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REVIEW: ‘Ghost House’ is a Skillful, Moody Ghost Story

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ghost house movie review ihorror

A young American woman named Julie (Scout Taylor-Compton) is haunted by an angry spirit after she is tricked into desecrating an ancient Thai shrine known as a Ghost House in this thrilling movie of the same name.  Ghost Houses are located all around the Thai landscape and regarded as sacred. According to lore, they offer places for those who have passed to occupy themselves so they don’t bother the living.

Julie and her boyfriend Jim (James Landry Hebert) are on a special vacation in Thailand wherein he aims to ask for her hand. But things take a haunting turn after they meet two British lads with a more nefarious agenda.

Immediately after taking a small effigy wrapped in cloth from one of these niches, she becomes possessed by a vengeful, scorned crone who happens to hate young women because they remind her of her cheating husband.  Burned to death in an act of her own vengeance, the spirit is scarred and hideous as she makes frequent appearances at unexpected times.

Look for a creepy scene involving a digital camera and a photo scroll.

Early on, local spiritualists are able to expel the ghost from Julie’s body, but it’s not over. The specter is determined to repossess her and there are only three days in which to make sure that doesn’t happen because if it does, there is nothing anyone can do and Julie will cross over for good.

Ghost House is the Taken of the supernatural realm as Julie’s fiancé does everything he can to expel the curse with the help of a local taxi driver named Gogo (Michael S. New). During this time Julie slips in and out of the spiritual world while the ghost does the same.

Rich Ragsdale is at the helm of this very effective and moody horror movie. He’s got the goods as far as his cinematographer, Pierluigi Malavasi, who never wastes good lighting or storybook location scenery, and the score done by Ragsdale himself creates an atmosphere of melodic haunts.

With Ragsdale locking in those two elements with effective results, the rest is left to his cast which we all know can be hit-or-miss in these movies. Luckily for us, Ragsdale keeps them focused and convincing.

Taylor-Compton as Julie is non-perfunctory. She goes from confident and self-actualized to haggard, disoriented and genuinely terrified. It’s this dedication to the character that sells a big part of the movie.

James Landry Hebert as her fiancé Jim makes realistic choices to help Julie recover as they go from real life applications into the depths of incorporeal first aid.

This is also a travelogue of exotic Thailand and is filled with local characters who don’t turn off their accents or traditions to meet with the PC police of the west. This isn’t homogenized filmmaking; you get the location, you see the people who live there too.

Ghost House makes no attempts at redefining its Tartan Asia Extreme roots, but the soil in which it’s planted is rich with talent, a beautiful score, stunning cinematography and an engaging story. The result is an overall experience ripe with satisfying supernatural low-hanging fruit.

Ghost House is currently available to rent or buy on Amazon or iTunes and other streaming services.

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Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed

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Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.

This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.

The Burning

The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.

The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.

Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.

Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.

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‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram

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Longlegs

Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.

The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.

Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.

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Exclusive Sneak Peek: Eli Roth and Crypt TV’s VR Series ‘The Faceless Lady’ Episode Five

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Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Crypt TV are knocking it out of the park with their new VR show, The Faceless Lady. For those unaware, this is the first fully scripted VR horror show on the market.

Even for masters of horror like Eli Roth and Crypt TV, this is a monumental undertaking. However, if I trust anyone to change the way that we experience horror, it would be these two legends.

The Faceless Lady

Ripped from the pages of Irish folklore, The Faceless Lady tells the story of a tragic spirit cursed to wander the halls of her castle for all of eternity. However, when three young couples are invited to the castle for a series of games, their fates may soon change.

So far, the story has provided horror fans with a gripping game of life or death that doesn’t look as if it will slow down in episode five. Luckily, we have an exclusive clip that may be able to satiate your appetites until the new premiere.

Airing on 4/25 at 5pmPT/8pmET, episode five follows our final three contestants in this wicked game. As the stakes are raised ever higher, will Ella be able to fully awaken her connection with Lady Margaret?

The faceless lady

The newest episode can be found on Meta Quest TV. If you haven’t already, follow this link to subscribe to the series. Make sure to check out the new clip below.

Eli Roth Present’s THE FACELESS LADY S1E5 Clip: THE DUEL – YouTube

To view in the highest resolution, adjust the quality settings in the bottom right corner of the clip.

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