Taglines: You really thought you’ve been scared?
Incident in a Ghostland movie storyline. Sixteen years after that soul-scathing incident at their late aunt’s dilapidated mansion in the middle of nowhere, traumatised sisters, Beth and Vera, and their single mother, Pauline, have somewhat managed to put the past behind them.
However, one delirious call from the frail and mentally unstable Vera will drag the now flourishing horror novelist Beth back to the old place of torment, as recurring visions of the past’s unfathomable horrors still haunt the family. But, are the butchers in the siblings’ nightmares real in the first place, or is this frenzied plunge into the uncharted waters of the human psyche what pure paranoia looks like?
Incident in a Ghostland (also known as Ghostland) is a 2018 psychological horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier. Ghostland was first shown in competition on 3 February 2018 at the Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer. Ghostland won three film awards at the festival, including the Grand Prize, Audience Award, and the SyFy Award.
The SyFy award was chosen by five bloggers at the festival. Frédéric Strauss of Télérama noted that this was the second French co-production in a row that dominated the awards at the festival with the previous years big winner being Raw by Julia Ducournau. The film received a theatrical release in France on 14 March 2018. In some territories, the film was released as Ghostland and in others as Incident in a Ghostland.
Film Review for Incident in a Ghostland
A mother and her two teenage daughters, Beth and Vera, arrive at a remote house they have inherited. On their night of arrival they are attacked and the mother fights to protect their lives. Years later Beth, now a successful horror novelist receives a phone call from a distraught Vera and returns the house…
I first saw Incident In a Ghostland at FrightFest London in 2018. At the time, I thought it a good film, but was very uneasy with the violence in the film, directed at the girls. As a story, I thought it was well put together, the twist (which I won’t reveal) was very well done indeed.
However, there was another reason I was uneasy about the film. Prior to seeing it, the news came out about actress Taylor Hickson suing the producers of the film, after suffering a severe facial injury when a piece of glass she had to bang on broke. As I write this, I do not know if the case has been settled or resolved. But as a consequence, the above image, while very effective, no question, in the context of the film does seem a strange choice in the circumstances.
My unease was compunded by the fact that I was getting really fed up with the number of serial killer or similar films that had women, especially young women as victims. They all appeared to be following similar patterns. While there are a number of films that have used that basic idea well, for example 2016’s Australian film Hounds Of Love, too often women in these films are simply disposable victims, nothing more (looking at you Anderson Falls!).
So a film with a real life horror story in the making of it, about women being attacked in their home, from the director of Martyrs Yeah, this was going to go well. But as I have said, I thought it a good but uncomfortable watch and one that until recently I had no desire to revisit. But recently, while browsing my Blu-Ray’s I saw Incident In A Ghostland sitting there among them. I certainly couldn’t recall buying it, so assumed it was a giveaway from Arrow Video at the following year’s FrightFest event. Or a gift from someone. I simply couldn’t recall.
But as a consequence, I decided to take another look at it. The first thing to say is that writer and director Pascal Laugier, much like Martyrs, doesn’t hold back on the violence. The girls, Beth (Emilia Jones) and Vera (Taylor Hickson) suffer brutally at the hands of their abusers. Considering their characters are meant to be around 14/15 years old, this level of violence is not easy to sit through, nor should it be.
But leaving the violence to one side for a moment, what else does the film have? Well, the actual story is a good one I think. I didn’t see the reveal coming, though rewatching the film again, I did notice details I missed first time round that perhaps make it more obvious. Laugier directs the film very well, with the last half of the film making you feel like you are holding your breath throughout. It is a relief when the credits roll.
The performances are very good indeed. Emilia Jones and Taylor Hickson are very good in demanding roles. As older Beth and Vera, Crystal Reed and Anastasia Phillips are good too, as is pop icon, Mylene Farmer as their mother Pauline. Kevin Power and Rob Archer are suitably creepy and menacing as the abusers of the girls.
As to the ending, I have read readings on how it ends to mean different things. Again, I won’t go into details as I think it will give away too much, but they are interesting and thoughtful. Personally, I prefer to think it is a hopeful one.
Watching the film again, it has to be said, Incident In A Ghostland (sometimes referred to as Ghostland), is still a very disturbing watch. It is well made certainly, a horrible, brutal violent film, especially to the female characters, that one could argue there is a level of misogyny in this film. One would hope after Martyrs and this, Laugier doesn’t feel the need to revisit such violence on women again.
Is it worth a watch? If you like disturbing films that won’t sugar coat the violence, then yes. Would I recommend it? Only with a very strong warning. A film like this should disturb with its violence. On that level Incident With A Ghostland certainly does. But even without it, it would have made a tense horror thriller. But after this revisit, I’m not sure I have any real desire to do so again, at least for a long time.
Incident in a Ghostland (2020)
Directed by: Pascal Laugier
Starring: Crystal Reed, Anastasia Phillips, Emilia Jones, Taylor Hickson, Mylène Farmer, Kevin Power, Rob Archer, Paul Titley, Sharon Bajer, Alicia Johnston, Ernesto Griffith
Screenplay by: Pascal Laugier
Production Design by: Gordon Wilding
Cinematography by: Danny Nowak
Film Editing by: Dev Singh
Costume Design by: Brenda Shenher
Set Decoration by: Sara McCudden
Art Direction by: Elizabeth Cameron
Music by: Todd Bryanton
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: February 3, 2018 (Gérardmer), March 14, 2018 (France)
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