The new British horror flick ‘Ghost Stories’ made its U.S. premiere recently at SXSW and just this weekend at New York’s ‘What the Fest?’. It is also slated to screen at New Orleans’ ‘The Overlook Film Festival’. Adapted by Jeremy Dyson and star Andy Nyman from the 2010 stage production, this is an anthology film of sorts, that weaves together four possible… what else?… ghost stories. Nyman’s character, Professor Phillip Goodman, a skeptic who has dedicated his life to debunking fake “supernatural shenanigans,” ties the various stories together. So far the film has gotten pretty excellent reviews for its moody atmosphere and throw-back chills.
Here is the plot description:
In Ghost Stories (out April 20), Andy Nyman plays Professor Phillip Goodman, who has devoted
his life to exposing phony psychics and fraudulent supernatural shenanigans on his own television
show. His skepticism is put to the test when he receives a file of three chilling, inexplicable cases:
a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) haunted by disturbing visions as he patrols an abandoned
asylum; an edgy young man (Alex Lawther) involved in a hellish car accident deep in the woods;
and a wealthy former banker (Martin Freeman) visited by the poltergeist spirit of his unborn child.
Even scarier: each of these macabre stories seems to have a sinister connection to Professor
Goodman’s own life. The film is written and directed by Nyman and Jeremy Dyson.
You can get a taste for the moody, gloomy tone of the movie in this clip below:
For a better idea of what the entire movie is about, here is its trailer:
Dyson and Nyman split directing duties and worked on the script together. Of course for American audiences, the big draw is going to be Martin Freeman, fresh off the monster success of ‘Black Panther’. While the trailer touts the glowing reviews this horror movie has gotten, not every reaction has been so generous. Since Dyson and Nyman directed different parts of the movie, some feel it is uneven and the second half has been called confusing. And it definitely seems more chilling than terrifying, so fans of gorier fare may be bored.
‘Ghost Stories’ will be released in theaters in the U.S. in a limited capacity on April 20 and will be available VOD at the same time, so you can probably catch it in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, while anyone outside those cities will have to stream it.
Does this look like a scary movie that you’d be interested in?
Source: Entertainment Weekly, Cryptic Rock
