Ghost Stories: Review

‘Ghost Stories’ is written and directed by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson and is based on their stage play of the same name. I heard a lot of buzz around this film so naturally I wanted to check it out not long after seeing ‘A Quiet Place’ what’s better than 2 new horror movies in a week?

‘Ghost Stories’ started off very strong for me, an interesting premise as we follow Professor Philip Goodman (played by director and writer Andy Nyman) who’s ambition in life to to debunk the supernatural in many forms, particularly in his reality show ‘Psychic Cheats’ where he exposes fraudulent, self proclaimed mediums who use people’s grief and vulnerability for profit. Our protagonist is then contacted by another professor, one who he admires greatly that caused him to follow this path in life. From there Goodman is challenged to debunk three paranormal cases that his role model failed to explain.

The acting is strong through out the film form the whole cast, Martin Freeman (Sherlock, Fargo) is great as always, Paul Whitehouse (The Fast Show, The Corpse Bride) also gave a strong performance, but for me the spotlight was stolen by Alex Lawther (Black Mirror, End of the F***ing World) as he portrays a young man with a very difficult home life who has been pushed to his emotional limits by his experiences with the paranormal, whilst also providing some great laughs through his awkward and eccentric actions. In all honesty, I feel Nyman’s performance was the most lacking in this film, it was by no means bad and he definitely had some great moments, but I feel he was the only actor that was not consistent in his delivery.

In terms of writing it does feel somewhat disjointed as we move from each ghost story there isn’t a great deal of carry over until the last one leads in to the final act of the film. This is where my main criticism of this film comes in to play. While the final act brings forward a large realisation to the audience, once this is done, the script goes to great lengths to make what has been revealed very obvious, to the point where it feels like it is beating you over the head with it despite said revelation being very clear. This revelation also caused me to feel that a lot of what took place prior in the film had lost a great deal if not all of it’s impact.

Two aspects of the film I really enjoyed aside from Lawther and Freeman’s performances were the visuals and the score. The use of framing and shot composition within this film is fantastic, creating a many chilling as well as beautiful shots. The designs of the ghosts and paranormal beings through out the film is very unique, not sticking to the norm in any major way, especially in the form of what appears in the second story. The set designs is also a great addition to the high quality visuals through out the film.
The score by Frank Ilfman adds so much character to this film. Whilst following some genre tropes such as high rising strings intended to build up tensions before a scare, he creates some really gorgeous themes, a particular favourite of mine takes place in the third story whilst Martin Freeman’s character is left home alone. Compositions like this really allow a film to build a true sense of identity.

As for the fear factor, ‘Ghost Stories’ does have a great deal of tension built up through out, with a combination of long drawn out shots, a suspenseful score and eerie imagery coming together to create some very unnerving scenes. It cannot be understated how well the visuals are utilised to create a sense of  unease in each story in the film, it was by far my favourite part of the film. However, the over reliance on jump scares in this movie was a real let down for me, and don’t get me wrong, I like a good jump scare every now and then, but for one they need to feel earned and have something to really be feared present for me to consider it a good scare. While some of these sorts of scares were present in ‘Ghost Stories’, it was much more common to see some very cheap false scares and unearned jump scares.

‘Ghost Stories’ was an enjoyable watch with many elements to enjoy, but as a whole, it left something left to be desired for myself. I’d say it is worth seeing if you are a fan of horror but go in with checked expectations as there are elements that may disappoint.
Overall, I’m going to give ‘Ghost Stories’ 67%!

Have you seen ‘Ghost Stories’? If so what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments and let’s talk about it! If you haven’t, check out the trailer below and check it out if you like what you see.