Ghosthunter

I came across this film after buying the book, "How to make great short feature films", and watching it on the accompanying DVD. I must admit that I was a little sceptical at first as the title to the book is rather subjective - but I was BLOWN AWAY! From what I understand this is their first foray into filmmaking, gulp!

A film like this should have cost five times its budget so it made me a little curious about the production company behind the film. A visit to their website confirmed what I suspected - an up and coming company that knows what it wants to do and appears to be going about the business of getting there effeciently and confidently. They already have a selection of feature films on their slate and if their short is anything to go by...

What I'd like to know is, will there be a follow up to their short film book called, "How to make your first great feature"?

This beautifully made, unusual, short film really pushes the boundaries of short filmmaking. Ghosthunter is an atmospheric ghost story that has a genuinely surprising and moving ending. Two lonely figures - Charlie (Frank Finlay) the Ghosthunter and Sarah (Alison Reddihough), the researcher - are brought together by ghostly disturbances in an English village. Together they unravel the mystery behind a haunted abandoned church. The acting is excellent and the production values are as good as a major feature film. The direction by Simon Corris is sensitive and confident and the music, by Barrington Pheloung compliments the increasing sense of menace. Highly recommended!!

With a cast boasting such stalwarts as Frank Finlay and shot under the watchful eye of Freddie Francis, Ghosthunter is not only graced with class acting and a strong visual style but also benefits from a memorable and considered soundtrack.

Given the constraints of the short film genre, notoriously underfunded, under-resourced and shot to cruelly tight deadlines, Ghosthunter sets a style and pace others would do well to learn from.

As a first film, Simon Corris has chosen the subject matter well, the traditional Gothic Ghost Story (always popular) with a contemporary twist. The direction is assured and tight, lingering when appropriate, not because he likes the shot!

But what is equally impressive is the list of actors, technicians and support he, along with producer Alison Reddihough (also credited as screenwriter), have been able to bring on board to the project.

If there are any criticisms it would be to do with the length, I fond myself wanting to know much more of the overall story, but then again, this bodes well for a sequel, or should that be prequel?

I saw this movie on the DVD that came with the creators' book "How to Make a Great Short Film: The Making of Ghosthunter." After seeing this short film, that title seems very audacious. Yes, the production values were incredible (looking almost as good as any Hollywood movie), but the story was very weak. That's what most filmmakers (independent or otherwise) seem to have forgotten about film... that it is first and foremost a storytelling format. It is not meant to be a display of technical marvel. A great script, even if it had been shot with an old VHS camcorder, would have been better than this