Poster of Death of a Ghost Hunter

Death of a Ghost Hunter

Horror, Thriller

Director: Sean Tretta

Release Date: October 28, 2007

Where to Watch

I would not recommend Death of a Ghost Hunter, but it isn’t a bad movie, and it may succeed in sending some chills up your spine. Death of a Ghost Hunter has good narrative bones, three out of four likable characters, including two interesting women, great atmosphere and terrific pacing, but ultimately fails for four reasons. First, the acting is wooden, and though the actors are likable, you can feel them acting. Second, is it a recreation like Unsolved Mysteries or a found footage genre film? The opening credits state that Death of a Ghost Hunter is based on journal entries, and not everything that happens on screen is found footage or a journal entry, so how can the closing scene have the impact that the filmmakers intended: proof of life after death. Third, the narrative has a fatal flaw that occurs early in the film, and basically provides a cheap entry for all the shenanigans to come through. If cell phones exist, use them and/or provide a plausible reason why the characters are stupid enough to play along with such an implausible excuse for an unwanted guest. Fourth and finally,

SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

Some people will be offended by the depictions of the family who used to live in the house and Mary, the obviously crazy, racist girl being characterized as Christians without explicitly distinguishing them as cultists. Since crazy Christian cults exist in the real world, I’m willing to let it go. I can’t excuse the premise that a child whose teenage mother has been kept against her will, raped and forced to bear her rapist’s child in captivity and whose father is a captor will inevitably end up being a murderous nut job. Perhaps I am being humorless and taking things too seriously, but with stories like Jaycee Dugard, Amanda Berry, the German woman kept captive by her father and their beloved children, they have enough rough breaks in the world without a demon seed trope haunting them in the movie theaters. Children born from rape and who escape captivity don’t need more stigmas attached to them. Sure it can be argued that Mary was possessed, but that doesn’t explain why she came to the house. Ultimately Death of a Ghost Hunter left a bad taste in my mouth since real life horror happens too frequently for me to find it entertaining.

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