Ghosts of the Ozarks

source: Ghosts of the Ozarks

This is one of those films that has great characters that you can change out and make into a series. James McCune (Thomas Hobson) is requested to come to Norfolk, Arkansas by his uncle (Phil Morris) who appears to run the utopian village. The old doctor had passed away, taken by the ghosts of the red fog. Ghosts are outside of the walled community and keeps them prisoners. The town has secrets besides the ghosts. I thought the ending messed up a good post reconstruction supernatural tale.

I watched this movie just for David Arquette, the plot seemed interesting as well but sadly I didn't like it. It took me too long to understand what was going on through out the film and that's why I couldn't enjoy it. Even when I finally understood I didn't like what I saw. It was super boring as well and I'm sad it turned out that way for me.

This is one of those cases where the way a movie's advertised or sold to you ends up hurting it in the end. We've seen plenty of period piece horror movies, but rarely have I seen it set in the Old West. Sadly, unlike something like 'The Witch' or 'The Lighthouse', the horror elements are not in anyway harmonious with the setting, and in fact, the film probably would've been alot better had they dropped them altogether. While I'm happy they didn't resort to cheap jumpscares, their attempts to frighten the audience is downright pathetic. Really the most intense moments in this are the realistic bits without any hint of the supernatural. It's a shame really cause they probably could've done so much with their premise, but in the end they couldn't make it work. The 'Scooby-Doo' style ending was especially a sour send off. That all being said, I did really enjoy the characters, and when it wasn't trying to do horror, I was actually interested in the story. True it might be unrealistically progressive for the time period, but regardless, it did draw me into what was going on with the people. In no small part thanks to the acting which is solid across the board. There's a good movie in here trapped inside of a horror film that couldn't scare a toddler.

The western/horror combo was about to be a nice combo until it took a lame Shyamalan turn into a false uptopia. Nephew undercovers his uncle's devious control using a giant wooden goat idol.

This movie is definitely in the Top 10 of worst movies I've seen. Besides being stupidly pointless, everything about it made no sense. Instead of being listed as a "horror" movie, it should be under the comedy genre. My bad for paying to actually watch it. Another hour and a half I can never get back. The acting is marginal and the only part that helps you sit through it, but make no mistake, you'll still fall asleep from boredom. I wouldn't even recommend watching it if it were free to do so. It's really that bad.

The plot is simple - and one that should work with relative ease. James, a young doctor (Thomas Hobson), is invited to set up his practice in the remote, utopian town of North Fork in the post-Civil War Arkansas Ozarks. This town, of course, is set in their ways. They host their own internal secrets, while fighting off an external supernatural menace. Ghosts of the Ozarks had the potential to be gothic and creepy; low-lying fog and the full moon are every horror fan's friends. The mystery could have been a slow, involved burn with Shyamalan-ian twists. Instead, the movie is hampered with sub-par acting, generic dialogue, and ridiculous Civil War cosplay. Truly, North Fork's ghost wouldn't even have kept the Scooby Gang overly occupied. If Ghosts of the Ozarks had a style to its production, the amateur acting from its primary cast of Hobson, Perry, and Phil Morris as the town's mayor, could almost be excused. But the movie looks flat and dull. The story is a dud that even Tim Blake Nelson with a cleaver could not cut with any excitement. XYZ Films, the movie's distributor, is known for chancy, genre flicks (Nic Cage's Mandy, anyone?). Ghosts of the Ozarks has a ghost of a chance to entertain even the basest of genre fans.

OK I would honestly call this movie a 7 or 8 out of 10 but due to ask the negative reviews I felt it necessary to rate it a 10. This was a very enjoyable movie with good acting, cinematography, and plot. It deserves better than what the haters are giving.

It goes along forever with very little of substance happening. Then it's the old story of The Village reveal. If you're not yawning by then you must already be asleep.

To be honest, for Horror movies these days, this one is going to strike many as very slow and uneventful. It is indeed very, very different from the 'Hip' Horror of today. It is a very old fashioned story set after the Civil War. Its strong points are that just as a film in and of itself, it is extremely well made. The acting across the board is very strong. There are many instances where because the characters are so well developed and portrayed, you really become emotionally attached to them and are genuinely moved by what happens to them. In many 'Modern' Horror movies this is rarely the case. So, the primary focus here is on character as opposed to a Slam/Bang story. The atmosphere and time period are created in a deep, layered, and fully believable way. Another strong point is that right from the beginning an intriguing mystery is suggested as the audience wonders just what exactly is going on. I felt the tone and mood that the filmmakers created was quite effective. First presenting us with the almost Fairytale like village, and then slowly but steadily building an increasing sense of tension as the audience tries to figure out where this is going. First and foremost, in my very lowly and wretched opinion, I just really appreciate the fact that the film is very well made. With such a slow building story, it is vital to keep all of the elements, the acting, the situations, the pacing just right in order to be successful to build to a good finish, which I honestly feel they do quite effectively. But, be warned that this is NOT your run-of-the-mill Slash & Dash modern Horror movie. And, if you are looking for ANYTHING that even resembles modern day Horror, you are very likely to be disappointed. BUT... if you truly enjoy quality filmmaking in and of itself, and if you don't mind a very slow burn, low key build to the story, and I guess if you also happen to like the time period which is represented very well here, there is a chance that you might enjoy this very unusual, but well put together film. ***EDIT After reading Ferguson-6's excellent review above, I just wanted to add that if you would like more details about the characters and such, his review will give you some excellent information about the flavour of the movie. I have a tendency to give more of an overview of how good of a film I thought it was and why, but without giving very many specifics. So, I would HIGHLY recommend that you also make sure to read Ferguson-6's great review above (he also gave it a '7') 😊