GHOSTWATCHER

Produced, Directed, Written, and Edited by David A. Cross
Director of Photography Dan Poole

Laura - Jillian Byrnes
Nikki - Marianne Hayden
Elizabeth - Jennifer Servary

I love horror movies that are scary. Truly scary. Get under your skin scary. The kind of scary that has you looking over your shoulder at night. The kind of scary where you have to second guess every long shadow or creaky door. That's the kind of scary you take with you long after the movie is over.

That's the kind of scarey that is GHOSTWATCHER, a haunted house film from Maryland filmmaker David A. Cross (with some help from THE GREEN GOBLIN'S LAST STAND's Dan Poole).

As a haunted house picture, GHOSTWATCHER belongs to that one sub-genre that scares me on a continual basis. As a believer in the paranormal, ghosts are the only "monsters" I find tangible enough to frighten me. Growing up in Maryland and Virginia, it's hard not to have seen one historic specter or another, and believe me, you'll carry that image around with you for life. Sometimes you'll doubt your own memory, other times every raised hackle of hair on your neck represents every ounce of your conviction. There's no way to prove what you've seen, just the memory of those moments, and I've had too many moments not to believe.

My favorite moments in GHOSTWATCHER detail the points where skeptics become believers. That's when blind arrogance is confronted head on by the reality of our fears, and the closed mind opens. Cross bestows these moments of "awakening" on all three of his lead actresses providing roadblocks to their character arcs. Rather than becoming passive participants to plot, the girls ride jolts of change. It's how they deal with the changes that provides the momentum for GHOSTWATCHER's different acts.

A year ago, Laura, an agoraphobe, was kidnaped and raped while her family was slaughtered. The rapist was killed and his body never found, and it's his violent spirit that haunts Laura. Imagine the dilemma of an agoraphobia sufferer who has more to fear inside her house than out. She wholeheartedly believe nothing can reach her through locked doors but can't bring herself to escape once the specter rears its head.. The moment Laura realizes she isn't alone in her home is one of pity and rage. The poor girl just can't get a break.

Elizabeth runs a website for the paranormal through which she sells equipment for hunting and documenting ghosts. The irony being that she doesn't believe in ghosts and uses the site primarily for web-erotica. Laura hires Elizabeth to investigate the presence even after Elizabeth reaffirms her disbelief in the supernatural. When Elizabeth's eyes are opened it's a moment of unbridled fear as everything she believes is changed forever.

Nikki is Laura's devoted friend and protector. She's Laura's link to the outside world bringing Laura her food, essentials, and the love of sisterhood and family that Laura lost when her family was murdered. Nikki's disbelief in all things ethereal is balanced by her belief in her friend. She's the catalyst that starts the plot and the engine that propels the climax. Her comeuppance is what forces Laura to confront her agoraphonia and the self-centered Elizabeth to learn sacrifice. The grim determination and devotion Nikki reveals is what led to actress Marianne Hayden to win Best Actress at the second annual ScreamFest Horror and Screenplay competition.

GHOSTWATCHER is an actor's movie, there's no denying that. All three ladies work with a soundly written script to produce characters worth caring about, and once an audience cares about the characters it's easy to scare the pants off everyone watching. Once a rapport is established there's no need for extreme shocks; subtlety and manipulation is all that's required. First unease sets in, then full dread, and then the scares start. I'm reminded of a scene early on where a pair of glowing eyes first appear in the background of Laura's apartment. She had already been established as a character defined by her weaknesses, and those glowing eyes said that Laura's weaknesses were about to get preyed upon. The moments that followed were classic edge-of-your-seat suspense as I anticipated the "gotcha" moment. That's just how Hitchcock made his thrillers, and I'm a sucker for it every time.

It's refreshing to see a horror film that relies on classic moviemaking rather than in-your-face shock and gore. By comparison to other horror efforts I've screened recently, GHOSTWATCHER seems almost elegant. It possesses that same knowledge of character and subtle elegance of storytelling that made Robert Wise's original THE HAUNTING work and Jan DeBont's remake not.

Ghostwatcher