Review: Ghostwatch

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Ghostwatch
Directed by Lesley Manning
BBC; Screen One; Sonopress; MVD Entertainment
91 minutes, 1992 / 2022
www.sonopress.de
www.mvdvisual.com

Right now, there is a proliferation of Ghost Hunters type shows on cable television. I have watched a couple of them, and they suck, so obviously made up or at the very least stretching credulity. But this BBC1 film dates back to 1992, ahead of the crowded market, and is presented as a real documentary. There is little indication beyond the credits that it is fiction and exclaims itself as “live,” and comes across as a news program like ”20/20” or “60 Minutes.” This is helped by it being hosted by respected newsman Michael Parkinson and well-known celebrity Mike Smith (d. 2014).

As with Orson Wells’ radio broadcast of “War of the World” (1938), some people did not realize it was a scripted piece as this was way before the popularity of the Found Footage genre, so much of the audience was caught unawares. And like Wells’ radiocast, this was presented on October 31.

Mike Smith, Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene

In a regular looking home on Foxhill Drive (in England; I am assuming London), the Ghostwatch team is arriving to investigate the ghostly happenings in that house (the example they show is actually laughable for a number of reasons, but incredibly reminiscent of Paranormal Activity in 2007, nearly a decade later). Hosting the team is annoying comedian Craig Charles (of “Red Dwarf” fame). Note that most of the main characters are playing themselves. The “reporter” from the BBC and lead is Sarah Greene, who was married to Mike Smith at the time, which is acknowledged in the program, thereby giving it more credibility.

Like Geraldo Rivera and Al Capone’s vault (do you remember that?), for a while everything is pretty mundane as they switch back and forth between the house and the studio, where Parkinson and Smith interview a parapsychologist, Dr. Lin Pascone (Gillian Bevan), the owner of the house, Pam Early (Brid Brennan), and take calls from people who have possible ghostly experiences. Taking the counterpoint poo-pooing the events, is American Dr. Emilio Sylvestri (Colin Stinton).

Brid Brennan and the Wesson sisters

One of the questions in this show is whether or not the events are a poltergeist, due to the two puberty-period (no pun intended) Early daughters and real-life sisters, Kimmy (Cherise Wesson) and Suzanne (Michelle Wesson). Or, perhaps, could it be something more sinister?

Before we get to the meat of the matter, when the banging hits the walls, the film almost mocks itself with a series of red herrings that I thought was really well written (by Stephen Volk, who started his career with Gothic, the 1986 story of the creation of the Frankenstein novel).

Craig Charles, Brennan

This is the first time this has been released on Blu-ray, which looks incredibly crisp. There are some nice extras. First up is a brand-new Audio Commentary with British film historians Dr. Shellie McMurdo (University of Hertfordshire/University of Roehampton, whose interests include the horror genre, trauma theory, Found Footage horror, and torture horror) and Dr. Stella Gaynor (University of Salford; author of Made for TV Monsters: How has the rise of horror on US television impacted on the spectacle and acceptability of the genre?, as well as being a horror make-up artist). They discuss how original this TV film was at the time. The two Docs, who are personable, for quite a while discuss their reactions to the film when they saw it as young’ns. Eventually, they mention how certain scenes are culturally effective. It is a bit self-centered, but so refreshing than most of the flat and clinical, “Here is how it got started, cast stories, effect on culture” cliché commentaries.

Also new for the Blu-ray is the documentary, “Do You Believe in Ghosts?: 30 Years of Ghostwatch” (48 min). This is essentially a Making Of documentary, filled with interviews with the cast (Greene and Bevan), crew (including director Manning and writer Volk), among others. It is engaging and a bit of an historical document about the filming. It is mixed with scenes of the film that you have probably just watched, but using it as reference points to the conversations, works. It is well put together, and worth the view.

Gillian Bevan

Also on the disc is an archival commentary with writer Stephen Volk, producer Ruth Baumgarten, and director Lesley Manning. They give a bit more details about both the technical ends of the film and anecdotes. It amazes me that after all these hours of commentary, there is very little overlap of information. My guess is that this commentary was recorded for the DVD release in 2014. Last is the “Shooting Reality” featurette by director Lesley Manning (8 min). This shows parts of the script, the house floor plan, and Manning’s notes about it as she describes it, among other things. There is also the only clear and close-up picture of the ghost, Pipes (Keith Ferrari).

What kind of reaction did the audience have during the show and after? Well, the BBC announced that they received over a million phone calls that were both favorable and complaints by people who thought it was real (despite the credits at the beginning and end).

Greene

Just for the originality in its format, this is as an important television moment as Captain Kirk mixing it up with Uhura. There was no reality television frame of reference, and this makes it all the more powerful, and worth remembering when you watch this, and you really should. So much fun.

Oh, and there are reportedly 11 appearances of the ghost, Pipes. I saw four. Drinking game? Or maybe every time you see the two-liter bottle of Coke.

IMBD listing HERE