MovieChat Forums > GhostWatcher (2002) Discussion > A response to criticism...

A response to criticism...

posted 19 years ago by squire87
23 replies | jump to latest

OK, so here I am again even though everyone has been telling me not to bother anymore. Well, it's painfully apparent by now that my movie is universally hated by everyone on here and I guess that's OK. So the movie sucks. Big deal. I just wanted to respond to a few comments.

To Moviecritic14, yes I get on here because I like to see what people are saying about my film even if it's bad and don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing or you'd be a liar. You wouldn't be able to wait to see what people were saying. Spielberg doesn't have to do it because he's a genius and he's already "made it". If you're seriously asking that question then you really don't understand the difference.

As for the duke's comments, Duel may have been Spielberg's first film AND it was made for TV but it obviously had enough money thrown at it to actually hire a star (at the time) so how you can compare the films is a little beyond me. Come on, man, even YOU know that. I can take criticism if that's what it is. Personal comments are something else entirely and you'd better believe that ANYONE would get frustrated and I am no exception. If you made a film and you were attacked as much as I have been on here, you would take it personally too. If the duke had a website where he was showing something he created and I got on there and trashed it every chance I got, at first it would seem kinda funny but then it would become downright depressing.

So again I say that I have never purported to be a great director in the class of Spielberg and I never will be. I know that I'm not but I guess I'll continue to do it as long as I don't have to go back to my day job. Yes, I made a sequel and yes it will be out in October and yes I'm opening myself up again to hoards of negative reviews and no you will not like the new film any more than you did the first one but I did it anyway. You know why? Because I wanted to see if I had improved in the last 4 years and actually learned something about filmmaking. And, anyway, people always need something to hate.

[–] wyws1995 19 years ago

I thought the movie was strong, though it needed a bit more fine tuning to be a cult classic.

[–] ox1982 19 years ago

Don't give in, it's what we want. Instead make a better movie. Fill the apartment with things this time so no echos when they talk. Don't have stupid things like a kidnapped chick remembering where she was brought to by the way the car turned and bumps on the road, that was ridiculous. The thing where he could enter someones body if they have a little boo boo was kinda lame also.

[–] SCDeville 19 years ago

I'm an actor of a very small group in a very small city in a small country. Once we decided, with my mates, to make a play on our own, without our teachers and directors help, just for fun. At the beguinning it was going to be staged just for our friends, but later on we decided to promoted it for everyone. The play was bad and people was in general angry with it. "what the hell", we said, "we are beguinners, and we're learning" That was our excuse. Then this guy came up to me and said, "I'm fine with u learning to act, write, and direct a play, but I'm not interested in paying for watching u doing so"
I'll be the first Cross's movies watcher once he's learnt, but in the meantime, i'd really like my $2 back.

[–] squire87 19 years ago

That is probably the most insightful message on this board to date. I really mean that and I never thought about it in that way. Unfortunately I can't give you your two dollars back but maybe one day (if I continue to do this) I'll make something that will make you feel like you eventually got your money's worth. I hope I do because THAT would make me feel like I finally knew what I was doing. I have been going through a kind of funk lately (read on only if you're interested in this at all) because it IS true that it takes time and money to make a good film. At least the kinds of films I'm interested in making. Without the equipment and money that it takes to shoot something that even resembles a movie, (including hiring talent and a great crew) you end up compromising just about everything you set out to do in the first place. And instead of endearing people to you it just pisses them off. Anyone who pays their good hard-earned money for a piece of entertainment does not give a rats ass if the movie they are about to watch was made by a first timer or for no money. And they shouldn't. It's their money they're spending and I would feel the same way (and have on more than one occasion). The studio has already said that they are interested in a part 3 but that seems kind of ridiculous to me. I didn't get into this to disappoint people and if that's what is happening then it's time to stop. The new one is better in my opinion but what I think doesn't really matter. I didn't start this to please myself or a damn studio or to get rich from it, I genuinely want to make something that is worth seeing. I guess I'll have to wait until part 2 comes out and see if anyone thinks I improved. If so, I guess I'll go on. If not, well, at least I got to do it. Not many people can say that, I suppose. Anyway, thanks for the insight.

[–] LibraSuVirgo 19 years ago

Why would you even bother to come on here and post replies to these people? The ones who insult you, I mean?

