[31 Days of Horror Part VI: Jason Lives] Day 13 – Ghost Stories (2017)

Director: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman

Cast: Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, Martin Freeman

Screenplay: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman

98 mins. Not Rated.

 

On the recent subject of anthology horror films, today we’ll be looking at Ghost Stories, a unique and interesting twist on the idea of anthologies. It’s not really an anthology, and it also has a level of anthology-style to it with a very interesting framing device. Let’s talk about it.

Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman) a professor known for his skeptical viewpoint of ghosts and the afterlife. He runs a documentary-style show that debunks paranormal events and stories, and when he is given a file with three cases of unexplained paranormal circumstances, he discovers that each of these ghost stories blurs the lines between what is real and what is not.

I had been told many great things about Ghost Stories and as I was watching Professor Goodman going through each of the cases, I kept wondering why. Each of these cases felt like something that I’d seen before, something I expected, something unsurprising. So why is it a good movie? About halfway through the film, I stopped wondering about that. There’s a reason why these stories feel familiar and why they seem unsurprising and expected. There’s a hidden connection among the stories and the effect they have on Professor Goodman.

Andy Nyman does some very solid acting as Professor Goodman, and, in fact, each of the three characters leading the three stories are both relatable and well-performed. I particularly liked Paul Whitehouse (The Death of Stalin, Alice Through the Looking Glass) as Tony Matthews, the central character of the first story. He’s an actor I don’t have a lot of experience watching, and his character arc in the first story mirrors a lot of how I would go through the experience of a haunting. That’s not to fault either Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game, TV’s The End of the F***ing World) in the second story or Martin Freeman (Black Panther, Cargo) in the third. Each story works much better in hindsight after understand the complete path of the film.

Ghost Stories is a wildly psychotic and enjoyable film. Its faults lie in a muddled first half meant to set up the big reveal at the end of the film. I’m also not entirely sure if the film is very re-watchable, but I’d like to see it at least once more to put all the pieces together. I’d highly recommend it for a fun puzzle of a movie, one that stuck with me after watching it. These Ghost Stories are well worth hearing.

 

4/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

 

 

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