Incident in a Ghostland (2018)

Director: Pascal Laugier
Stars: Crystal Reed, Mylène Farmer, Anastasia Phillips
Runtime: 91 minutes

Synopsis: A family of three is left scarred by a traumatizing event that occurred as soon as they moved into their new home.

Performances: 6/10
Screenplay: 2/10
Special Effects: N.A. 
Costumes/Makeup: 4/10
Editing: 5/10 
Cinematography: 6/10
Score/Soundtrack: 6/10

Verdict: It's no secret that the horror industry has been struggling lately with the quality of their movies. And "Ghostland" is no exception. The film starts with one the laziest set up to a horror flick I have ever seen. Beth, an aspiring horror writer, moves into her great aunt's house, which turns out to be a dimly lit manor infested by creepy dolls. It is also revealed that a couple of criminals are on the loose and attacking random families. I mean, could this have been written in a more obvious way? It is also immediately made clear that the film was going to rely on jump scares to startle its audience, which is always a negative for me. The second half of the movie does, however, get a bit better, but ultimately turns into a gorefest with a hollow script and flat characters. The villains are not given any depth or motivation, and the heroines spend most of their time screaming and running around. What made this movie a bit better than your regular "Insidious" or "Paranormal Activity" was its effort to look good. The cinematography was, for the most part, okay, the editing suffered from some intentionally weird choices that didn't work at all for me but was ultimately okay as well. The score, despite being inconsistent and a bit repetitive, was definitely the best part of the film. French director Pascal Laugier knew exactly where and how to use it to make a more uneasy atmosphere. "Ghostland" is yet another horror flick that will not be remembered on the long run, and, unless you enjoy watching those with a couple of friends at one in the morning, I would suggest skipping it.

Final Grade: 4/10