Review for Ghosts Don't Exist

(Originally posted on fight-evil.com)

*This is my first-time viewing of the film*

This surprised me. I've not heard of this film before I watched it - it's one of those post-2005 horror films that slipped through my fingers. Which makes sense, really - supernatural movies, especially ghost films, have never been my favorite. But Ghosts Don't Exist was a pretty decent, if not generic, movie.

Acting was okay all around - nothing too special. I did rather enjoy Josh Davidson's character (a rather arrogant skeptic), and the lead, an emotionally-unstable ghost hunter, was also well-played by Phillip Roebuck. The story, like I alluded to earlier, isn't overly original: it comes across as a ghost story, but some elements certainly make us question if everything is as it seems. About three-fourths into the film, actually, a plot twist rears it's head, and I have to admit, I rather liked it. It was reminiscent of a 2004 Japanese film I rather enjoy, truth be told.

I liked the movie before the twist came about, but afterwards, it just got better. Problematically, though, the movie runs for an hour and 40 minutes, which, while was mostly okay, still seemed a bit lengthy. Ten to fifteen minutes could have been cut out, and we'd probably still be fine. Regardless, while generic in some ways, the last ten-ish minutes were rather atypical - I certainly didn't see it coming, especially from a modern horror film. Ghosts Don't Exist isn't amazing, but it did surprise me, and I liked it well enough. 7.5/10.