Ghostwatch (1992)

Just to sum the entire ban thing up. The ban now is semi lifted. The DVD seems to be available, and the international iPlayer now has it for everyone interested to watch. I don't have to say to much about the show anymore, but I watched it two weeks ago, and despite knowing it was a hoax it kept me after the first slow going 40 minutes on the edge of my seat. All I can say is, that this is a brilliant piece of television, and I would rate it way higher than Blair Witch Project, which I personally found mediocre.So anyone who can get hold of the DVD or has the international iPlayer subscribed should really watch this show. It cannot get any better.

I'm an American male currently in my twenties. . . therefore, when this film was originally released in 1992, I clearly wasn't someone who would've been seeing it. However, after seeing only good things about this "documentary," I decided to give it a watch. Some people said it was nightmare-inducing and truly terrifying. . . but, is it? The story is simple. . . a BBC crew is putting on a documentary regarding a regular British family being supposedly tortured by spirits in a regular British home. As the night progresses, the family and the crew become more and more involved in the secrets of the house and its past.I'm going to be honest. . . about 20ish minutes into this film, I had no interest in continuing. I'm one who loves a slow build-up, but the first 20 or so minutes of 'Ghostwatch' are just simply quite annoying. The crew and family are all irritating, most of the "experts" involved are pretty ignorant about the paranormal, and there really is nothing in the way of horror. However, once the story starts to build and things start to really kick into high gear, the film becomes a truly chilling experience. After the beginning, I did not believe there was any chance of my being scared by this film. By the end, though, I had a ball of blankets in my fist and I was peeking at the crack of my closet door waiting to see Pipes staring out at me. Keep your eyes open, look for the "little things," and you will be creeped out.Overall, 'Ghostwatch' is just another in the series of fantastic point-of-view supernatural horrors with 'The Blair Witch Project,' 'Rec,' 'Paranormal Activity,' and others that will seriously scare the wits out of you.Final Verdict: 8.5/10.-AP3-

I was only three when this film was televised, so I slip into the category of viewers who knew this was a hoax before they watched it. For most of the film, beyond my wishes, I found myself evaluating the validity of the actors' performances, and debating how someone could have thought this was real (the performances are pretty good, but there are certain exchanges that sway more towards theatrical than realistic). However, halfway in, when the transmission starts becoming infrequent and begins cutting out, my skin started crawling. Even the knowledge that it was fictional couldn't suppress my nerves as the ghost manifested itself in more terrifying ways. The finale, with a possessed Michael Parkinson whispering a nursery rhyme into the camera, sends a lasting sensation through the viewers' minds, in spite of how amusing it sounds on paper.As mentioned before, there are a few faults in the acting, but for the most part - especially during the scariest scenes where it counts most - it is utterly convincing and contributes to a rather shocking viewer experience. The visual quality of the "live" broadcast and the Crimewatch-esquire set-up of the studio lend the film enough credibility to have some viewers forget that this was just a teleplay for the BBC, but this is exactly what sets it apart from other horror films and, in a way, makes it so much creepier.

I was 12 when Ghostwatch was shown on Holloween on BBC1! I remember sitting on the sofa with my Brother and Mam, my Dad went out before the show had began. We were pulled into the story and got scared to death by Pipes and the story of the Early family, this was years before Most Haunted hit the screens! You could spot Pipes, you could hear the stories and watch as the team falls apart! I totally believed Sarah Greene was taken by Pipes and that Parky was taken over by Pipes too, GREAT TV! Little did we know that it was due to be banned and never shown again, until the ban ran out and it was released on DVD/Video, which I had for Xmas 3 years ago! Even now I cant watch it alone or with the lights off.....the power of being 12 back then and Pipes coming to get me still shakes me up! For me Ghostwatch is pure great British TV! Sure it might be dated and some people might call it boring...but to this 26 years old...sleepiness nights happen after I watch this show 14 years later!