I saw this movie during the winter months with a friend of mine--her boyfriend picked it up for us because she and I enjoy a good "horror genre" thriller. I wasn't really a big fan of the movie and neither was she, to be honest. But it was entertaining enough.

I'd give you my reasons for not being that impressed with it, but that is not why I'm posting to you.

I think that you've done something that most people wouldn't really have the patience, nor the guts to do, okay? As the good friend of a film maker, I can appreciate and understand the novice approach to something of this magnitude. Filmmaking is not an easy task, and I think to be a truly great director, yes, you should open yourself up to criticism, especially that of the "lay" people because we are the ones who watch movies for entertainment purposes. Siskle and whats-his-face's reviews do nothing for me and for most of the general population because they are seasoned (for lack of a better word) in screening films for the populace, and they tend to nit-pick and tear apart films for their "artistic value", forgetting that most regular people watch movies in order to escape or be entertained (as I have said). Professional critics (if you can call them that) ruin films. I love a good movie that revolves around symbolism and has a message, but I can be amused by watching something incredibily stupid as well. I know when I'm watching a dumb film, but sometimes I just want to watch something mindless.

Anyhow, I've gotten off point here. Ahem...as I was saying...if you come to these message boards looking for fresh and serious criticism, you may be coming to the wrong place. I know that there are people on the internet that are sincere and are truly interested in intelligent discussion, but most people on the internet come here and dole out mean and spiteful words because they don't have the guts to do it in real life. They like to hide behind their little electronic world--it's a good outlet for them to vent their frustrations.

So in the future, why don't you do yourself a favor and save yourself some aggravation by not feeling like you have to answer to every Tom, Dick, and Harry on here because you want to defend your film?

You can't please all the people all of the time--a lesson your heart will need to convict if you want to be a big, successful filmmaker.

You said it yourself--Spielberg doesn't come here because he's "made it". You should adopt that sentiment as your own and rescue your dignity.

So the film wasn't that great, okay. But never, ever, ever, ever agree to that in public! You're only learning...fine. You're entitled to get better with time. Take constructive criticism where you can get it and never put yourself down. You do not have to answer to anyone, and if you start taking a different tack now, you may wind up laughing your way to the bank and whatever these "little people" have to say won't matter anymore.

[–] LibraSuVirgo 19 years ago

Oh, and, PS...

About all those people who just felt they HAD to come on here and disgrace the movie--Remember what they say...all publicity is good! You were noticed. That should make you feel good enough, right?

I noticed there were a few people (I won't mention names) with a holier-than-thou attitude, and they reminded me of the token *beep* you see in movies who is only compensating for something else.

People who come on the internet just to put people down really shouldn't be taken so seriously. Only close minded people and those with low self-esteem want to make others feel inferior. You know that I speak the truth because people who do not have these issues do not need to make themselves feel better by going through all the trouble to be nasty to a stranger. It's okay to not like something and say so, but to say so in a hateful way isn't saying much about that person.

Now watch, if anyone responds to this, that only means I got their attention.

You should give yourself a pat on the back for touching a nerve with these people, good or bad. Again, never apologize! That only makes you a target for further criticism. Blow it all off. Say, "So what?" and let it go.

People know your name now.

[–] ox1982 19 years ago

I think by making us hate it so much, you created a cult folllowing, because I wanna see how bad the new one is. Which means I will be renting it to feed my curiousity. Which sounds kinda stupid on my part, but I will tell you why. I thought almost every movie from Troma was really bad, but funny because it was so bad. If you know your making a cheese horror movie, why not roll with the fact its cheese and promote it as such? I make fun of your movie, but does my opinion hurt you? really be honest, who cares that I thought your movie was balls. Go make your third movie man... my job sucks, if someone told me my job sucked, I wouldn't quit my job... it's my job.. follow me?

