Review: Ghost House

(imdb.com)

Shipping a horror movie to a foreign land can open up the door to a lot of criticism. After all, taking opportunity in the use of others culture, if done so improperly and without accurate depiction and research, is disrespectful and rarely accomplishes its goals. These movies, blinded by their own ambition to create something mystical and dark, fail to have the foresight to make something worthy of using another country as a setting. Following this trend is the inappropriate and worst of all disinteresting Ghost House.


Following a couple on vacation in Thailand, Ghost House has everything you'd expect from a travel abroad horror movie that attempts to capture some supernatural element of a foreign land. From strange rituals to unhelpful and odd locals, the couple gets more than they bargain for when the woman stumbles upon and is possessed by a ghoul. The film stars Scout Taylor-Compton (The Runaways) and James Landry Hebert (Westworld) as Julie and Jim, the couple central to the movie's plot. Mark Boone Junior (Batman Begins) plays Reno, some sort of helpful mystic, and Michael S. New (Crazy Medicine) plays the couples driver, Gogo.


Whether it’s the screechy broken English and lack of self-awareness exuded by every character outside of the main couple or the unfortunately sole instance suggesting that the couple may be neglectful of their views and disrespectful of the foreign land they've entered, Ghost House does little to improve on critically planned films like The Other Side of the Door or Out of the Dark. While it’s a similar film, the redeemable qualities of the aforementioned movies are all but missing from the terribly done, offensively exploitative plot of Ghost House. Its portrayal of Thai people is absolutely unforgiving and the film’s most egregious aspect, but not its only.


Ghost House isn't simply offensive in its setting - mystifying and otherizing Thai culture - it’s also gravely offensive in its cheap ploys and poorly timed scares. Ghost House lacks any of the charm that similarly bad movies have; the characters are unlikeable, the tension is nonexistent and worst of all, the film never gets scary. Each scene plays through with some brief instances where a scare would begin, only to become jolty and poorly done.


While you could pick out pieces from this jumbled mess, like some mediocre camera work, there truly isn't anything to look twice at. From the casual, overly awkward mention of a ghost house to some strangely inserted supporting characters, the film feels poorly put together; its stitching ripping apart from the get-go. Ghost House, like its flat, unenthused title, is exactly as plain as it sounds. Its harsh depiction of a foreign land, schlocky plot and lackluster scares all culminate into something best avoided.  3 out of 10.