Before I watched this I saw The Haunting In Connecticut movie and also the made for TV documentary/recreation. They both left me a little underwhelmed and the movie version was a messy version of the real story and relied too much on fast cuts and loud sound effects to try to scare you. I reviewed the movie and gave it 6 stars because... I don't know, perhaps I smoking crack.
Death Of A Ghost Hunter is virtually zero budget and yet is a far superior movie. You may be wondering why I only gave it the same rating? Well as I'll explain in this review the movie both delighted and infuriated me.
It begins with the following text, "In 1982, Minister Joseph Masterton and his family were murdered inside their home. In 2002 renowned Ghost Hunter, Carter Simms, was offered $5,000 to perform a paranormal investigation of the Masterton house. Her investigation stands as the single most tragic paranormal inquiry in American history. It ended with her death." So based on a true story then about someone who actually died! Most haunted house movies based on reality have nobody dying so I was excited and as the movie progressed it really wasn't disappointing; this was a far more interesting story than the more famous real life haunting movies. It was creepy and engaging and I wanted to applaud the film makers for making such a surprising low budget gem.
Not that the movie isn't without flaws. When reviewing a no budget movie you have to make allowances to some degree for poor acting and special effects. I've read reviews complaining about both and I think that's rather unfair. Considering the budget they were acceptable at least. However, there were a couple of bad decisions and one epic bad decision that spoiled the movie quite a bit.
The scenes set in 1982 were done stylistically like an old sepia projector with lines and squiggles complete with really annoying loud projector noise. For a start the scenes weren't filmed within the context of the movie but also it was 1982 not 1920! Furthermore, throughout the movie they use backtracked voices from the other side for effect. In small doses this can be effective but they overdo it so it's a little annoying.
Neither of those things were enough to spoil the movie and I found the ending satisfying and the story of the Masterton family fascinating.
It ends with the following text, "Since the events in 2002, the Masterton house has been regarded as one of the top 10 most active hauntings in America. In 2003 holy men from several denominations were asked to bless the house. It is believed that their efforts were unsuccessful." I thought, despite it's flaws and lack of budget, this was a movie which deserved some exposure as it had interested me far more than the big budget 'The Haunting in Connecticut' and was, as far as I was concerned, a superior movie. I was prepared to give it at least 7 stars if not 8. The story had intrigued me so much I had to find out more about Carter Simms, the haunting, the Masterton family and the Masterton family home. I searched online but was severely disappointed to find no information about the case other than other people who'd seen the movie either asking around for information or rather annoyed claiming the movie wasn't based on a true story at all.
I felt cheated; there is no such case and the film makers lied to me. Sure they made a decent movie with no real budget but at the expense of playing a practical joke on the viewer. I feel it's completely out of order. It could be argued that the Blair Witch Project did the same thing but it was obvious that that wasn't really found footage and they didn't go into detail with text on the screen and narrated journal entries.
If I ever met the Director Sean Tretta I wouldn't know whether to shake his hand for making one of the better no budget movies I've seen or give him a slap. The cheeky monkey!
Death Of A Ghost Hunter is virtually zero budget and yet is a far superior movie. You may be wondering why I only gave it the same rating? Well as I'll explain in this review the movie both delighted and infuriated me.
It begins with the following text, "In 1982, Minister Joseph Masterton and his family were murdered inside their home. In 2002 renowned Ghost Hunter, Carter Simms, was offered $5,000 to perform a paranormal investigation of the Masterton house. Her investigation stands as the single most tragic paranormal inquiry in American history. It ended with her death." So based on a true story then about someone who actually died! Most haunted house movies based on reality have nobody dying so I was excited and as the movie progressed it really wasn't disappointing; this was a far more interesting story than the more famous real life haunting movies. It was creepy and engaging and I wanted to applaud the film makers for making such a surprising low budget gem.
Not that the movie isn't without flaws. When reviewing a no budget movie you have to make allowances to some degree for poor acting and special effects. I've read reviews complaining about both and I think that's rather unfair. Considering the budget they were acceptable at least. However, there were a couple of bad decisions and one epic bad decision that spoiled the movie quite a bit.
The scenes set in 1982 were done stylistically like an old sepia projector with lines and squiggles complete with really annoying loud projector noise. For a start the scenes weren't filmed within the context of the movie but also it was 1982 not 1920! Furthermore, throughout the movie they use backtracked voices from the other side for effect. In small doses this can be effective but they overdo it so it's a little annoying.
Neither of those things were enough to spoil the movie and I found the ending satisfying and the story of the Masterton family fascinating.
It ends with the following text, "Since the events in 2002, the Masterton house has been regarded as one of the top 10 most active hauntings in America. In 2003 holy men from several denominations were asked to bless the house. It is believed that their efforts were unsuccessful." I thought, despite it's flaws and lack of budget, this was a movie which deserved some exposure as it had interested me far more than the big budget 'The Haunting in Connecticut' and was, as far as I was concerned, a superior movie. I was prepared to give it at least 7 stars if not 8. The story had intrigued me so much I had to find out more about Carter Simms, the haunting, the Masterton family and the Masterton family home. I searched online but was severely disappointed to find no information about the case other than other people who'd seen the movie either asking around for information or rather annoyed claiming the movie wasn't based on a true story at all.
I felt cheated; there is no such case and the film makers lied to me. Sure they made a decent movie with no real budget but at the expense of playing a practical joke on the viewer. I feel it's completely out of order. It could be argued that the Blair Witch Project did the same thing but it was obvious that that wasn't really found footage and they didn't go into detail with text on the screen and narrated journal entries.
If I ever met the Director Sean Tretta I wouldn't know whether to shake his hand for making one of the better no budget movies I've seen or give him a slap. The cheeky monkey!