Pay the Ghost (2015)

A professor frantically searches for his son who was abducted during a Halloween carnival.

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers:

Tim Lebbon (novel), Dan Kay (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Veronica Ferres

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Mike Lawford
Sarah Wayne Callies	...	Kristen
Veronica Ferres	...	Hannah
Lyriq Bent	...	Jordan
Lauren Beatty	...	Annie Sawquin
Kalie Hunter	...	Ghost Annie
Jack Fulton	...	Charlie
Stephen McHattie	...	Blind Man
Susannah Hoffmann	...	Jane
Juan Carlos Velis	...	Cop
Mark Irvingsen	...	Angry Villager #1
Liam Buckle	...	Eldest Child
Sofia Wells	...	Middle Child
Aidan Wojtak-Hissong	...	Youngest Child
Caroline Gillis	...	Priestess

Storyline

One year after Mike Lawford's young son disappeared during a Halloween carnival, he is haunted by ghostly images and terrifying messages he can't explain. Together with his estranged wife, he will stop at nothing to unravel the mystery and find their son-and, in doing so, he unearths the legend of the crying woman who refuses to remain buried in the past.

---

Plot Keywords:

father son relationship | mother son relationship | husband wife relationship | cop | bus | 

---

Taglines:

He'll stop at nothing to save his son.

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sarah plays Dr. Sara Tancredi in Prison Break (2005). She is the love interest of Michael Scofield. For this film, she plays wife of another character named Michael (Cage).

---

Goofs

Hannah and the Psychic Medium are violently killed by the ghost, but why? Is it because they were helping Mike look for his son? If this is the case then all she needed to do was kill Mike and his wife, problem solved.

---

Quotes

Mike Lawford: [after seeing a wall with Pay the Ghost written all over it] What does it mean?
Blind Man: Just what it says I guess.

---

Crazy Credits

In a mid-credits scene Hannah's corpse is being picked at by ravens. A close up shot of her face ends with her eyelids opening up to reveal black eyes.

---

Soundtracks

Bar Top Dancer
Written by Brian Jackson Harris
Performed by Electroillusion
Published by Psychedelic Records Publishing

User Reviews

Entertaining Not Groundbreaking

After about five minutes into the movie I thought, "Oh no, not another child that sees ghosts." Then, as though the writers heard my plea, the movie changed directions. Now, to be fair, it didn't go into unchartered territory. In fact, the movie revisited a well established premise.

Professor Mike Lawford (Nicholas Cage) loses his child at a Halloween fair right under his nose. This leads to a split between he and his wife, Kristen (Sarah Wayne Callies), as she blames him for their son's abduction. Shortly before Charlie's (Jack Fulton) abduction he had strange visions and even heard something tell him to "Pay the Ghost". All of that plays a major role in Mike's subsequent search for his son as it takes him to stranger and stranger locations.

I would call the movie eerie and ominous even but not quite scary. There is a particular frustration when a terrible thing happens to you in a desolate location because no one is around to help you. There is another, more intensified frustration when a terrible thing happens to you in New York City and there are literally thousands of people around you. That's precisely what Mike was dealing with. "Pay the Ghost" was entertaining and it held my interest but nothing groundbreaking.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Chinese Scottish Gaelic

Release Date:

25 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pay the Ghost

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,914,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Midnight Kitchen Productions, PTG Nevada, Voltage Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1