A team of professional ghost finders are trapped in an old village hall. The haunting they set out to investigate turns out to be far worse than they anticipated. Who will survive and what will be left of their souls?
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I don't normally go for most of the films like this that have been coming out recently (and there have been a TON of them) but once in a while I do find one entertaining. I think what appealed to me about this movie were the consistent 'rules' of Good vs. Evil that held it's story together for most of the time. I'm a real sucker for strong religious 'Mythologies' such as the Classic Cross, Holy Water, etc. Anything from the Classic Hammer Horror films to more recent movies that are based upon a ritualistic 'formula', or the 'belief' you have to have in order to carry out what they want to do, such as 'THE SKELETON KEY' or even the entertaining 'FRIGHT NIGHT' {the original film}Another thing that I thought was kind of interesting was this 'Institute' that clearly was an established center for studies into these kinds of Phenomena. I liked how this Institute came across as some distant Entity that was watching and perhaps knew more about why they were there than they did. It just gave a tad more menace and mystery to the atmosphere.For this kind of EXTREMELY limited film, a LOT really rides on the way it is done, the way it is acted, and how well it is written. I thought they held it together pretty well right up until just about the 55 minute mark where, to me anyway, the story took a bit of a dive in believability. Primarily concerning how a couple of the characters suddenly reacted to the circumstances. A bit of a shame, really, because I can truly say that it genuinely had me right up to that moment.Prior to that point in the film, I felt that the suspense and quality of the acting were fairly decent. I won't give anything away, but I really liked some of the simple tactics that the 'Hall' employed to keep the people off balance. I read in some other reviews on other sites that the lead guy came across as too arrogant. But, I thought he had just the right tone of confidence. VERY similar I thought to the way that Jeffrey Combs comes across in roles like this. And, I REALLY like him. Heh... he even kind of looked like him a little. No, I thought he just came across as a guy who really felt like he knew his stuff in doing this kind of work, that's all. But, in the hands of another actor, I can see where just a little too much that way and he would have come across as really stupid.If you are like me (and, God help you if you are...) and you like a simple 'Good vs. Evil' story told in a Classic kind of way with the Classic Mythologies firmly in place, you might enjoy this movie somewhat. BUT... like I mentioned, and thus the reason why I only gave it a rating of '6', I honestly feel that the last 20 minutes or so REALLY harms the effectiveness and the suspension of disbelief that the film makers had worked very hard to develop up to that point. And, that is something that is ESSENTIAL for a film like this. But, up to that moment, I genuinely enjoyed the Mystery of it all, the clever things that the 'Hall' did, and the somewhat intriguing Institute with it's ambiguous motives as to why they were really there...
A professional ghost hunting team set up shop in this hall and discover an entity unlike any other. It's not going to let them leave.This wasn't too bad. The Judas Ghost is a play on The Judas goat that is used to lead sheep or cattle to slaughter. Instead of having ghosts bang things around and lights go on and off they have a black darkness surround the entire building from which there is no escape. Doors appear and then disappear. There is even a ghost spokesperson they pull through the window which was a pretty cool effect.The film is pretty well shot in one room save for some flashbacks so it does have that stage play kind of feel. Hopefully your not film claustrophobic because for some time they are trapped in a little protective circle while they battle the spirit. I did laugh near the beginning when they were getting ready to confront the ghost the one guy tells the psychic "get your psychic shields up". I was waiting for her to say "Right away Captain" but she does better and says "Psychic shields up. Ready to go".Not as bad as a lot of them out there.
"We take no s**t off the hereafter." With dialogue like that, it's easy to detect a certain casual arrogance from the team of ghost hunters on display here. And it is in plentiful supply; Martin Delaney plays designer-stubbled, unblinking host Jerry Mackay (a clever Jeremy Kyle name-check?), and Lucy Cudden is Anna Gilmour, the pouting, tight-mini-skirt wearing telekinetic, none of whom are short of posturing self-assurance.There is the technology geek (Alexander Perkins), who operates the equipment for the subsequent broadcast, and the strong and silent engineer (Simon Merrells) who isn't asked to contribute much until the finale. Grahame Fox plays the manifestation of the Judas Ghost in probably the film's best performance.Mackay's insistence on meeting with the ghost ("I want to talk to it,") comes across not as a brave stance, or even reckless determination, more testosterone-fuelled petulance. That's the problem really. The characters start off as cyphers and don't progress. Their CGI-influenced jeopardy doesn't help them become sympathetic and despite competent performances and apocalyptic dialogue, no threat is particularly tangible and chills are notably absent.One development is that Mackay is seen to blink several times after the climactic moments, which suggest he has been moved beyond 'smouldering' by the fairly lame supernatural experience.
What a WONDERFUL surprise this was! It's been a LONG time since I've watched a movie of this genre that I've enjoyed this much - the last being Oculus. There was nothing ground-breaking about the story, but how it was told is what won me over, plus the cast not only acted well, but they were all LIKE-ABLE - something sorely missing in the majority of movies like this.I read another review complaining about the special effects - that they were obviously someone in makeup - and was reminiscent of a stage play. I agree with the stage play comparison, but this is part of what I enjoyed - instead of the use of CGI, everything was practical, as it should be! I compare this to old television shows, specifically The Outer Limits and Star Trek. The effects were not what was important - it was the stories and characters that were the focus and allowed me to be immersed.Kudos to the director, cast, and all others involved in the making of this film. I watched it for free on Amazon Prime, but am now purchasing it, for they deserve it and will hopefully be an incentive to make more movies like this.