Ghost Note (2017)

Nice effects though.

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This film, in some ways, could've been salvaged. I do see a glimmer of hope and attention to detail here and there, but I have not seen such awkward staging and transitions in a long time. Truly the direction and cinematography are sometimes reminiscent of scenes found in MST3k's library. Not that the film it self would be there, as it is hardly kemp or unintentionally funny. The characters were all too simple and wooden, which is too be expected in a horror film - more slashy slashy, less character-building-y. But again: there was very little suspense in this for me. The chase scenes were boring, the buildup for the villain wasn't really all that interesting or scary and the film cuts away any suspense it has built by truly horrible cinematography. It just takes me right out. Add the spooky flash-frames popping up all the time to startle or unsettle the audience and you got a gimmick that gets tiresome quickly. It's even used as a device through the movie. Some of the actors truly did try here and there. The "leading (young) man" and "the villain" had some truly bad scenes, but again: I think it could've been fixed with proper direction. Some, however, were clearly not actors and it showed. I believe there were some "featured" participants in this thing, but I have no idea who they are - some blues aficionados? Again, the film tells me nothing about them in particular, and quite frankly it didn't incite enough interest for me to actually Google any of the players. All this combined makes for a sub par viewing experience. My suspense of disbelief broke many times by film 101 mistakes, like bad and awkward cinematography, off putting camera angles and especially the transitions. Some transitions left me scratching my head, wondering what the heck were they thinking on the cutting room floor. This film could've had a creep factor to it, it could've been "scary", but you're taken out of the film so many times the few scenes that actually have some weight are drained of their effect. I didn't come in to this film with any expectations, but liked the premise of the synopsis. Heck, once I realized it was an indie film of sorts I rooted for the film. I imagined I could've suggested it to my nieces. But my nieces have seen many horror films, including "The Exorcist". They would've been underwhelmed or bored, because they are used to film making conventions that cannot be ignored - or omitted. I see my nieces as the demographic for this film, and if that fails I can't imagine recommending this film to anyone. In short, without the right angle and right approach to film making, you're left singing the blues about how the film could've been so much better with just following simple movie making conventions.

I was expecting a lot when I saw the first scenes of the movie but as it unfolds the bore was taking me over because the movie was filled with holes. The scenery was nice and mesmerizing with spooky music as well as the change of light, but you lose interest in a movie when you can expect what will happen next. Added to that, one of the most important reasons for giving low rates for this movie is the poor performance of Justin whom I think was not a fit for that. The plot was a plain one and nothing new is brought to the world of thriller movie. For first timers, this movie is a good start and it may give you some jumps if you've never watched a movie in this genre before but if you do, you're likely to finish all your corn without even filling that you're watching a movie.

Great story line and pacing. With a steady build in the suspense and a terrifying final show down. The main protagonist is full of teenage angst and defiance, causing herself more trouble then she was first ready for. The supporting characters are well rounded making the story line and the world we are transported to come to life. There are a few minor technical difficulties, but overall a fun yet scary journey.

GHOST NOTE is a slow-moving independent horror production that suffers from a hugely uninteresting first hour which is all character work and very little incident or frightening moments. Instead this is an attempted mood builder that simply doesn't build much in the way of mood. The lack of likable protagonists hurts it too. The drawn-out story finally gets going towards the climax, with a cool-looking antagonist spirit, but by then it's too little, too late.