Jill Gevargizian’s sophomore directorial effort proves her chops behind the camera with a mix of hidden camera footage and possible haunted house hijinks.
Vinny (Zaen Haidar) has discovered his girlfriend, Laura (Kia Dorsey), likes to go play something called ‘ghost game’ with a friend, Adrian (Sam Likowski). It’s not an innocent thing with dice and a board, however. The pair are part of a group that essentially breaks into people’s homes and attempts to live there undetected for a few days, all while screwing with the owners’ minds by moving things and the like. This is all filmed with GoPros strapped to their chests and some carefully placed hidden cameras. Their strict code of conduct has already been broken when Laura freaked out over Adrian snipping a lock of hair from a sleeping woman, bashing the unfortunate victim over the head several times. Vinny convinces Laura to take him as her game partner instead of Adrian, but their excursion isn’t going to go the way they planned.
The house the pair enter has been derelict for quite a while and has a sinister history. The new owners move in not long after they arrive, putting their plans in motion. The new owners are Pete (Michael C. Williams), who was disgraced when his book about an alien abduction was proved to be a complete fabrication, his second wife, Meg (Emily Bennett), and her neurodiverse daughter, Sam (a brilliant Vienna Maas). When things start happening throughout the house, Meg jumps to the conclusion Pete is trying to trick his way to a new book, but Laura and Vinny experience similar anomalies.
No matter how you feel about the ethics of their ‘game’, watching things play out is mighty entertaining. Taking elements from several different subgenres, Ghost Game keeps your allegiances changing throughout as the various events occur. Amongst the usual pranks the pair pull on the householders, there are several things happening that could lead towards the idea that the house is genuinely haunted. Adam Cesare’s smart script and Gevargizian’s smart direction keep the audience guessing, patiently revealing things to great effect. It’s also good to see an autistic child used naturally rather than as ‘the creepy kid’.
Following The Stylist would always bring massive expectations, but Ghost Game is confident, knowing and thoroughly enjoyable.
GHOST GAME screened at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest.
