Ghosts of war

Ghost of war mixes the war movie and the haunted house movie with a certain ingenuity and turns out to be a pretty good surprise as it manages to hold our attention until the final dénouement that brings the viewers to see this movie again from a new angle by looking for the many clues scattered throughout the story. At first glance, the scenario turns out to be rather simplistic and we discover five American soldiers assigned to guard a French castle towards the end of the Second World War. Yet this castle, under its welcoming appearance, turns out to be haunted and will lead its soldiers into situations that are as dangerous as they are disturbing.

After directing the excellent The Butterfly Effect (2004) and writing the screenplays for Final Destination 2 and 4, Eric Bress delivers us with Ghosts of war his new film that he also wrote and shows that he is not only a seasoned screenwriter but also a director rather gifted at playing with the nerves of the spectators and proposing a real cinematic experience that will remind some people with this hotel as well as Shining (1980) and more recently Overlord (2018).

The first quality of this film is that it is based on a careful staging and on horrific effects that evolve throughout the story and that will highlight not only the deep trauma of soldiers in general in times of war, but also on metaphysical issues such as the existence of ghosts and our perception of reality. By giving a real psychology to these five American soldiers sent to France and making them face supernatural forces, Ghost of War denounces in its own way the horrors of war but also the tragic destiny of human beings whose heroic courage will make them martyrs trapped in conflicts beyond their understanding.

The many fans of the excellent Titans series will also be happy to see two of the important roles in the cast, Brenton Thwaites in the main role of this film but also the actor Alan Ritchson (Hank Hall / Hawk in Titans). This rather effective casting reinforces our support for this film. We will appreciate Ghosts of War all the more since its turnaround brought to the last act makes it an intelligent revisiting of war-related traumas and an original way to help soldiers find a form of escape.

Ghosts of War
Written and Directed by Eric Bress
Produced by D. Todd Shepherd, Shelley Madison, Joe Simpson
Starring Brenton Thwaites, Theo Rossi, Skylar Astin, Kyle Gallner, Alan Ritchson, Billy Zane, Shaun Toub
Music by Michael Suby
Cinematography: Lorenzo Senatore
Edited by Peter Amundson
Production companies : Miscellaneous Entertainment, Highland Film Group, Ingenious Media
Distributed by Vertical Entertainment
Release date: June 18, 2020 (USA)
Running time: 95 minutes

Seen on June 19, 2020

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