News
[Review] Pascal Laugier’s ‘Incident in a Ghostland’ is Problematic Shock Value in a Half-Baked Story
Fans of writer-director Pascal Laugier’s vicious, bleak Martyrs (2008) have been patiently waiting for the filmmaker’s next exploration of human suffering. For better or worse, six years after his last film (The Tall Man, 2012), Laugier brings us Ghostland aka Incident in a Ghostland, a thoroughly cruel dive into the effects extreme violence and degradation have on a young girl’s mind.
Bordering the line of sadism and artistic voice, Ghostland tells the story of a small family – mother, Pauline (Mylene Farmer), and daughters Beth (Emilia Jones) and Vera (Taylor Hickson) – in the process of moving into the large, cobweb-ridden home inherited from a strange aunt with a penchant for collecting antiques and oddities. Not long after arriving at the house, the family is still unloading the car when two intruders enter the home, attacking the mother and throwing the girls in the basement. The girls are held for days, being beaten and dressed up as dolls to fulfill the perverted fantasies of the attackers. Beth’s mind fades in and out of reality as she tries to cope with these horrific events.
Immediately noticeable is that the film is wonderfully shot and very well-made. The color palette and house are both atmospheric, and the film achieves a look of high production value. The story works to seamlessly blend timelines, creating a sense of disorientation and hopelessness. Ghostland is equally brutal and utterly visceral, and is therefore successful in its aim to be shocking. Less successful, however, is the film’s truly offensive idea of what’s scary.
A decent amount of tension is ratcheted up throughout, especially in scenes where the sisters are trying to escape or are aware that they are about to endure some sort of assault. However, one of the attackers used as a key source of this distress is the character of a trans woman, credited only as “Candy Truck Woman” and played by Kevin Powers. The problem is not that a trans woman is a villain, it’s that she is framed as “scary” simply for how she looks. The Candy Truck Woman only has one scene where she plays a hands-on role in the initial attack on the family. After that, she mostly appears as a shadowy figure, relying on her very appearance (which is unfortunately stereotypical) to seem ominous. Even divorced from personal beliefs, this tactic to conjure up fear just doesn’t work. Harsh angles and strategic lighting alone do not a strong villain make.
Additionally, the level of violence inflicted upon these characters seems forced into the narrative. It works as a vehicle to remind viewers that trauma can damage the human psyche, but Ghostland doesn’t seem to have anything to say beyond that. The reminder does not work to support a broader idea, so the barbarity just isn’t earned. The story is simply too paper-thin to warrant what its characters endure, making the violence seem targeted and misogynistic. Laugier already brought us a thoughtful meditation on trauma with Martyrs, wherein all of the abuse was necessary, or at least made sense. This makes Ghostland feel quite cheap in comparison. It’s shock value for the sake of it, wrapped up in a half-baked story.
It is somewhat baffling to still be discussing archaic issues such as transphobia and misogyny during horror’s so-called golden age, when mainstream critics are applauding the genre for being more progressive, inclusive, and intellectual. Are those the new cornerstones of what makes a great horror film in 2018? That’s a matter of taste, personal experience, education, and context.
Objectively, if you can put its flaws aside, Ghostland is a decent-enough film for the horror fan looking for sheer brutality (or those who purposely seek out offensive content). With his latest, Laugier proves that he can still shoot a film that looks good and can make the audience squirm. How he provokes this reaction and the film’s airy story, however, detract greatly from Ghostland and its overall quality.
Incident in a Ghostland premieres today in theaters and on VOD.
Only one episode remains in Season 3 of “Chucky,” and what a bloody road it’s been so far, especially for actor Devon Sawa. The actor has now officially died twice on screen this season, pulling double duty as President James Collins and body double Randall Jenkins.
