Rent Incident in a Ghostland (2018)

Beautifully shot but brutal - mild spoilers follow. - Incident in a Ghostland review by NP

Pascal Laugier directed the hugely unsettling ‘Martyrs’ (2008) which really pushed the definitions of 'entertainment'. Certainly, it was one of the most distressing films I have ever seen. Happily - if that's the right word - 'Incident in a Ghostland' doesn't approach that level of brutal horror, but it's no walk in the park.

Siblings Beth and Vera (Emilia Jones and Taylor Hickson) are adults suffering from the effects of childhood trauma. Both have been damaged, both have been damaged by events that continue to haunt them. Punishing then, that their abuse doesn't end in the past and we're treated to a jaw-dropping twist in the narrative.

The appearance of the character Howard, otherwise known as HP Lovecraft to his friends, lends the story a certain cold comfort, but ultimately 'Incident in a Ghostland' is harrowing viewing. Is it enjoyable to watch? Well, it's extremely well produced, directed and acted, but you'll be watching segments of it between your fingers. My score is 8 out of 10.

Nice concept, overblown execution - Incident in a Ghostland review by LC

There is one nice narrative twist midway through the film, which I won't spoil, but other than that this film falls short. The villains are such over-the-top comicbook grotesques that it's impossible to take them seriosuly (especially as zero backstory is given for them). The film also relies heavily on the technique of jumpscares - every few minutes something flashes on screen accompanied by a blast of sound - which gets tiresome after a while. There is an interesting idea at the heart of this film, but the decision to ramp the melodrama up to 10 ends up backfiring - instead of getting drawn into the story and characters, all I could see were the filmmaker's desperate attemtps to try to scare/shock the audience.