by Mike Imboden
Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Mike with a solo review of Ghost Game, directed by Jill Gevargizian.
Synopsis
An Internet challenge goes wrong when a daring couple breaks into a haunted house and must endure the horrors within.
The Good
Director Jill Gevargizian does a good job of squeezing each scene of Ghost Game for the right amount of tension and suspense, and the close quarters and sometimes confined settings provide a good sense of claustrophobia.
The actors involved all give good performances as their characters go through some type of growth, be it a descent into an unbalanced state of mind, a guilty conscience, or a realization of clarity.
There’s hardly any blood aside from one scenario and what we get is juicy and well done, suitably horrible and shocking.
Is the house truly haunted or are the happenings within its walls just the results of the titular “ghost game” in which the goal is to do “ghosty things” to make the residents think maybe they’ve got a case of poltergeists messing with them? Things are never too certain (until it is) and that should help to keep viewers invested in what’s happening on screen.
The Bad
It’s hard to really get into a movie when there’s nobody you have any reason to root for in it, which is a problem that Ghost Game suffers from. I suspect I’m not too alone in thinking that folks breaking into people’s houses to see how long they can secretly live there are pretty crappy people. Yes, as the movie progresses Gevargizian tries to gives us reasons to side with the perpetrators, however after an act and a half of thinking little of their actions I had already had it set in my mind that they got whatever they deserved.
I also had a hard time believing that anyone would just move into a house that was so obviously dilapidated and full of cobwebs (and rats) as they do here. Reasons are given, but never really explored so it seems so much more of a plot device and excuse to have bodies in a house that might be haunted than a natural aspect of the story (if that makes sense).
There’s also a twist that seemed pretty obvious although there’s a hook to it that made sense enough that it didn’t personally bother me, but some may roll their eyes.
The Verdict
Despite finding it hard to find anyone worth caring too much about, Ghost Game still managed to keep my interest with its ability to keep me wondering if what was happening was just the players of the “ghost game” or actual spirits haunting the house. There are dubious explanations as to why a family would move into a filthy house chock full o’ cobwebs and rats that can make it hard to believe anyone would even be in the house to begin with. If you can past that bit of suspension of disbelief, however, you’ll find a decent little thriller.
Ghost Game, screened as part of the Portland Horror Film Festival, which ran from June 5th–9th, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. For more information, visit https://portlandhorrorfilmfestival.com/.
Directed By: Jill Gevargizian
Written By: Adam Cesare
Starring: Kia Dorsey, Zaen Haidar, Aidan Hughes
Run Time: 1h 26m
Rating: NR
Release Date: 2024
There was no trailer available at the publication time of this review
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