‘Ghost Crew’ VOD Review
Stars: Tom Staunton, Michael Brewster, Megan Tremethick, Alexander Zorn, Richard Pate | Written by Tom Staunton | Directed by Lawrie Brewster
Tom (Tom Staunton, who also wrote the script) and his cameraman Mike (Michael Brewster; The Unkindness of Ravens, Slot) are The Ghost Crew, a paranormal investigation team try, without much success, to get some footage for their next show. In the middle of this, they encounter Sandy (Megan Tremethick; Werewolf Castle, The Lockdown Hauntings) wandering around in a daze. She can remember being at a hospital in the woods and walking until she encountered Tom and Mike but not why she was there or how she got there.
Like most ghost hunters in films like this, they’re one step away from being cancelled and Arnold (Alexander Zorn; Battlebox, Attack of the Unknown), their producer, is demanding better footage or else. Desperate to save their show they latch on to Sandy’s case.
Staunton and director Lawrie Brewster (Dragon Knight, Lord of Tears) get Ghost Crew off to a somewhat shaky start due to just how awkward and out-of-touch Tom seems to be. The way he acts towards Sandy is so cluelessly obnoxious he comes off as having zero social skills or empathy. It’s creepy but not in the way you might expect from a film like this. Thankfully the plot begins to deepen and his personality becomes less annoying. Nobody knows Sandy where she claims to live, the hospital is a ruin, set on fire twenty years ago by a man who claimed the place was evil. The deeper they dig the stranger the story becomes and the more people try to warn them off of it. And that’s before people start dying.
Let’s be fair, Ghost Crew is an extremely low-budget film which can’t afford to put much in the way of effects on the screen and relies on dialogue to deliver its exposition rather than letting the audience see things for themselves. Thankfully, its structure allows some of this to be done via interviews which aren’t as intrusive as sudden monologues.
Much of the film is more concerned with unravelling the backstory to the hospital and the murder that occurred there rather than documenting the ghosts, which is a bit unexpected given the title and plot. It also means that while the film is entertaining, it’s rarely actually scary. It actually verges on being touching at times once Tom becomes emotionally invested in solving the murder of the unidentified young woman and the coverup that followed.
It’s really not until the final act when the vengeful spirit and some desperate humans make their presence known that Ghost Crew shifts gears and begins to play on the viewers’ fears rather than their curiosity. And the last half hour certainly does have its moments as it heads towards its climax. Unfortunately, you’ll have seen the final reveal coming for most of the film. It’s actually so obvious I almost want to say you’re meant to know.
The cast does well in their roles, especially Staunton who takes his character from being annoying to the point I wanted to turn the film off to genuinely sympathetic and Tremethick who has to deliver some emotional scenes. They give the film its core. Richard Pate (The Deep Ones, The Devil’s Machine) also deserves mention as a detective who was hired to investigate the case in the past. He does well despite his appearances coming via video chat.
Those going into Ghost Crew expecting a typical “ghost hunters find what they’re looking for” plot will probably be disappointed. Approach it as a mystery with a supernatural element and you’ll probably be satisfied.
*** 3/5
Hex Studios has released Ghost Crew to digital platforms in the US and UK.
______