Friday, October 02, 2009

Death of a Ghost Hunter

(2007) ***



The Freeek brought this one to my attention and I took notice as haunted house films may be my favorite horror sub-genre (aside from Satanic cult & zombie flicks of course). Death of a Ghost Hunter snagged a Best Screenplay prize from the 2007 New York City Horror Film Festival.

20 years after the Masterson family is brutally murdered, paranormal investigator Carter Sims (terrible actress) is paid $5,000 by the owner to investigate claims that the house is haunted. Joining Sims is Colin the filmmaker (terrible actor), Yvette the reporter (terrible, terrible actress) and Mary the judgmental religious nutjob. (She was pretty good but how hard is it to play a Jesus freak, honestly?) Mary is present to make sure that the Masterson’s family honor is not disgraced by the investigation.

Quickly it becomes clear that the house is very haunted indeed. Chairs move, ghosts appear in the video footage and the details surrounding that fateful night are revealed in dramatic fashion. For a low budget indie flick, Ghost Hunter is effectively eerie and intriguing. Some of the “surprise” twists are laughably predictable but there are also some developments that made me stroke my chin and say “hmm”. Nothing to go cuckoo over but enjoyable nonetheless.

9 comments:

Trevor said...

Seen this one on the shelf for almost a year now, wondering if I should bother... I'll pick it up this weekend!!

Whirlygirl said...

Haha! Love the comments about their lack of acting skills.

JPX said...

"Chairs move, ghosts appear in the video footage and the details surrounding that fateful night are revealed in dramatic fashion." I love, love, love when grainy video footage is used in horror films. I love it when they freeze frame some freaky image, goose-bump city. Hilarious review and it sounds like fun. I'm going to add it to my Netflix.

Octopunk said...

"How hard is it to play a Jesus freak, honestly?" Nice! And so true.

Good review and all, but I'm reminded of how many "real" ghost hunting shows there are right now, perpetuating bogusness. Shame on you, Johnny Sweatpants!

Just kidding.

Anonymous said...

I didn't think the acting was bad. I think they were trying to portray themselves as being a bit uncomfortable with the camera, especially Carter, since it was emphasised that she usually worked alone and would not be used to having a videographer following her around. She also wasn't comfortable being the boss, and she was attempting to protray that she was uncomfortable with this also, hence the somewhat strange way she addressed people. Overall, this movie was worthwhile, although the "reveal" of the whole story at the end was a bit ham handed. Still, I'm not about to complain since I've never written a screenplay. I'd like to see part 2, where a medium comes in to contact Carter.

Arachnid Lover, said...

This is a load of BS !!! But " nice try " Lmao !!!
Silly movie but I love horror, paranormal movies.

Arachnid Lover, said...

This is a load of BS !!! But " nice try " Lmao !!!
Silly movie but I love horror, paranormal movies.

Arachnid Lover, said...

This is a load of BS !!! But " nice try " Lmao !!!
Silly movie but I love horror, paranormal movies.

Arachnid Lover, said...

Oops, didn't mean to keep repeating myself, Sorry.

Malevolent

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