Ghostwatch (1992)
Genre: Mockumentary / Horror
Duration: 91 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: Lesley Manning
Stars: Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Mike Smith
IMDb score:
7,3 (8.678)
Releasedate: 31 October 1992
Ghostwatch plot
""We don't want to give anybody sleepless nights.""
Ghosts don't exist. Or is it? The Early family's London home seems haunted. Furniture moves by itself, lamps explode and all kinds of noises come from the walls. Since the end of 1991 things have gone from bad to worse. When the eldest daughter suddenly gets scratches and cuts on her arms, that's enough. October 31, 1992. The BBC decides to devote a special broadcast to the incident. Sarah Greene and Craig Charles, two BBC reporters, analyze the house for paranormal activity with the help of hidden and heat-sensitive cameras, motion detectors and thermometers. Outside, the turned-up spectators like to tell about the sinister events that are said to have taken place there. In the BBC studio, hosts Michael Parkinson and Mike Smith discuss events at the house with expert Dr. pascoe. Viewers can also respond by telephone. Skepticism reigns, until things start to go wrong...
Actors and actresses
Presenter
Reporter
Interviewer
Phone-In Presenter
Dr Lin Pascoe
Pamela Early
Suzanne Early
Kim Early
Dr Emilio Sylvestri
Sound Recordist
Reviews & comments
Mug
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- 13981 messages
- 5969 votes
For ages 12 and over according to the DVD cover, while the BBC has never repeated this mockumentary after a crazy Halloween night on BBC1. Apparently a lot of Brits fell for this joke; people thought it was really a live broadcast and that everything was really happening. An Orson Welles' War of the Worlds post la lettre. Everything was compounded by cases of suicide and premature contractions, everything was linked to the broadcast.
Put some prominent British presenters (playing themselves) in a studio and in a haunted house, and the credibility is there. People can also call live (hello telephone panel!) with hilarious ghost stories about running sandwiches and such. And a large group of people outside the haunted house with scary stories. And full of technical glitches and such.
Skepticism is there and intensifying by the minute. But at some point things really go wrong. The scares come from fleeting images of the alleged poltergeist who can even be discerned in the studio when an audio tape of his voice is heard.
The ending is terribly over the top and goes wrong, and it's hard to imagine that people found it believable. Quite a shame after 75 minutes of brilliant TV with celebrity Michael Parkinson in a stellar role.
Lovers of poltergeists and haunted houses: TV history not to be missed. Spot Mr. Pipes, brrrrr, my hair stood on end every now and then.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Woland
-
- 4831 messages
- 3875 votes
To start with a warning: don't watch Ghostwatch if you're looking for an exciting or scary movie. And due to the large amounts of found footage films that were made later, Ghostwatch also seems a bit dated. The film is a somewhat corny, very British and quite charming fake documentary, once made by the BBC as a Halloween special. We follow a program with some prominent presenters and studio guests, people calling in with stories, and the main part is a special on location in a house that is apparently haunted - based on the same 'events' as The Conjuring 2.
The first half is a bit slow; not too much happens, and one of the girls in Enfield seems to be exposed as a fraudster. But in the second half it actually gets a bit creepy at times, when it becomes increasingly clear that things are really not right in Enfield, with poltergeists, inexplicable events and something that looks like a demonic possession. It has not completely survived the test of time, but I still like this kind of Britishness.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrkos
-
- 1034 messages
- 1814 votes
Ghost watch
Nice ghost film with a somewhat disappointing ending.
BBC hosts a program on Halloween night called Ghostwatch. During this evening they visit the Early family from London, because it seems to be haunted there. During the broadcast, led by presenter Michael Parkinson, there are also interviews with paranormal experts and people can call in to tell their own story or express their opinion.
I thought this was quite an interesting horror movie. The whole set-up was fun and the build-up was good. At first, little happens and there is great doubt, because is the Earlys' house really haunted, or do the children just want attention? But as you see more images and learn the history of the house, it seems more and more that this could indeed be real. And while it became more and more exciting, the film went off the rails towards the end, which took away all the tension for me. It became too chaotic in my opinion.
So I read above that many people in England believed this broadcast was real. I can understand that if you only started watching halfway through, because it comes across as 'real'. This was partly because the cast actually consisted largely of TV personalities and presenters.
3 stars.
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