‘Ghost Game’ Review – A Spirited Misfire

Ghost Game is an interesting, clearly modestly budgeted take on found footage that cares more about concept than characters. From the first scene, the film’s breakneck pacing makes very clear a goal disconnected from any sort of longevity; this is a beat-to-beat bulldoze that’s dedicated to replicating a genre long dead. If it were to pan out just half as bad as it sounded, we’d be in trouble… though what we ended up with may be even worse.

The film opens on a setup sequence wherein a couple, coated in black and plainly masked, are caught in a resident’s home and nearly overpowered. This feeds into the synopsis, which throws a hint about “a family descending into madness”, as well as our main couple taking part in an internet challenge to live in a stranger’s home without their notice. Thus, that aforementioned concept that the entire thing runs on. Unfortunately, the film’s restrictions become clear quite quickly. It’s difficult to hold that kind of thing against a project, especially when it handles (or hides) it well, but Ghost Game is unfortunately the opposite.

The lighting is flat and overbearing, as are the performances. The two leads we’re given early on (accompanied shortly by a random third man who exists solely to drive unearned conflict) receive scattered scenes of background leading up to the main plot. They’re seen arguing, making up, and arguing again. Again, the lack of layering in this regard makes the whole thing feel awfully rushed. Despite them being on-screen, we hardly spend any time with these characters. The film doesn’t go to any special length to prove their humanity, and their mere existence does the film no favor.

What does work here, to some degree, is the found footage element. The genre is tired, but after being “long dead” for some time now, seeing someone take a fresh stab at it is mildly refreshing. It takes you back to the Paranormal Activity craze days when the webcam shots, propped conveniently on a wall or perched in a bedroom’s utmost corner, set the scene for something totally unpredictable and totally hysterical in equal parts. This is a film that also benefits from the cheese factor derived from the genre in which it operates. Dialogue, even given the performances, is explosively goofy… and it works sometimes?

Sure, you’re gonna grunt and groan in reaction to a good chunk of the expository spillage in these conversations. The film’s story doesn’t demand a longer runtime, but the underwhelming 86 minutes that we end up still makes you feel like you missed a lot of the more natural aspects of human interaction. Yet, on the flip side of the mask, it’s the same aspect that keeps you entertained. There’s a certain old-school charm to being able to laugh at a moment whilst simultaneously understanding the importance it holds within a story, and Ghost Game does indeed succeed here.

But as the film ambles on and the occasional laugh surely seeps in, there just isn’t enough positive momentum in any department to carry it over the finish line. The plot spins out of control rather quickly, devolving from a dangerously simple concept into something much more maligned; it’s an out-of-touch attempt at pop culture trends. An attempt to revive a genre on new grounds that, unbeknownst to those involved, fell through a long time ago, too. Ghost Game could work for you if you’re looking for pure popcorn entertainment; more so, perhaps, for the wrong reasons. It’s just a listless effort by almost all measures, and aside from that one purpose, it serves little to nothing else. A spirited miss, to say the least.

Ghost Game is currently playing in select theaters and is available on Digital platforms courtesy of DREAD. The film will be released on Blu-Ray on December 10, 2024.