Ghostlight

Director - Jeff Ferrell (Love)
Starring - Eden Campbell (The Devil Walks in Salem), Lisa Coronado (Trauma), and David A. Crellin (Burlesque Assassins)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The dead never sleep"
Format - Streaming (online screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Supernatural and ghost stories have been getting the indie treatment a lot lately and I have to admit that I am not a fan of this small movement. Ghost stories are hard to pull off on a no-budget production because they lack the funds needed to make the film eerie and creepy.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good supernatural flick but very few are able to pull it off.  However, we do have those great ones that really channel that campfire ghost story vibe like Ghost Story and The Others.  These films are scary as fuck and can make your skin crawl in certain moments.  Recently, I checked in with my friends over at Brain Damage where I saw they updated their screener list with a new ghost flick called Ghostlight.  The poster work looked fun so I checked it out.
     The film follows Andrew (Brian Sutherland) and his wife Mira (Coronado).  The couple was in a serious accident losing their precious young daughter. This also resulted in a huge hospital and burial bills that need to be paid so the young married couple can go on with their lives.  They get lucky when Andrew wins a radio contest to stay in an old theater for a chance to win $50,000.  Andrew accepts but a series of nightmares has Mira worried for his safety, as well as, the safety of their deceased daughters soul.  Andrew goes to the theater and learns that this competition takes place on the anniversary of a double murder suicide when the theater owner discovers that his beautiful wife is cheating on him with his assistant.  Andrew still agrees to stay but he is not alone and he quickly learns of his connection with the theater along with the meaning behind his wife's horrible nightmares.
     A good supernatural flick is just like telling a good ghost story.  It all rides on how well the story teller can spin his yarn.  The story teller has to build up the atmosphere and ride the suspense all the way through their tale.  The director is just like the story teller and has to make the film eerie, creepy, and spooky as shit.  Sadly, so many films fail to do so but Ghostlight is able to get the perfect atmosphere but fails at keeping it.  The acting in this one is fucking phenomenal and by phenomenal I mean fucking brilliant.  The entire cast was amazing and made each scene fun as hell.  The story for this one was lacking originality and the story telling charm that makes campfire tales so much fun.  The film uses a story similar to the classic Vincent Price flick House on Haunted Hill.  No originality or storytelling flare from the team is visible at all in the film.  We do keep some scenes that build in tension but fail to capitalize on it.  Finally, does not have that many on screen kills and the few we get are very weak.  The special effects are decent for the kills we get so that makes them a little more easier to stand.  Overall, Ghostlight is a weak supernatural flick that is fun to watch but poor on story and originality.  Check it out but the film does lack replay value.