is funny and features brief if memorable nudity for those looking for that. But I just have to say this sequel doesn't really merit sitting through all the way through, though I did out of respect for how good the first film was.

The director still has potential but should have struck out and make something other than a sequel as a follow up. All the CG in this one is pretty weak and take up time that was better spent in the first film with good makeup Fx. It's not worthless the opening car crash scene is smartly done and seems like a good setup to a film but the rest of the film gets less and less tense. Acting is eh. Real problem is that the story isn't exciting, is a bit confusing and ultimately is just routine. Better luck next time, just don't make Ghost Watcher 3.

I saw this movie in the theatres and was genuinely creeped out. Having never saw the first Ghostwatcher, I wasn't sure what to expect--did I need to see the first one to know who the characters were, was I going to be able to follow the storyline?, but director David Cross allows the film to be understood and flow for people not familiar with his first film. The actor that stood out the most to me was Vince Eustace who played the Darius Blake character. This guy gave me the creeps the same way Michael Jackson did when he was a zombie in the best music video ever made--Thriller (you remember music videos right, kids? Those things that used to play on MTV?) My ear drum is still recovering from my wife screaming in my ear when the Darius Blake character popped out of nowhere. This is the first "scary movie" that gave me a nightmare. The actors in this film, especially Vince Eustace, are bound to become big movie stars. I definitely recommend getting this movie when it comes out on DVD so that when these actors are huge Hollywood stars, you can say that you remember when they were in indie films

How in the hell does a movie like this go straight to DVD and a piece of mummified crap like THE FOG gets delivered to theaters?! Talk about unfair. Hacks like Rupert Wainwright and Uwe Boll-the worst director ever in the history of the entire world-continue to be able to make big budget films and people who actually know how to make horror movies get pushed to the back of the shelf? At least the Ghostwatcher movies are original and actually care about scaring the audience. If the original Ghostwatcher was remade with a big budget and some stars it would be the biggest horror hit of the year and at least that would make sense. Why has no one thought of this? Well, at least someone is still making movies for the horror audience and not a bunch of teenyboppers. The makers of this movie really came through this time.

Laura takes over the Elizabeth role and tries to help a teenager who is hearing voices. What those voices are and where they're coming from was a total surprise to me and makes for the best scene in the whole movie. The ending is pretty downbeat but works because it is so well done.

The thing I liked best about this movie is that the director didn't feel the need to throw in an African-American caricature who runs around screaming like an idiot (again, see THE FOG). Is anyone besides me sick of seeing that? And he doesn't spell everything out for the audience but instead lets them figure some things out for themselves. He uses classic scare tactics to get the audience on the edge of their seat instead of jamming it full of crappy CGI (there is some of that too but it actually looks really good in this one). In short, this is the kind of horror film they used to make back in the 70's when horror films were actually good and were more about story and character than how much we can make the first weekend because the newest TV star is in it. If you're as sick of the new wave of horror as I am, check this one out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

And a plea to the director-please continue to make horror films in the future. You're the only one who seems to know what we want.

I have just watched this movie, and would have to say that I could think of much worse ways to spend the time it took to watch. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of horror movies in my time, from the sublime to the ridiculous and many in between. I consider this film to be an in between, but above average. The performances are fine in most cases, being that the actors are all quite new. The music helps to keep the suspense, although unfortunately, I didn't 'jump' once. The story is quite original, and it plays out at a good pace. I cannot think of any one particular moment I thought was great, yet it was compelling - I wanted to keep on watching and wanted to know how it played out. Definitely worth a watch if you have some spare time, but don't plan a whole evening around it...