For the longest time,
GHOSTWATCH was this sort of ghost itself - appearing and being mentioned here and there by various people on blogs, in magazine articles and in interviews. I had not seen it, but it was supposed to be this brilliant work that true horror lovers really needed to see. A few years ago I finally tracked it down and...wow...yes, it's fantastic.
Ghostwatch was a television event that quickly dropped into
WAR OF THE WORLDS style, real world fear and anger. Even though it was clearly marked as a drama in various places and did have a front section that called it out as entertainment, some people missed it and completely lost it when the events shown unfolded before them.
The program was planned wondrously. It used many of the usual items that people in the UK were used to seeing in similar programs on at the time including the host and technical people that viewers had seen time and time again in "real" shows previously. So, seeing the same people involved in this ghost show really sold the whole of it and helped to break down the wall between reality and fiction.
Ghostwatch is also a perfect "ghosty", with chilling audio and visual items within it that still hold up to this day. It pre-dates
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT by seven years and you can see elements within it that were to be used in BLAIR WITCH years later. It really is one of the originators of the modern day, cinema verité style ghosty we're seeing A LOT of today and it blows many of them away as far as the thrills and chills go.
Do yourself a favor and check out Ghostwatch - preferably late at night with the lights off. If you enjoy the film, make sure you check out the
HYPNOBOBS PODCAST listed below. He does an amazing overview of Ghostwatch covering the events leading up to the creation of the show and the subsequent fallout from the show's airing as well as some personal accounts. It's a grand overview that needs to be heard if you love
GHOSTWATCH as much as I did.
GHOSTWATCH: PART ONE
Ghost Watch pt 1 from
Encounters with Spirit on
Vimeo.
GHOSTWATCH: PART TWO
Ghost Watch pt 2 from
Encounters with Spirit on
Vimeo.
GHOSTWATCH: PART THREE
Ghost Watch pt3 from
Encounters with Spirit on
Vimeo.
HYPNOBOBS PODCAST #53 "GHOSTWATCH"
This is a GREAT overview of GHOSTWATCH. The Hypnobobs podcast is fantastic. He does his research for sure and his production value is grand. This is a must listen podcast and not just about Ghostwatch. All of the podcasts are entertaining, interesting and packed with information.
DIRECT DOWNLOAD
iTunes LINK
Dario Argento's masterwork SUSPIRIA is going to be playing at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CA on October 6th - 10:30pm.