[–] Phaedrus1965 19 years ago

Hi Dave, I'm translating the audio commentary on your movie for the Brazilian edition DVD. That's right, your movie will be out on DVD in Brazil. AND it will have an audio commentary track. And that audio commentary track will have subtitles (provided by yours truly). And some people in Brazil may even be curious enough to listen to what you and Jillian and Bob and Jason had to say about the movie (I don't count, cuz I'm getting paid to listen - tee-hee...).
Anyway, I'll give you a brutally honest opinion about your movie. I had to watch it before tackling the audio commentary translation, so I sat down and thought, "Ho-hum, I won't really watch this. I'll just listen to the dialogue and play FreeCell on the computer." To my surprise, the movie was distracting enough to prevent me from just playing while I listened. I found my eyes drawn to the video monitor more and more often, paying attention to it, and this was not only because Jennifer Servary is one of the most gorgeous girls I've ever seen, but because of the movie itself.
Please do not be offended by this. Believe it or not, it's a compliment. My final opinion about the movie was, the production value sucked, but you got a solid screenplay and also your movie grammar down pat. What I mean is, even if it's clearly a spit-and-shoelace effort, the movie looks like a real movie from beginning to end. It doesn't have plot holes big enough to swallow a truck and the scenes flow nicely one into another. It doesn't look like an amateur movie, it looks like a professional movie made out of the contents of a few piggy banks. And the soundtrack is very good. Oh, and I'm laughing hard with some of the commentary, it's very entertaining.
I've recently watched "9 Songs" by Michael Winterbottom because I was curious about the explicit content and I found out it's a terribly boring movie. Not boring-because-it's-art-and-we-don't-understand, just plain booooring. And looks like the guy is a genius. Go check his message board, you'll probably find plenty of hate messages there. So being hated on IMDb shouldn't be grounds for giving up a movie career.
One final note of HARSH criticism: how dare you kill off Jen Servary? Now you can't have her on Ghostwatcher 2! Are you stupid? That girl looks like a million dollars! You just threw away a million bucks' worth of production value! Otherwise, keep doing the Lord's work and good luck.

[–] TheScraggler 19 years ago

I found your message really disturbing considering the studio told me no foreign deals had been made yet...hmmmm...I guess I'll have to check into that. Anyway, Jen may be dead but that didn't stop Lion's Gate from using her on the DVD box art for GhostWatcher 2 (which is really kind of retarded considering she's not even in the film). Oh, and by the way, FreeCell is the greatest game ever invented.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] ash24m 18 years ago

Hey I thought your film was great along with the sequel. Keep your chin up and keep up the good work. Don't listen to these Idiots. It sounds like your starting to believe them.

[–] everythings_ruined 18 years ago

Hmmm, I live in UK and had this film as a free rental as I work in Blockbusters, so I get to see alot of horror films, and alot of low budget ones at that, and I thought this one was quite entertaining, it had alot of bits that made me jump and I thought it was well made for a low budget film, although it did drag toward the end and some of the plot was questionable, but other than that I thought it was above average.

Plus, I liked the Nu-metal soundtrack \m/

[–] rokanni 18 years ago

I studied media in college, and I would just like people to know how much effort goes into making even short films!With only middle of the range equipment to use and no big budget, it's even harder to make a professional looking film. And you can forget paid actors!
Though I could see that this film was low budget and the actors were probably untrained (though you could see that they were putting in effort), I don't think that means the director is untalented. Like I said, it's much more difficult and complicated than people think! It takes so much effort to pull off a film like this with limited time, budget and equipment, and it must feel awful when people just throw out blunt criticisms like those idiots have. It is hard to see potential when the picture quality is grainy and the acting is perhaps a little amateur, but there definitely was some potential in the film.
A big budget makes a huge difference to the quality and success of a movie, and I think that this was at least a good first attempt.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] legnadibrom 18 years ago

i read some of these insults on the message board and i think it just shows how unnecessarily aggressive people can be, i think it's a great effort, reminds me of this other micro-budget movie i saw a few years ago called "rachel's attic" which did the same thing your movie does in that the talent behind the script and direction transcended the production value,
i can see you moving on to much higher budgeted fare,
i enjoyed the movie, thanks

http://www.coprophagor.com/flatmar.htm

[–] jedikim69 18 years ago

I just wanted to add a note, I was at BlockBuster the other night, looking for a few horror rentals that I hadn't seen. I was in the mood for something without a huge budget, something I had never heard of, something to bring back the feeling of why I love horror films in the first place. I picked up "Ghost Watcher", along with a Karen Black film. I just watched "Ghost Watcher" this evening, and it was actually entertaining. I am a huge fan of horror films that don't rely on CGI to make their film scary, which is why I also enjoy much of the Japanese horror coming out these days. I commend you for doing what you could with what little money you may have had. There were some scenes that could have been a bit more elaborate, but overall I walked away feeling fulfilled. Thanks and keep on working.