Ghost Stories (2017 film): Difference between revisions
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Goodman returns to the 1970s investigator, who tears a [[latex]] mask off of his face, revealing himself to be Priddle. Goodman at first believes that he is the victim of an elaborate hoax, but reality soon breaks down altogether. Priddle leads Goodman back in time to the scene of a childhood incident in which he watched two bullies entice a mentally handicapped boy into a drain, where he died of an [[Asthma#Signs and symptoms|asthma attack]]. Goodman has felt guilty all his life about his failure to rescue the victim. The decaying corpse of the bullied boy appears, tormenting Goodman and leading him to a hospital bed, where he is made to lie down. The ghoul lies on top of him and forces his finger into Goodman's mouth as Goodman cries "no, not again", implying this is a recurring event. |
Goodman returns to the 1970s investigator, who tears a [[latex]] mask off of his face, revealing himself to be Priddle. Goodman at first believes that he is the victim of an elaborate hoax, but reality soon breaks down altogether. Priddle leads Goodman back in time to the scene of a childhood incident in which he watched two bullies entice a mentally handicapped boy into a drain, where he died of an [[Asthma#Signs and symptoms|asthma attack]]. Goodman has felt guilty all his life about his failure to rescue the victim. The decaying corpse of the bullied boy appears, tormenting Goodman and leading him to a hospital bed, where he is made to lie down. The ghoul lies on top of him and forces his finger into Goodman's mouth as Goodman cries "no, not again", implying this is a recurring event. |
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In the real world, Goodman is [[Coma|comatose]] in hospital with tubes in his mouth. He suffers from locked-in syndrome after a failed suicide attempt in his car. All the characters and events Goodman has experienced were inspired by the staff and objects in his hospital room. The doctors incorrectly believe that his [[persistent vegetative state]] allows him no awareness of his surroundings. The senior doctor predicts that Goodman is "here for |
In the real world, Goodman is [[Coma|comatose]] in hospital with tubes in his mouth. He suffers from locked-in syndrome after a failed suicide attempt in his car. All the characters and events Goodman has experienced were inspired by the staff and objects in his hospital room. The doctors incorrectly believe that his [[persistent vegetative state]] allows him no awareness of his surroundings. The senior doctor predicts that Goodman is "here for keeps", without chance of recovery, and as he leaves the room says to his junior colleague, "I hope his dreams are sweet". |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 13:33, 21 August 2018
| Ghost Stories | |
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.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ole Bratt Birkeland |
| Edited by | Billy Sneddon |
| Music by | Haim Frank Ilfman |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.7 million[2] |
Ghost Stories is a 2017 British horror film written and directed by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson, adapted from their stage play.[3] It stars Nyman reprising his role from the play, with Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther and Martin Freeman in supporting roles.[4] The film premiered at the London Film Festival on 5 October 2017 and was released in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2018 by Lionsgate.
Plot
In 1979, Phillip Goodman's strict Jewish father threw his sister out of the family for dating a South Asian man. As an adult, Goodman is lonely and single; he is also a well-known professor and television presenter whose show is devoted to debunking fraudulent psychics, which he regards as his life's work in order to stop people's lives being ruined by superstition the way his family's were. He receives an invitation to visit a famed 1970s paranormal investigator, Charles Cameron, who inspired him as a boy, but who has been missing for decades and is now living in a caravan, sick and impoverished. The old man asks him to investigate three incidents of supposedly real supernatural ghost sightings.
The first case is a night watchman, Tony Matthews, whose wife has died of cancer and who feels guilty that he stopped visiting his daughter, who suffers from locked-in syndrome. He was haunted by the spirit of a young girl while working in a disused asylum for women. The second is a teenager, Simon Rifkind, who is obsessed with the occult and has a poor relationship with his parents. His car breaks down after running over the Devil in the woods. Goodman, although unsettled by the second case, believes that each of them has an obvious rational explanation: the supposed victims imagined them, based on their own neuroses. The third case is a financier in the City, Mike Priddle, who was plagued by a poltergeist while awaiting the birth of his child. His wife's ghost appeared to him as she died giving birth to an (it is implied) inhuman child. The financier commits suicide with a shotgun while talking to Goodman.
Goodman returns to the 1970s investigator, who tears a latex mask off of his face, revealing himself to be Priddle. Goodman at first believes that he is the victim of an elaborate hoax, but reality soon breaks down altogether. Priddle leads Goodman back in time to the scene of a childhood incident in which he watched two bullies entice a mentally handicapped boy into a drain, where he died of an asthma attack. Goodman has felt guilty all his life about his failure to rescue the victim. The decaying corpse of the bullied boy appears, tormenting Goodman and leading him to a hospital bed, where he is made to lie down. The ghoul lies on top of him and forces his finger into Goodman's mouth as Goodman cries "no, not again", implying this is a recurring event.
In the real world, Goodman is comatose in hospital with tubes in his mouth. He suffers from locked-in syndrome after a failed suicide attempt in his car. All the characters and events Goodman has experienced were inspired by the staff and objects in his hospital room. The doctors incorrectly believe that his persistent vegetative state allows him no awareness of his surroundings. The senior doctor predicts that Goodman is "here for keeps", without chance of recovery, and as he leaves the room says to his junior colleague, "I hope his dreams are sweet".
Cast
- Andy Nyman as Professor Phillip Goodman
- Martin Freeman as Mike Priddle
- Alex Lawther as Simon Rifkind
- Paul Whitehouse as Tony Matthews
- Nicholas Burns as Mark Van Rhys
- Jill Halfpenny as Peggy Van Rhys
- Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Father Emery
- Daniel Hill as Mr. Goodman
- Amy Doyle as Esther Goodman
- Ramzan Miah as Esther's boyfriend
- Paul Warren as Woolly
Jeremy Dyson has an uncredited appearance as the DJ at Phillip's Bar Mitzvah.
Reception
Ghost Stories was described as "an anthology of creepy supernatural tales in the intensely English tradition of Amicus portmanteau movies from the 1960s".[3] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 88 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Ghost Stories offers a well-crafted, skillfully told horror anthology that cleverly toys with genre tropes while adding a few devilishly frightful twists."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]
References
- ^ "GHOST STORIES (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Ghost Stories (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ a b Bradshaw, Peter (5 October 2017). "Ghost Stories review – Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse shine in dreamlike spookfest". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ Clarke, Stewart (5 October 2017). "IFC Midnight Takes 'Ghost Stories' Starring Martin Freeman". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Ghost Stories (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "Ghost Stories Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
External links
- Ghost Stories at IMDb
- Ghost Stories on iHorror