Ghost Game

And I am not quoting Triple H here (if you know anything about Wrestling and WWE, you'll get the reference) ... so no pun intended for obvious reasons this time around then. And talking about this time around ... I really like The Stylist (not seen the short movie, but the feature length debut of the director) ... so I reckon I might have had some high expectations for this one.

Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed. Now the basic idea sounds more than nice. But I do think the script could have used a bit more work. And checking on imdb and not wanting to imply anything: the director didn't write this script, but did someone elses script ... might have been better if she had worked over it a bit.

And then there is the issue that the actors are unable to save this from itself (again no pun intended). The core idea is strong enough to hold the thing together ... and one could argue that the end might be a ... life saver ... but I will not make that ... call (yes more puns).

If you don't mind the annoying nature and the script making the characters seem like goldfish (as in forgetting their previous emotion and either repeating it or making a very strange 180) .. and not in a good way. Having said all that, there is quality here, you just have to embrace the things most will ... observe as flaws.

We know the director is able to make something meaningful and thrilling ... so I am here for her next movie too. And I will try to check some of her short movies, because they seem to be good too (also mostly written by her) ...

There are elements here that should be scary, and an interesting idea that could be made from them. But nothing makes sense. Everyone is LOUD but sound carries in houses. People have done this before but make stupid errors like leaving their phones off silent. People's motivations and personalities change from scene to scene. Exposition that should have happened in the beginning of the movie slows down the pacing just when everything should be moving to a crescendo. Moments that could have been shocking instead plod on. People randomly assign blame with no reasoning behind it. Even the concept behind the ghost game is muddled; there's already a name for living in people's houses without getting caught, and it's phrogging. Yet no one mentions this, even to say "it's taking phrogging to a new level." Like the people who wrote it are completely unaware of what they are writing about... or an AI, told to plug in certain plot elements with no understanding of when or why.

There's a much better movie about phrogging, for the curious. It's called "I See You."

With the 2024 movie "Ghost Game" being a horror movie that I hadn't ever heard about, much less actually seen, then of course I opted to sit down and watch the movie and give it a fair chance. I am a huge horror fan after all, and thus I do tend to gobble up all things horror that I come across. Truth be told, however, I didn't really harbor much of any grand expectations to the movie from writer Adam Cesare and director Jill Gevargizian, as it just seemed to permeate a low budget feel.

I will say that the storyline certainly have some interesting potential to it, and writer Adam Cesare was definitely on to something here. However, the movie was just held back some a mundanely paced narrative, that never really allowed the storyline to get off to a running start. And that meant that the movie didn't really have much of any ups and downs along the way, and certainly no thrills or scares, which made it a rather bland movie to sit through.

While I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Ghost Game", I will say that the acting performances were fair despite the fact that the script was restricting the movie in overall. I do enjoy watching unfamiliar talents on the screen.

The movie has a great atmosphere, and by that I mean dark, gloomy and brooding. And it is something that definitely adds to the overall enjoyment of the movie. Just a shame that the contents of the script and storyline didn't amass to something extraordinary or memorable. And the music and score in the movie certainly was suitable for the movie, and did add to the atmosphere of the movie.

Ultimately a rather forgettable movie, and not one that I would recommend you to waste your time, money or effort on. Some of us sat through this, so you don't have to; you're quite welcome.

My rating of director Jill Gevargizian's 2024 horror movie "Ghost Game" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.