Hey gang, Valkor here. When I’m about to settle in with a new
film, whether it’s mainstream or indie, I go on with a certain
level of expectation; too high and I run the risk of being disappointed
and too low… well that can go either way - up or down, good or
bad. This relates to the next film on the TOV chopping block -
Ghostline, because I went in with the lowest of low expectations
(like ridiculously low). But I walked away frightfully satisfied
(if I can get away with saying that). Spoilers ahead so be wary.
Ghostline centers on couple Tyler (Zack Gold) and Chelsea (Rachel Alig – Bikini Spring Break), who have just purchased a new home. Their mobile phones don't work so well, so they wind up getting a landline. No sooner is the phone connected do they start getting weird calls from a woman named Ellen who thinks Tyler is some guy named Eric. And there are no words otherwise that will make this woman believe Tyler isn't Eric. She calls back constantly to the point that the couple has to change the number. But that still doesn't work. So they enlist the help of local detective Nick Tanner (Burt Culver) to help them track down this Ellen or maybe the person who originally owned the number. However, not even his assist can stop the calls from coming. Soon other weird events start happening around the home to the point that it is believed that they are dealing with the supernatural. So the couple enlists the aid of some local ghost hunters; the first set encounters the ghost of Ellen and are frightened out of their minds. And the second... Wound up dead. It is now up to the couple to decipher exactly what the ghost wants or else they’ll spend the rest of their days living in a house from hell… if they can survive that long.
So I know that this is just a movie and all that, but I find it perplexing when couples or groups of people insist on staying inside an obvious haunted house. Like there is no amount of money one could pay me to stay. I'd burn the house to the ground just to collect on the insurance, fuck that ghost. Yep… getting way off track here…
The Good:
I've gone through my share of horrors and it does take a lot to give me the chills nowadays. And while Ghostline doesn't offer that many frights, there are just enough scares to make the experience of watching this film worthwhile. The storyline is one of the best from the recent batch of horror I’ve sat through (not including the shorts) because it's something we've all gone through, right? Who hasn't gotten that mysterious call in the middle of the night that makes you wonder who the hell could be calling at such an hour? It's unsettling, it's unnerving and that's what Ghostline brings to the table. Again the scares aren’t abundant, but the pacing plus the mood is just right so that when the scares do kick in, you feel genuinely frightened. The acting is just OK; however Burt Culver who plays Nick Tanner deserves some accolades as he pretty much makes the film, though he doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time. And still the dude is pretty damn cool. Overall, I was pleased with Ghostline. It’s a solid story with a decent amount of scares that makes checking out this film worthwhile.
The Bad:
First up is the very, very beginning, which starts 8 years prior to the main events. I get the reason for the setup, but I feel it’s unnecessary. Here’s why: The opening kicks off with a man burying a body, and a spirit-something rising from the grave and entering the phone lines. So am I to believe that for 8 years there was a ghost roaming around in the telephone wires? Come on! Finally the film needed more Ellen… just a bit more. There was a bit too much of the phone calls in the beginning and not enough of ghostly Ellen doing stuff.
The Ugly:
Ghostly Ellen popping on top of Tyler while he sleeps - talk about a rude awakening.
Ghostline is available now on digital video on demand and it'll get a wider DVD release on Oct. 27th. And with Halloween just around the corner, you’d be doing yourself a favor in picking this one up either to add to your Halloween film rotation or any night you’re looking for a fright. And out of TOV 5 stars, I give Ghostline a 4.
