Judas Ghost

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 don't normally go for most of the films like this that have been coming out recently (and there have been a TON of them) but once in a while I do find one entertaining. I think what appealed to me about this movie were the consistent 'rules' of Good vs. Evil that held it's story together for most of the time. I'm a real sucker for strong religious 'Mythologies' such as the Classic Cross, Holy Water, etc. Anything from the Classic Hammer Horror films to more recent movies that are based upon a ritualistic 'formula', or the 'belief' you have to have in order to carry out what they want to do, such as 'THE SKELETON KEY' or even the entertaining 'FRIGHT NIGHT' {the original film}

Another thing that I thought was kind of interesting was this 'Institute' that clearly was an established center for studies into these kinds of Phenomena. I liked how this Institute came across as some distant Entity that was watching and perhaps knew more about why they were there than they did. It just gave a tad more menace and mystery to the atmosphere.

For this kind of EXTREMELY limited film, a LOT really rides on the way it is done, the way it is acted, and how well it is written. I thought they held it together pretty well right up until just about the 55 minute mark where, to me anyway, the story took a bit of a dive in believability. Primarily concerning how a couple of the characters suddenly reacted to the circumstances. A bit of a shame, really, because I can truly say that it genuinely had me right up to that moment.

Prior to that point in the film, I felt that the suspense and quality of the acting were fairly decent. I won't give anything away, but I really liked some of the simple tactics that the 'Hall' employed to keep the people off balance. I read in some other reviews on other sites that the lead guy came across as too arrogant. But, I thought he had just the right tone of confidence. VERY similar I thought to the way that Jeffrey Combs comes across in roles like this. And, I REALLY like him. Heh... he even kind of looked like him a little. No, I thought he just came across as a guy who really felt like he knew his stuff in doing this kind of work, that's all. But, in the hands of another actor, I can see where just a little too much that way and he would have come across as really stupid.

If you are like me (and, God help you if you are...) and you like a simple 'Good vs. Evil' story told in a Classic kind of way with the Classic Mythologies firmly in place, you might enjoy this movie somewhat. BUT... like I mentioned, and thus the reason why I only gave it a rating of '6', I honestly feel that the last 20 minutes or so REALLY harms the effectiveness and the suspension of disbelief that the film makers had worked very hard to develop up to that point. And, that is something that is ESSENTIAL for a film like this. But, up to that moment, I genuinely enjoyed the Mystery of it all, the clever things that the 'Hall' did, and the somewhat intriguing Institute with it's ambiguous motives as to why they were really there...

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.

A professional ghost hunting team set up shop in this hall and discover an entity unlike any other. It's not going to let them leave.

This wasn't too bad. The Judas Ghost is a play on The Judas goat that is used to lead sheep or cattle to slaughter. Instead of having ghosts bang things around and lights go on and off they have a black darkness surround the entire building from which there is no escape. Doors appear and then disappear. There is even a ghost spokesperson they pull through the window which was a pretty cool effect.

The film is pretty well shot in one room save for some flashbacks so it does have that stage play kind of feel. Hopefully your not film claustrophobic because for some time they are trapped in a little protective circle while they battle the spirit. I did laugh near the beginning when they were getting ready to confront the ghost the one guy tells the psychic "get your psychic shields up". I was waiting for her to say "Right away Captain" but she does better and says "Psychic shields up. Ready to go".

Not as bad as a lot of them out there.

It was difficult to mark this movie, because it would not be right to give it high marks as a HORROR movie, because that would get people's expectations up. And this is not a good HORROR movie, in the sense of creepy atmosphere, excitement, good scares etc.. It is not creepy at all, the special effects are very crude and simple, the "ghost" is so obviously a person in stage make-up, the "blood" is so obviously paint etc.. There are no good scares at all. It is very low budget, and it is more like a filmed stage play than a movie.

But on the other hand: if you accept this as a stage play about a typical ghost hunt situation, and do not expect it to be "The Orphanage" or "The Others" - then it is in fact quite good! The script and dialogue are intelligent, and the actors are good too.