HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: GHOSTLAND



7/10


Pauline (Mylene Farmer) and her two teenage daughters arrive at a creepy house in the country they inherited from their aunt. On the first night there they are attacked by some creepy intruders and vigorously fight back… 

then the story jumps 20 years forward, where one of the girls, Beth, is living in New York with her husband and son, and is a successful horror novelist. One night she receives a call from her sister begging for help. It seems that after all these years she is still being tormented by someone or something. As Beth returns to the house of her childhood she needs to figure out if the horrors that still haunt her sister are real.

I am a big fan of Pascal Laugier, who created MARTYRS – one of the most terrifying, but also meaningful, horror movies of our time. While the story of GHOSTLAND is hardly original Laugier feels at home here with a familiar plot of two women confined in a creepy house, going against each other and the world and ultimately searching for the answers of what is happening to them. 

Half way through, the plot makes a u-turn (similar to Laugier’s previous work TALL MAN) which might be annoying to some viewers, as this forces them to look at the story from a different perspective. For me, however, it only lifted the stakes higher.

The two young leads of the movie are a tour de force, running  around screaming for most of the movie’s length, and the house is a one creepy maze full of broken dolls – the location and the props in GHOSTLAND are spot on. Mylene Farmer (a famous pop diva in France) has a glamorous presence and looks at ease with the gothic atmosphere of the film (her music videos are tiny horror films that made her famous early in her career).

The movie has a “sweaty palms” type of atmosphere of dread and is definitely effective. There’s not much character study, but you do care for the protagonists as they are young girls facing a terrifying ordeal. While the movie is a less impressive work from this master of macabre it is definitely a must watch for horror lovers. 

Comments

  1. brittanymlemay5 October 2018 at 22:51

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the f...
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - t...
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema...
Read more