Ghosts of Darkness (2017)

The Age of Commercialism

Please don't spend money on this.

The acting in this movie is really good.

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

I wasnt expecting much from this but it was surprisingly good for a low budget movie.Firstly it isnt a horror its a horror comedy.I have always loved Ardgour house where it was filmed and my favourite Scottish Ghost Story movie LORD OF TEARS was also filmed there - If you havent seen it then do so; its a uniquely Scottish chilling ghost story harkening back to the days of Agatha Christie and reminiscent of a James Herbert novel like Ghosts Of Sleath. I dunno whether it was because this film was also filmed at the same location but it also had that old style feel to it which added to my enjoyment.I thought the two main characters performed well although Paul Flannery stole the show for me , his acting was excellent and he was one of those guys who are naturally funny and looked more like Johnny Depp than Johnny Depp does himself these days.This was quite an interesting film with gore akin to higher budget movies; a cross between the Evil Dead and House On Haunted Hill with laughs.Very different and quite funny - It wont split your sides with laughter and it wont scare the pants off you but it will make you smile and the Scottish setting was as always very impressive - The location itself is always up for rental so if you fancy a spooky Scottish getaway I can highly recommend Ardgour house - take this along with you and watch it in the house as we did with both movies and you might just meet the real ghosts!

That being said, I did not find it entirely unlikable. The premise was interesting at first but once some things were revealed, it didn't really go anywhere with the info or finish the story along those lines. I wanted them to go more in-depth with the reveal. Instead, it just became a silly try-to-scare-ya movie, which fell flat.While Michael Koltes performance as Jack the paranormal investigator was lackluster and stoic, Paul Flannery as Jonathan the psychic steals every scene he's in with his Cumberbatch acting (reminiscent of Dr. Strange)/Sirius Black look. I finished watching it just for his performance alone, wanting to see what he would do next. It definitely kept me from falling asleep. If your a Cumberbitch, you'll enjoy his performance because his delivery is VERY similar. Its the main reason I rated it as high as I did.

The film opens with the girl being dragged across the floor and not the closing shot. Afterwards Sarah (Morgan Faith Keith) shows her father Mike Johnson (Cameron Mowat) what she thinks of her cereal breakfast. It appears the Richmond Manor has some possession issues. Two polar opposite ghost hunters are called in to give the house a clean bill of health. Jonathan Blazer (Paul Flannery) is old school psychic equipped with candles, salt, and a Ouija board. Jack Donavan (Michael Koltes) is new school with electronic gadgets. He is also a skeptic and believes Blazer to be a phony and doesn't mind saying so. The two are tasked to spend three days in the house, come out and say "nothing happened." Except something does happen.The film starts out with music and events that make you think it is supposed to be a comedy-horror. There are later events to indicate this too, however when the film attempts to take itself seriously, it fails. Perhaps the worst scene in the film was when Jack laments about his dead wife to Blazer. We have already seen what happened in a flashback. Jack speaks very slowly taking Shatneresque dramatic pauses that dragged along giving us information we already know. Just run the clip again! There were scenes that reminded me of "House" (1985) but they didn't pan out as well. Better than most horror films out there with some originality. Paul Flannery gives a good performance with unkempt hair reminding me of a little of Gary Oldman as Sirius Black.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Just watched a great possessed house movie "Ghosts of Darkness", where two men are hired to stay in the house for three nights, and prove it is safe even though many many people have died in it over a long period of time, and nobody has lasted more than three nights. IMO, this is one of best such movies I've seen for a while. The makeup and special effects are awesome, and it is filled with some great jump scares. Really good script, outstanding performances, and about all you would want. I highly recommend this dandy.