Ghosts of War - Disappointing and Crowded (Spoilers)

 

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In the book Save The Cat by Blake Snyder, an entertaining and insightful “how-to” guide for screenwriting and story structure, there is a shortlist of things to avoid when crafting your script. One of these elements is what the book refers to as “Double-Mombo-Jumbo.” In essence, if you have a fantastical element in your story, let’s say intelligent robots, don’t add another fantastical element on top of it, say vampires. In other words, you can tell a story about robots or vampires, but not robot vampires. It is one of the few things that can legitimately destroy suspension of disbelief. While there have been a few memorable exceptions to the rule, such as Sharknado or Wolf Cop, which are both intentionally and unintentionally funny, it is rarely wise to incorporate too many fantastical elements. It makes the story needlessly overcomplicated and unsatisfying. 

Such is the case with today's subject, Ghosts of War, which has all of the building blocks to be a decent haunted house film with a WW2 backdrop. Sadly, the last third of the film loses all of its good graces by appearing smarter than it actually is. 

The story follows five allied soldiers in Nazi-occupied France with orders to hold down a Chateau previously under Nazi control. Upon their arrival, they settle in and wait for further orders or relief. However, things take a chilling turn when they begin to encounter strange and likely supernatural phenomenon all throughout the property. After some investigating, they discover what the Nazis did to the people who used to live there, and their ghosts are likely haunting the place as a result. Now, they must find a way to appease the spirits that torment them before they also fall victim to the Chateau’s misery. 

This is a clever setup. You have a perfect location for a classic haunted house and a spot-on parallel between supernatural and real-world horror. Had the film stuck with this setup and committed to a grander story with this framework, it might have been a perfect horror film. Sadly, it fails rather hard. Due in no small part to a boring and sophomoric twist. 

On the off chance you wish to avoid spoilers and try this film out for yourself, I recommend avoiding paragraphs that begin with the SPOILERS prompt and are written in Red. 

SPOILERS: 

It turns out that the haunted Chateau is actually a computer-generated simulation. The soldiers were amputee survivors from Afganistan placed inside a Matrix-style simulation to assist in their PTSD and trauma treatment. Also, they remember an event wherein they were forced to hide and witness the grisly murder of a family, despite their desire to intervene and save them. Their "hauntings" resulted from the one surviving member of the murdered family, who was also the cause of an explosion resulting in their lost limbs, placing an ancient curse on the soldiers, forcing them to relive their sins over and over again for eternity. It's implied that the family's ghosts are messing with their virtual mental treatment and will be forever forced to repeat the process.

For those who skipped the last paragraph, the short version is that the film shoehorns in an unnecessary twist that only makes the entire story needlessly overcomplicated. 

On the flip side, there are a handful of things the film does well. The acting, especially from the leading man Brenton Thwaites, is top-notch. The cinematography is pretty, the production design is on-point, and the special effects are convincing enough. 

Even so, none of that can save this movie from its lousy script, tunnel vision direction, and inability to execute a coherent concept. 

Skip this one. 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.