It’s hard to review a movie like Ghost Stories, as it starts out one way and turns into something else. I like movies that do that…only if it is done right. (Side eye to Sorry to Bother You.)
The movie begins by focusing on Philip Goodman (Andy Nyman), a famous professor and TV presenter, living in the United Kingdom who debunks fraudulent psychics or paranormal investigators. His work has led m to investigate three reported ghost sightings that are claimed to be real.
The first is a night watchmen, Tony Matthews (Paul Whitehouse), who claims to have been haunted by the spirit of a young women at a derelict asylum. Then, he goes to Simon Rifkind (Alex Lawther), who is obsessed with the occult but has an incident while in a rural area with a creature that may or may not be a satyr. The third story deals with a wealthy financier, Max Priddle (Martin Freeman), who lives a life of luxury in London. But one night, he said he was visited by a poltergeist which was the spirit of his wife who had died while just giving birth to a child that might be inhuman.
All three stories are short and sweet with a creepy vibe to them. When Tony goes to meet with Simon, there’s something off about his parents who remain in the kitchen with their backs turn to them. But as Tony and Simon go to Simon’s room, they both feel an ominous presence. Even as Simon tells his story, we barely see the creature.
Nyman also co-wrote and co-directed the movie with Jeremy Dyson. By leaving a lot to the imagination, they manage to do more with less. At the same time, there’s a funny scene with Simon and the creature that will be a reminder to always lock your doors. As for Freeman, he manages to show some good dramatic talent even though he’s mostly known for comedies or lighter materials. It’s all in the delivery and the overall tone of the movie.
If you’re expecting a lot of jump scares, you won’t get them. The few in the movie are earned with a nice pay off. Dyson and Nyman create an atmosphere with the movie that just seems off. Take the sequence where Philip meets with Mike as they are just out in an open field for no reason that only has a locked shed. The filmmakers build on our fears of how someone who seems rational like Mike takes things down a darker path.
Most of these “stories” deal with the feeling of being alone which plays later in the movie. Tony is alone in an abandoned asylum. Simon is alone on the side of the road in a breakdown. And even Mike is alone in a huge house that doesn’t seem realistic. Then you have the notion that you’re not alone but don’t know what’s there.
I remember one time when I was working in Georgia as a reporter. I was the only person in the big office on a dreary winter Saturday. I hadn’t properly hung up the receiver at my desk and as I went into another room some time later, I saw the little red light was on in the phone that was in that office, making it look like someone else was in the building making a phone call.
I think it’s because we’re just so used to an environment of constant noise that’s why it seems creepy at night when the ice machine in your refrigerator drops ice in the bucket or something creaks. All this feeling of being alone and unable to do anything comes back later in a twist at the end that has divided people. While I won’t give it away, I do understand the disappointment.
On one hand, this is a movie about people recounting paranormal activity but the “ghost story” is a figurative one. Philip’s made a profession out of debunking people but he, himself, has his own tale to tell. If anything else, it’s a nice ode to the old Hammer House style of horror the filmmakers watched when they were younger and loved.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 