DEATH OF A GHOST HUNTER

DEATH OF A GHOST HUNTER

Introductory text welcomes us to the Masterson home. Through sepia-tainted scratchy film we get a re-enactment of the bizarre events that happened in the house in October 1982, leaving the deeply religious Masterson family - father Joseph, wife Mary Beth, and kids Peter and Suzanne - murdered.

We then meet Carter Simms (Patti Tindall), a ghost hunter who we're told was paid $5000 in 2002 to investigate the house for signs of paranormal activity. In other words, to search for proof that the house is haunted.

More onscreen text reveals to us that Carter's investigations resulted in her death, and that the following film is an account of the journal she kept while staying in the Masterson abode.

Carter narrates as her journal comes to life, illustrating the moment she met her client - the arrogant young Seth Masterson (Cordon Clark). Seth had inherited the house but dared not step foot in it, for fear of an evil presence he sensed ... and the fact that he once saw cousin Peter's apparition staring back at him from a bedroom window.

So self-confessed sceptic Carter agrees to take his money and stick around to check the house out.

The racy narration continues as Carter pays a visit to Martha, a Hispanic cleaner who is the only person to have ventured into the house throughout the last two decades. Martha explains, through her daughter who acts as translator, that she has experienced strange "forces" within the building that have left her scared to return there.

Without further ado, Carter gathers her ghost hunting equipment and ventures into the house for herself. Seth nervously leaves her there, where she plans to spend three nights in a bid to uncover the truth.

Fear not, though - she's not alone. Moments later, cameraman Colin (Mike Marsh) turns up ready to document any iffy business. Then there's local journalist Yvette (Davina Joy) who wants in on the shenanigans. She doesn't believe in any of it, but wants to be there in case a story unfolds.

Finally, local church girl Mary (Lindsay Page) arrives, wanting to protect the good name of the Masterson family.

This mismatched quartet then settles in for their first evening in the potentially haunted house.

The first night is fairly uneventful, with the foursome sat around a table in needless darkness mulling over the devout family's background and recanting the grisly details of their murders. A note found at the crime suggests that Mary Beth had returned home to find her family killed, and then took her own life in grief. Mary insists this could not be true - Mary Beth was deeply religious and would never commit such a sin as suicide.

A few onscreen time-checks later, a bit of philosophical mumbo-jumbo here and there ("we won't know the truth until we ourselves are dead"), the occasional clearly researched technical details into paranormal investigation techniques ... and then we get to the second night. Which is where things get going.

The pace steps up when Yvette finds a stash of nudie photographs upstairs in the house, suggesting the Mastersons were not so pious after all. Then - this is the first biggie - Colin catches the image of a ghostly little girl on his video camera. The group follow the image into several rooms and are alarmed to find it even has a voice

From here on in events become more intriguing as little things start to nag at each group member (someone pisses on Yvette's belongings, for example) and paranoia sets in. Revelations about the family continue and a clearer picture of what happened on that fateful night in 1982 begins to emerge.

All the while, young Mary seems to be becoming increasingly unhinged ...

DEATH is a very bleak-looking, visually drab film. The shot-on-digital photography gives the film a cheap look despite some canny camerawork and the occasional filmic flourishes (the sepia opening; the film-negative blurriness of the finale) can do little to mask this.

But the film is undeniably atmospheric for a lot of its running time. Genuinely eerie during its quietest moments, it's a contemplative and slow-burning ghost story that manages to transcend its budgetary limitations to offer something quietly compelling.

While we know that Carter will die, the film succeeds in keeping us intrigued right up until the end - even though the closing text that continues to insist this is based on a true story (it isn't) is not welcome.

On the downside, the film is too long to sustain its impressive mood consistently and the acting is frequently below par. It's a shame, because in terms of lighting and oppressive compositions, the film shows great potential.

Still, on the strength of this and his previous film THE GREAT AMERICAN SNUFF FILM, I look forward to what director Sean Tretta gives us next.

The film is presented uncut in non-anamorphic 1.85:1. Colours are muted throughout lending the film a washed-out veneer. Image however is largely soft, and overly dark during some crucial plot moments.

The English 2.0 audio is clear and consistent throughout.

The static main menu page leads into an animated scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 4 chapters.

As with the other Brain Damage discs, this DVD's only 'extras' are trailers for PREY FOR THE BEAST, SERUM, SECRETS OF THE CLOWN, SILENT BLOODNIGHT, TORTURE ME NO MORE and DEATH OF A GHOST HUNTER itself.

DEATH OF A GHOST HUNTER is a surprisingly effective, creepy little film. It's got it's flaws - acting, pacing, length - but in an age when you think you can't stand one more film with BLAIR WITCH-style night-cam footage as it's scare tactics, this one does a pretty good job of it.

While it's true that Brain Damage's DVD costs about as much as it probably cost to make this film (£2.99), it's also worth pointing out that there are far worse films to be chancing your small change on ...

Review by Stu Willis


 
Released by Brain Damage
Region 2 - PAL
Rated 18
Extras :
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