Ghosts Of War

Wars have destroyed a lot of people. What they witness, and their experiences in war, is a nightmare that never ends. And this will never end, as long as wars continue to go on worldwide. I remember when i was in Berlin back in 2013, as i walked with my wife among the graves of Jewish people, who were killed during World War II. The graves were so many, you felt a horrible sadness seeing all of these people killed, because of dictator Hitler and his followers. I also remember a museum in Berlin, that especially focused on the horrible years of World War II. I think it is very important that we will never forget what happened, and younger generations should be educated in history.  They need to see the truth, so we can not let this happen again. You never know what could happen again, if we let dictators brain wash people to do what they say. I have seen a lot of really good war films, that focuses on different time periods in history. When some directors combined the war genre, with horror influences, that´s when i especially felt interested. One of the films i am especially thinking about the 2002 horror war film Deathwatch, from director M.J. Bassett ( who also directed Solomon Kane, a guilty pleasure of mine ). This film is set during World War I, and tells the story of a lost squad of British soldiers, who take over a German trench. But it turns out that in this trench, there is something evil hidden within the muddy walls. Deathwatch is a well made war horror film, that manage to capture the time period of World War I and the atmosphere of the war. The characters in this film is also good, since they manage to bring out a lot of different personalities. Actors such as Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Laurence Fox and Matthew Rhus Evans all give solid performances, through out the film. I have to mention that this film looks great, especially the cinematography from Hubert Taczanowski ( who also did the cinematography on the action sci fi film D-War ). If you buy the UK DVD, you get plenty of special featurs, and the cast actually tell you some really interesting details. Since last year i have been Reading about a war horror movie called Ghosts Of War, that the distrubution company Studio S Entertainment released on Blu Ray. Since i am a fan of this mix up of genres, is this one of the better releases that connects war and horror, or should you avoid Ghosts Of War at all cost?

During the dark days of World War II, 5 Soldiers have been ordered to guard a French castle in the countryside. This French castle used to be occupied by the high Nazi command. But as they stay there, strange things begin to happen, that no one can really explain. 

It is not often we see horror films that takes place in World War II, but i am happy to say that Ghosts Of War makes sure to deliver what i was hoping for. Considering the budget, this film looks better than i expected. This is a horror film that both tries to take the war issues seriously, while bringing in horror influences into the storyline. First of all this film looks great, thanks to cinematographer Lorenzo Senatore ( who have been involved in many films such as Messengers 2: The Scarecrow and The Fourth Kind ( a horror film i think deserves more respect ). Lorenzo clearly knew how to capture the right colors and emotions of a war, and he is definetely the right person to work on a film like this. Another detail that i think works with Ghosts Of War, is that the characters are actually good in this film. There is a chemistry between these soldiers that helps the film become more interesting. Let´s start of by mentioning actor Brenton Thwaites ( of course you all remember him from Gods Of Egypt, one of my guilty pleasure films ) as the character Chris. Now, i have to admit that this character is actually one of the stronger ones in this film. He comes off as confident, and is very focused on doing his part of this mission. Actor Kyle Gallner ( who some of you might recognize from the Clint Eastwood film American Sniper ) delivers one of my favourite performances in this film as sniper Tappert. There is something charming about Tappert, a guy who have no problem speaking out what´s on his mind. But the thing is, that you soon realise that this charming side of him, have a very disturbing personality. Kyle manage to deliver a performance that feels fascinating. Towards the end of the film, the film takes a complete unexpected turn, and go in a completely different direction than you would expect. I have no problem with that, since i like unexpected surprises. Director Eric Bress ( mostly known for being the director of the 2004 film The Butterfly Effect ) brings us a war horror that may look pretty ordinary at first, but manage to surprise us. I think he did a good job on this film, especially capturing the atmosphere of World War II. There are a few details that could have been improved, but i have to say, Ghosts Of War is worth checking out. A film that will be appreciated by fans of Deathwatch.

Rating: DDD

If you want to see where the Blu Ray release is from Studio S Entertainment, here is where you can pick up the film online:

http://www.studiosentertainment.se/ghosts-of-war-blu-ray/