A Town Full of Ghosts

Remember when I said I should probably stop watching found footage movies… I present to you exhibit A. No, not THAT Exhibit A, the amazing FF from 2007, I am talking about: A town Full Of Ghosts.

I went into this movie feeling quite intrigued, cause the premise sounded very interesting: a couple buys a ghost town in the middle of nowhere with plans to restore it, but issues arise when they realise it’s an   a c t u a l   ghost town… aka a town inhabited by ghosts (you thought I was gonna do a title drop didn’t you).

I have to say, once you see that premise in action you realise how crazy it actually is, and I am not talking about the paranormal aspect.

So Mark and Jenna, but mainly Mark, decided to buy this old western town, that is part authentic and part the aftermath of a failed wild-west theme park, with the intention of turning it into a tourist destination.

…….  N o w

I do understand that at some point they did have an investor, hence it wasn’t a   COMPLETELY CRAZY   idea (although you should probably make sure said investor is actually IN before buying), but... 

We are looking at ~4 real buildings and a shit tone of fake fronts, all completely dishevelled, 3 hours away from civilization, with no electricity, no running water and no signal….  

And we want to turn this into something that looks like it was pulled straight out of an history book, a “working” town with rides and activities for tourists…

First of all, you would have to hire so many actors to make that work.

Second of all, I feel like in order to have a return of investment within the next 10 years, you would have to charge crazy money for the rides and the hotel.

And third of all, even with acceptable prices… would people actually drive for over 3 hours to come there, in the middle of nowhere to.. do what? Spend a week pretending to be a pioneer in the 1800s? Are you gonna hold workshops where you learn how to spot the early signs of typhus?

Listen, I am the premiere Little House on the Prairie fan and even I’m not too sold on this idea.

 

Either way, all these doubts on the viability of Mark’s plan are inconsequential, cause things start going downhill way before any sort of work on the town begins.                                                    

What’s the reason behind the protagonists’ undoing?

Back when this place was an actual town, the citizens set the local brothel on fire cause they thought the women in there were practicing witchcraft. Subsequently, the owner of the brothel and only survivor of the arson, took an axe and killed   e v e r y b o d y ….

.. really? She managed to kill over 200 people? With an axe? In a single night? …maybe the witchcraft rumors weren't  c o m p l e t e l y   unfounded.    

Either way, that really explains why the town is “full of ghosts”.

I have to say, the level of paranormal activity does not match the population density, I’ve seen single ghosts raise 100x more hell than this whole village. The only entity that does anything, really, is the axe murderer.

And this little trasparent ghost, slowly appearing in the corner of the frame, which was probably the coolest thing in the whole movie.  

probably not

can you even see it?

It’s worth noting that when Mark and Jenna bought the ghost town, they didn’t know anything regarding its murderful history. 

Mark learns about it a few days in, thanks to a Super 8 film and some charred photographs and newspapers he finds in a shed.

Listen... why are the newspapers talking about the arson and the pictures of the burned brothel, ALSO burned?

Cause what I’m hearing, is that they snapped some pictures of the crime scene, took the film to a dark room, developed it and printed it.. and then on their way to the frame shop, they tripped and dropped the photos in the ashes of the brothel…

Also that is the Super 8 with the most editing I have ever seen, it’s honestly spectacular.

Talking about editing, this movie’s cracked me up. Let’s take a step back for a second and evaluate: what are we looking at right now?

This is footage pulled from the video camera of a murdered person, that somehow made it to the public.

This is the set up for a great number of FF movies and, when I spot it, I have some expectations regarding the editing. Personally, I think it should complement the context by being very cut and dried, minimalistic, respectful, … the sort of editing you'd get from someone working with the police, or from a friend/family member who finds themselves needing to release the footage, for whatever reason.

What I would not expect, is for sunsets, sundawns and clouded full moons, to be used as transitions in between the clips… this movie subverted my expectations.    

 

Overall the movie wasn't  c o m p l e t e l y  terrible, I have definitely seen worst… the scares were all quite lame, but at least the acting was fine… would i recommend it? Probably not, but don't let me hold you back from getting 100 FF movies under your belt.

One last thing about the movie I found both hilarious and fascinating: it has a shit ton of parallels to The Shining.

1) Married couple who went through a rough patch, moves to an isolated place

Mainly because 

2) The husband is in need of a new direction, and he believes this job to be the occasion of a life time. On the other hand the wife is just smiling through the pain.

3) The husband used to be an alcoholic, and is provided alchool at/by the location, in magical ways. 

4) Husband develops a victim complex and becomes convinced his wife is working against his glow up.

5) The final showdown happens inside a maze, and includes an axe.

This really is The Shining for summer enjoyers. 

One notable difference is that, in this case, the wife doesn’t make it out alive, sadly… and also, spoilers. You’d think the brothel-workers-avenger would spare a woman who is being abused by her husband, but… I guess not.

They don’t make brothel-workers-avengers like they used to.