Ghosts of Darkness (2017)
Directed by: David Ryan Keith
Written by: David Ryan Keith
Starring: Michael Koltes, Paul Flannery, Steve Weston
Released on digital 7th March 2017
Trapped in a large house in rural Scotland, a psychic and a sceptic are there under the pretence of getting paid a vast sum to disprove that the place is haunted. Personalities clash as the mismatched pair start going about their business in the creepy old building.
There are times when Ghosts of Darkness feels more like The Odd Couple, rather than a haunted house feature, and even before we meet the two ghost hunters, you know that this is going to be silly fun. It’s got a small amount of blood and violent killing, but even then it feels like its tongue is very firmly in its cheek. There’s the odd moment here and there that does take itself seriously, mainly involving a sub plot with the dashing Jack Donovan, the films’ cynical American ghost buster, but the Matt Berry like counterpart, Jonathan Blazer, brings things back down to earth with his dry wit and amusing pronunciations. Despite its comical tone, it doesn’t blur the lines with the horror elements very well and seems to either play for laughs or straightlaced with no middle ground. The characters are very good however, and although it has a short enough running time, it does feel like it runs out of steam about three quarters of the way through. And the special effects in the finale would even embarrass Doctor Who. The music is very good, unsettling and very reminiscent of survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6V1k5YP4N0
It’s a fun take on the haunted house type of horror, with a few knowing nods to the likes of Amityville and the sort. Paul Flannery, who plays the well spoken, daft Englishman, to Michael Koltes’ straight laced American cynic, should be someone to look out for, stealing the show in every scene he’s in. It’s an entertaining film, with a couple of lulls here and there, which would probably work better as a one off TV special, but it’s one of this year’s more fun horror stories.
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