Brief Thoughts - GHOST STORIES (2017)

About twenty minutes into GHOST STORIES there is a scene that perfectly communicates how well the filmmaker's understand the psychology of their main character. This fellow has just left a meeting with the man who inspired him not just in his chosen career, but in his attitude and deportment toward the subject of his career. This meeting with his mentor has not gone in the direction that he would have ever expected. This elderly man has informed him that he considers his own approach and our main characters approach to the subject of paranormal activity to have been the exact wrong way to handle things. The younger man is told that he has spent his adult life demeaning and harming helpless people trying to find solace in desperate circumstances. This fellow leaves this meeting devastated, depressed and completely clueless as to how to proceed with his life and work. The image that I refer to happens at this point. It places this man on a paved asphalt walkway on the edge of a cold beach. The path is slowly being eroded away by the encroaching sea and sliding into the sand. This image showing us a man looking down at what had previously been solid, safe ground that is now evaporating underneath his feet is a brilliant visual of the character's mental state. If the film had at some point gone wrong in the ensuing 90 minutes it might have been forgivable for that one perfect visualization of a this man's internal conflict. Luckily this film has much, much more in store for the viewer. It's an insightful and intriguing mystery told as a horror story. I won't give anything away because the discoveries made along the way are both well realized and emotionally shocking. I recommend this movie quite highly.