An American Ghost Story (2012)

Mild spoilers: Very disappointing. The main character was unattractive, not just physically but emotionally. Absolutely unlikable and unbelievable, whether hero or anti-hero. (Not sure which this unsympathetic twerp was meant to be.) He wasn't bad enough to be a villain nor good enough to be a hero. Poor acting kills even a well-produced effort, which this was not. Right from the start, I was making fun of the name - Twa-dork-us, Twa-doofus etc. No producer would willing select such an untalented "star"...unless...midway in, I guessed that Twardokus had ponied up the money for this dull low-budget horror show, and so he claimed the lead. The inaction dragged along (few shocks, no digital effects, etc.) until the very last gasp - the actor's, not mine. Having only ghosts-in-sheets saved a lot of budget money, but the final conflict was nonetheless effective. Shockingly so, since there was no horrible reveal of the ghost's true ghastly appearance. No horrible reveal of any sort. The bulk of the film was just plain boring. Blame it on Twardokus' inability to project emotions or to generate interest.

Given their budget, I am really impressed. Unlike the big boys with their big money, these two did something special - they made me jump! Repeatedly! They managed tension incredibly well. Despite a rather predictable scenario, they managed to make the narrative not feel hackneyed or old. The most striking defect of this film was that they were working hard against a limited budget that really cramped their production values and made the film look like it was less than what it was.The new Raimi/Campbell? Perhaps. I'm looking forward to what they do next!

When you think of great horror films, you won't think of "An American Ghost Story." The plot is simple. The characters' motivations are undeveloped. By the middle of the film it is a story of one man against a malevolent ghost.The movie starts slowly. There's a lot of back story where the writer tried to reveal the main character's drive, but failed. Too much time is given to trite dialogue between the protagonist and his girlfriend and we can see where it's leading from the opening scene.There are no special effects in this film. Reviews on Netflix and comments from viewers bemoan the appearance of a wraith draped in a sheet. "A sheet?" you ask. I thought it was a funny bit of camp thrown in, a nod to childhood when some poor kid whose mother had forgotten or refused to get him that awesome store-bought costume ended up trick-or-treating with old bed linens (hopefully not too stained) draped over his head.The scares are there, but they're cheap and accompanied by loud music and "Silent Hill" sound effects and, therefore, lose the ability to really frighten the astute viewer.For a low budget film (read: movie starring the writer), it's not a complete waste of time for viewers, especially if you're an aspiring film or fiction writer. There are features in this film that you'll want to avoid in your own writing, like the crazy ex-home owner shouting the rosary and the landlord who looks eerily down the hallway, but never reveals what he's seeing or not seeing or thinking. Or, if you do want to include these things, maybe you'll get some ideas about how to do it more skillfully.

I made an IMDb account just to review this film. Words cannot describe how disappointed I am after watching this movie. This movie was horrible. The acting, the script, everything was bad. I can't begin to describe how bad this was. The disappointment was extreme. The ONE time i got scared was when he opened his email from his friend and a scary face popped up. That was the scariest part. Overall this movie was a waste of time and all the other reviews i have seen have been more than generous. It was a waste of money to watch this and i only spent about $1.50. I have nothing more to say about this but the review must be at least ten lines so i have to keep going.