Ghostwatch (1992)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Halloween 1992 and the BBC aired Ghostwatch as part of its Screen 1 Drama series. It was all told a horror mockumentary based around the Enfield Poltergeist investigation of 1977/8. Famed for family friendly fodder programming, the reaction to Ghostwatch shook the BBC to its core and the TV institution banned it for 10 years and has never shown it again on one of its channels. Problems arose because many viewers were unaware that the show was actually fake, this in spite of the many clues given both in written credits and the hiring of actors in critical roles!Watching it now some 20 years after the fact, it's hard to believe so many were taken in by the unfolding events of the show. Certainly it's understandable that youngsters watching would be scared by the second half of the show, that is if they wasn't bored stiff by the first half which plods along at an almost lethargic pace? But grown adults besieging the switchboards with worries about the realism of the show? And a weight of complaints not seen since The Sex Pistols swore on TV in 76? Apparently so it seems.Ghostwatch's legacy is tainted by over reaction on one hand, and sadness in the other. The show was cited as the cause for an 18 year old man hanging himself. Martin Denham had learning difficulties and after becoming obsessed with the show, committed suicide five days after the show was broadcast. There were other cases where children as young as 10 were said to have suffered post-traumatic stress because of the show. Sad for sure are these events, but they lend the film an aura of terror that it doesn't deserve. But on an influential front it deserves the utmost praise. It can be seen as a prototype of the reality TV shows that have dominated TV in the last decade, while you have to think that the makers of The Blair Witch Project saw it and took notes.Ghostwatch does have genuine moments of creepiness, the number of sneaky visual placements of Pipes the ghost are very effective. As is his back story. The sound work is suitably chilling, where over emphasised knocking and the sound of wailing cats really hit the desired mark. The cast, too, are stoic and performing well with the material to hand. Michael Parkinson is the head link man hosting the show, a splendid bit of casting because we all trust Parky. Mike Smith plays it suitably tongue close to cheek, his wife, the beautiful Sarah Greene, is the most believable as she spends the night in the house with the Early family, while Craig Charles outside the house larks about and never once plays it seriously. But the others, including the two child actors, struggle to convince. But was they meant to anyway? Because ultimately it's a pastiche production. 6/10

I was 12 years old, just happened to be at home watching TV on Haloween of 1992, Ghostwatch came on and looked interesting so I continued to watch it, thinking it was an interesting bit of fun with maybe the chance of something happening in the most haunted house in England! Then half way through the reality TV show started to turn into a truly scary experience, with things going wrong and the fact the viewer believed it was recorded live (which was later revealed was not) made it an experience that will most likely never be achieved again! There is a part where viewers rang the show live from their homes and reported all kinds of scary things happening, for example their dogs wont stop barking and a Glass table shattering after being touched etc, this all added to the realism and also made all the viewers paranoid that something was going to happen in their own home! (I was one of them) This show was the most scary thing ever created by any production company in the world, and I understand why it was banned for 10 years (due to a couple of people committing suicide for believing it was real apparently) when I watch it now it seems clear that the children were acting, but at the time it was not so obvious! If you plan on letting your children watch this be careful, because they will get scared and may not sleep for a few nights! A real masterpiece!

I was only three when this film was televised, so I slip into the category of viewers who knew this was a hoax before they watched it. For most of the film, beyond my wishes, I found myself evaluating the validity of the actors' performances, and debating how someone could have thought this was real (the performances are pretty good, but there are certain exchanges that sway more towards theatrical than realistic). However, halfway in, when the transmission starts becoming infrequent and begins cutting out, my skin started crawling. Even the knowledge that it was fictional couldn't suppress my nerves as the ghost manifested itself in more terrifying ways. The finale, with a possessed Michael Parkinson whispering a nursery rhyme into the camera, sends a lasting sensation through the viewers' minds, in spite of how amusing it sounds on paper.As mentioned before, there are a few faults in the acting, but for the most part - especially during the scariest scenes where it counts most - it is utterly convincing and contributes to a rather shocking viewer experience. The visual quality of the "live" broadcast and the Crimewatch-esquire set-up of the studio lend the film enough credibility to have some viewers forget that this was just a teleplay for the BBC, but this is exactly what sets it apart from other horror films and, in a way, makes it so much creepier.

I was 16 years old (maybe i should have lied about my age when it was on) and in hospital when i watched this. Yes i thought it was real. Yes i was rummaging for change for the hospital payphone to ring in. and yes i felt a pratt when it wasn't real - i blame the anasetic and medication i was on.Whoever thought this programme up, did a fantastic job. Its a one off, never can be repeated as it would be recognised instantly as a hoax. The whole story and play along is and was so convincing, the acting from even the children was brilliant and well done as it was believable im sure it had a lot of people fooled. Also, another of these couldn't be made as the supernatural TV world is flooded with the likes of Most Haunted (not knocking it, love M.H) so it couldn't be carried off as well as this was back in 92