I think in order for there to be any kind of shock value on a ghost hunting show, you have to believe it's all fake. If you go in with no expectations thinking it's fake, when something actually pops up it's far more believable. So in order to Prime you for the scary ship to come, the first half of ghost-watch is pretty boring. If I didn't know it was scripted I would just think it was another bumbling Ghost show. Characters talk over each other, and the family doesn't seem like they have ever been on camera before.
I think the part of the movie that really hooks me is when they first get the eight or nine calls and see the one figure in the corner of the room. most ghost shows if they "see a figure" its almost always just a smudge or a streak. Also nowadays if you would see something Supernatural on camera, it's very easy to write it off as just video editing. I wasn't alive in 1992, but I imagine much less people jumped to the video editing conclusion.
The figure looks genuinely Supernatural, and the family who is haunted by Pipes (the name of the ghost) seems genuinely upset. It's not hard to see how people in the 90s believe this whole thing was a real documentary, and suffered real psychological effects after watching it. The Wikipedia page for this movie has a whole sub section titled psychological effects, and its a very interesting read.
The BBC head over 30,000 calls from angry and frightened viewers after the broadcast aired British newspapers criticised the BBC the next day for the disturbing nature of some scenes. In particular the ending which I won't spoil for you here.
Ghostwatch is responsible for the first recorded cases of PTSD due to a television program, and it's not terribly hard to see why.
But with all that hype for being so terrifying, is it actually a good movie? Yes. It takes a while to get going, but once it gets going you can't look away. He uses a lot of classic found-footage movie techniques, like night vision, jump scares, and characters who dont seem to be acting. Over the course of the film you slowly learn more and more about the ghost through various calls into the shows hotline, and every call is unique and add something to the story. Even the ghost sandwich phone call gives the film a bit of realism, because of course if there was a real ghost hotline you would have people trying to prank you. The old man host who refuses to believe in the Supernatural even when it's happening right in front of him also is a lovely touch.
I think the movie works just as well now as it did back then, and serves as an interesting sort of Time Capsule for the found footage genre.
UPDATE 2022, JAN 12TH
Normally when i come back to old reviews like this one, i tend to laugh at what i once deemed worth posting. my first review of ghost watch was fairly spot on. that being said, i wish i had elaborated a bit more on certain points, so hopeful this update will fill in some of the gaps.
i described the first half of this movie as boring, without ever realizing that it had to be.its the exact kind of thing you would stumble upon while channel surfing late at night, and it perfectly captures the feeling of a local news stations Halloween special boredom and all. its the perfectly cozy and mundane trap this movie uses like a fishing lure, and once you are hooked by the mundane charm the spooky shit starts creeping in and things get compelling as hell. plus that UK accent has a strange=ly soothing effect on those (me at least) across the pond.
i also touched on how "The BBC had over 30,000 calls from angry and frightened viewers" but i never once talked about Eighteen-year-old factory worker Martin Denham. He suffered from learning difficulties and had a mental age of 13, and committed suicide five days after the programme aired. The family home had suffered with a faulty central heating system which had caused the pipes to knock; Denham linked this to the activity in the show causing great worry. He left a suicide note reading "if there are ghosts I will be ... with you always as a ghost". His mother and stepfather, April and Percy Denham, blamed the BBC. They claimed that Martin was "hypnotized and obsessed" by the programme. The Broadcasting Standards Commission refused their complaint, along with 34 others, as being outside their remit, but the High Court granted the Denham's permission for a judicial review requiring the BSC to hear their complaint. They ruled that the program was excessively distressing and graphic – referring to the scratches on the children and the reference to mutilated animals. because of all those reasons, GHOST-WATCH only ever aired on TV once.
long story short this special still (and will always) kick ass
10/10
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