Ghost Stories: Film Review
Cast: Andy Nyman, Martin Freeman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex LawtherDirector: Andy Nyman, Jeremy Dyson
Based on the stage play of the same name, and released just in time for Hallowe'en, erm Christmas ??), Ghost Stories' triptych of supernatural tales is nothing short of unsettling - even if some of the twists can be seen from far off, and the jump scares are a little heavy handed.
Nyman plays psychic debunker Professor Phillip Goodman, whose world is turned upside down when he's contacted by long-presumed lost paranormal investigator and inspiration Charles Cameron.
Asked to investigate three cases of real ghost sightings, Goodman starts to look into them - but what he finds could change his world...
Steeped in an atmosphere of unease, Ghost Stories is actually unsettling fare which plays to some of the darker edges showcased in director Jeremy Dyson's other well-known TV project, The League of Gentlemen.
The trio of tales benefit from some terrific build-up, but shy away from resolution within them, initially leading to a flat feeling and unkempt edges. It's best not to know what most are about to be frank, as it robs something of the suspense, but they're suitably long enough in their execution to ensure that, ending aside, the tension laid out is actually gripping (even if a lot of the onscreen action is shrouded in more dark than you've ever seen in an episode of The X-Files.)
Playing with the tropes of the genre, shifting expectations, and offering twists as tantalising bits come together or clues are dropped, Ghost Stories works well, even if its final resolution almost derails the entire house of cards.
Nyman's performance delivers an arc that takes in a kind of cock-sure foundation that gradually becomes unstable as the maudlin melancholy sets in. Drained of colour, the drab Britain which unfolds on screen adds greatly to the overall feeling, and the stories are helped by some wonderfully off-kilter character work from the likes of Whitehouse, Lawther and Freeman.
Much like anthology series like Tales Of The Unexpected, Ghost Stories' apparent loose threads come together in ways that are easy to determine in hindsight.
Ultimately, this is perhaps one of the most psychologically perturbing and unsettling films of the year.
It's not a straight horror in many ways, and much like Hereditary's denouement proved polarising, Ghost Stories' portmanteau has a way of inveigling itself under your skin and unnverving you.