If you thought Chucky’s ruthless eye-gouging of the President was bloody, this week’s Episode 7 traps Randall Jenkins in an elevator that feels straight out of an iconic horror classic.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with series creator Don Mancini and actor Devon Sawa about that ultra-bloody death sequence and how the actor inspires Mancini’s writing on the series.
Mancini explains, “Devon’s a bit of a muse. Idle Hands and Final Destination is where my Devon Sawa fandom started, like a lot of people; although yours may have started with Casper. I was a bit too old for that. But it’s really just about how I love writing for actors that I respect and then know. So, it’s like having worked with Devon for three years now, I’m just always thinking, ‘Oh, what would be a fun thing to throw his way that would be unexpected and different that he hasn’t done?’ That’s really what motivates me.”
For Sawa, “Chucky“ is an actor’s dream in that the series gives him not one but multiple roles to sink his teeth into, often within the same season. But the actor is also a huge horror fan, and Season 3: Part 2 gives him the opportunity to pay homage to a classic: Kubrick’s The Shining.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Devon Sawa as President James Collins, K.C. Collins as Coop — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Collectively, it’s just amazing to put on the different outfits, to do the hair differently, to get different types of dialogue,“ Sawa says of working on the series. “The elevator scene, it’s like being a kid again. I was up to my eyeballs in blood, and it felt very Kubrick. Everybody there was having such a good time, and we were all doing this cool horror stuff, and it felt amazing. It really was a good day.”
Sawa elaborates on being submerged in so much blood, “It was uncomfortable, cold, and sticky, and it got in my ears and my nose. But it was well worth it. I didn’t complain once. I was like, ‘This is why I do what I do, to do scenes like this,‘ the scenes that I grew up watching on VHS cassette, and now we’re doing it in HD, and it’s all so cool.“
It’s always the characters and the actors behind them that matter most to Mancini, even when he delights in coming up with inventive kills and incorporating horror references. And he’s killed Devon Sawa’s characters often. Could future seasons top the record of on-screen Sawa deaths?
“Well, I guess we did it twice in season one and once in season two,“ Mancini counts. “So yeah, I guess I would have to up the ante next season. I’ll really be juggling a lot of falls. But I think it’s hopefully as much about quality as quantity. I want to give him a good role that he’s going to enjoy sinking his teeth into as an actor. It’s not just about the deaths.”
Sawa adds, “Don’s never really talked about how many times could we kill you. He’s always talking about, ‘How can I make this death better,’ and that’s what I think excites him is how he can top each death. The electricity, to me blowing up to, obviously in this season, the eyes and with the elevator, which was my favorite one to shoot. So if it goes on, we’ll see if he could top the deaths.”
CHUCKY — “Death Becomes Her” Episode 305 — Pictured in this screengrab: Devon Sawa as James Collins — (Photo by: SYFY)
The actor has played a handful of distinctly different characters since the series launch, each one meeting a grisly end thanks to Chucky. And Season 3 gave Sawa his favorite characters yet.
“I would say the second one was a lot of fun to shoot,“ the actor says of Randall Jenkins. “The President was great. I liked playing the President. He was the most grounded, I hope, of all the characters. I did like playing him a lot.” Mancini adds, “He’s grounded, but he’s also really traumatized, and I thought you did that really well, too.”
The series creator also reveals a surprise correlation between President James Collins’ character arc and a ’90s horror favorite.
“I saw Devon’s role as the president in Season 3; he’s very Kennedy-esque,“ Mancini explains. “But then given the supernatural plot turns that happen, to me, the analogy is Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, the character that is seeing these weird little things happening around the house that is starting to screw with his sanity and he starts to insist, ‘I’m seeing a ghost,‘ and his spouse thinks he’s nuts. So I always like that. That’s Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, which is a movie I love.”
The finale of “Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesday, May 1 on USA & SYFY.
‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
‘Stream’ – Horror Movie from the Team Behind ‘Terrifier’ Sets August Theatrical Release
Limited Edition ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ Monster High Doll Releasing This Week!
You must be logged in to post a comment.