FILM REVIEW: GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD

Director: Charlie Comparetto
Writer: Charlie Comparetto
Stars: Kelli Berglund, Jake Busey, Olivia Larsen, Nikki Blonsky, Jason James Richter, Royce Johnson, Joseph D’Onofrio, Shiloh Verrico, Maria Olsen, Joah Carmody

The town of Mt. Moriah comes under the thumb of Martha, a ghost who comes back to haunt the teens, who witnessed her death as children, during a “game” of ‘Ghost in the Graveyard.’

So far so many other films ,the revenging ghost is hardly a new concept in horror films, from The Ring to The Woman in Black and a 1000 other films in between you can be forgiven for thinking that you may have seen this all before.  And to be fair you have, Ghost in the Graveyard, riffs on countless other films throughout its run time.  Childhood game leads to childhood tragedy, child at centre of the tragedy leaves town and comes back years later, murders begin again, secrets societies know the truth of what of is really going on, check, check, check , and check. 

Now some of you may already be closing this review down, or at least thinking to yourself, "well this is another film to avoid."  Stop! While  Ghost in the Graveyard,  may sound exactly like the last film that disappointed you, it is in fact a somewhat charming, and effective chiller, that achieves a lot more in terms of scares and watchablity than many films with much bigger budgets.  

The performances of the three main leads are probably the films strongest point.  Props must go to Jake Busey, I must admit I had to check with IMDB that this was in fact  Jake Busey.  Many of you like myself will only have ever seen him in films that require him to act like the son of Gary Busey.  Who would have thought that the man behind Shasta McNasty could be capable of such a sympathetic performance. The  concerned father that holds a secret that will rock the foundations of his daughter's life  performance from his is both nuanced and heartbreaking at all of the right moments in the script.  


Kelli Berglund's and Olivia Larsen as Sally and the school bully Zoe, with whom she must join forces with to defeat the evil, are performances that both hold their own and effectively play off each other while on screen together.  There is a good sense of chemistry between the two actors, and they work well with a script that at times has some cringeworthy dialogue.  

Overall the story is arc is satisfying, and leads to a conclusion that won't leave you screaming at the `TV screen, however, this is a film that could have done with a fair bit of either trimming of ideas, or  a more centralised focus on the direction that it wants to take. There is almost a sense that the director wanted this to have been a two or three part film, and his grand magnum opus, but pressure from the studios either forced him to cut it all down into one film, or perhaps someone didn't say hold on a minute.  

There is a lot of great ideas, and set pieces throughout the film, and Comparetto keeps a fresh eye on many of the plot elements that we may have seen before.  For example by transposing the "haunted house" theme to an outside location, in particular the titular graveyard gives the film a welcome sense of freshness.  The old fashioned haunted house motif is so well worn, even the creaky floorboards have up-cycled themselves.  The use of non standard locations also allows from some clever cinematography, in particular the scenes at night in the graveyard are stunning.  However, like Comparetto, the camerawork at times from Reut needed some reigning in, as at times it felt like he was a kid with a new box , determined to give every camera  technique a shot in the film.  

There is still a cohesive  sense of style to the film and it does look amazing despite its limiting budgetary restraints.  Both Comparetto and Reut understand that when a films budget is low, and you have a half descent script the best way to make a film watchable is ensure that the film looks good, while allowing for the story to be told, without annoying the viewer.  Which in main comes down to it being that film that doesn't rely on jump scares every five, yes there are a few, but the tension, and sense of dread comes from the script and cinematography rather than the viewer waiting for the next  loud bang 

Ghost in the Graveyard, may not the most original film, and despite its inherent flaws it also a highly enjoyable film that draws the best from both the cast and crew.  And while it may not the scariest of films you will watch this year, it does mean that if you are looking for something to show to the young teenagers in your family, this will provide ample thrills, without the risk of traumatising them for life 

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