Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs  Ghost Stories (2017)
I only discovered i still owned this earlier in the week, i thought i'd got rid of it ages ago, but there it was in a pile waiting to go, still actually with me.
The first time i watched this i absolutely hated it. There didn't seem anything to it much it was all so....
...well actually, it was all so MR James.
Perhaps first time round i wasn't in the mood for what i was about to watch or perhaps the whisky had kicked in and my attention just wandered as the film meandered through Ghost Story for Christmas territory when i was expecting something more akin to modern anthology gore fests.
Written and directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman. It stars Nyman as a man devoted to debunking fraudulent psychics, who is tasked with solving three unexplained paranormal events. Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther and Martin Freeman co-star as the three men at the heart of each event.
It's pacing is languid but there are some scares to be had and there's a realism to characters and events that give the film high levels of authenticity. As with all anthology films the three tales vary in quality but all are above average, however where this differs is in the wrap around tale which has much more substance than the average wrap around, in fact as much is devoted to this as the three stories themselves and the film is all the better for it. but the actual conclusion? I'm not so sure.
It's relationship to MR James and more obviously Lawrence Gordon Clark who adapted them is via the landscapes and settings which, at least for me, evoked Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968) and (2010) and A Warning to the Curious (1972) as well as James use of malevolent supernatural forces which are at the heart of every tale.
As for the dvd. It's now left the 'Get rid of' pile and has a new home on my shelf. |
Oh I'm rather pleased to read this review Dem. I was thoroughly enamoured with Ghost Stories when I first watched and thoroughly surprised you disliked it so. Its amazing how mood and circumstance can change our perspective isn't it.
I'll have to revisit Isolation. A film I bought on your recommendation off the back of a discussion on modern British horror, following your initial review of Ghost Stories. Ironically I thought Isolation was rubbish, however I've held on to it so clearly didn't think it was rubbish enough to get rid of. Think I'll give it another go.