Urban Ghost Story (1998)

Wow! Such a good movie.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Best movie ever!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I caught Urban Ghost Story on t.v. recently and I have to say I was very impressed. I was familiar with the film makers through their authorship of the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook but, to be honest, after reading about their first two features 'The Runner' and 'White Angel' (neither of which I have seen) I wasn't expecting great things from Urban Ghost Story.It turned out however to be a very effective piece of film making which works just as well as social realism as it does as a genre film. The central performance, given by a young non-actor, possesses a raw, natural quality which helps to ground the film's supernatural aspects in a very well observed reality. Stephanie Buttle as the girl's mother is a real find as well, having to work hard against her natural beauty to make her portrayal of a dirt poor single mother convincing. Less impressive are the star turns. Billy Boyd is an ineffectual, stuttering gangster and Jason Connery (a questionable piece of stunt casting) does little with his role as a shady tabloid journalist. The film works hard though to create a believable locale, a Glasgow tower block, and succeeds totally. The film makers have clearly taken the Robert Wise 'Haunting' approach to depicting the ghostly activity and for the most part it works. These scenes could have done with being a little scarier perhaps but a bizarre seance scene does unnerve. Most impressive of all though is the fact that Urban Ghost Story was made for a reported £250,000. For that money they have created an atmospheric film which feels cinematic, complete with a jaw dropping explosion and stunt work. If only more British low budget film making was this adventurous. I am surprised to see that the director has not made a film in the six years since release whereas Merchant Ivory (whose films have gone largely unwatched since Remains of the Day) get money thrown at them. I only wish that more film makers like Ms Joliffe would emerge to shake up the British film industry.

Finally - something different. I've been really disappointed with horror films like Van Helsing, Cabin Fever and to some extent 28 Days Later mainly becausethe stories tend to be very flat and uninteresting. The characters are people we have seen 1000 times before and you know exactly what they are going to do.Also, the stories don't make a lot of sense - there are enough plot holes in 28 Days Later (is there really only one way out of London and it's through atunnel?) and Cabin Fever (not to mention the lousy acting of the latter) to make anyone roll their eyes. However, Jolliffe's film feels real, looks real and takes a bold chance by mixing horror and social realism in a truly frightening way.I love how Jolliffe take us into a world that few Americans ever see - a Scottish slum and make a poltergeist film out of how one might actually happen. Mostpeople who experience this phenomenon are young teenage girls who have alot of stress or trauma in their lives. It is dark, dingy, nasty world filled with harsh characters like a very un-Hobbitish Billy Boyd as a stuttering loan shark who live life with twisted view. A woman gets pregnant at 16 and thinks it's the greatest thing ever because she can go on welfare. That's f-ed up. It's no wonder that the lead girl, who I thought did a fantastic job balancing her emotions betweentrying to be a "cool" teenager and a "scared little girl" is a prime candidate for a poltergeist happening. Refreshingly there's none of these ghosts swirlingaround the room - they are much more subtle and hence much creepierbecause they fray on your nerves instead of blowing their wad in one hugeaction sequence. That's what Spielberg did with Jaws for most of the film.But two things really make Urban Ghost Story stick out. First, is that the story takes the viewpoint of "what would really happen" to people who experiencethis situation. They would go to as many "doctors" to fix the situation. So we see scientists, exorcists and religious figures all trying to put their spin on it - and they all have a valid argument for their belief. But, ultimately we are dealing with something that humans can't defeat with "weapons" - that is what makes thistruly supernatural and scary. Only from the lead girl's confession does all go back to how it should. Humans have to appease the situation - make amends for wrong doing - not try to get away with something through sorcery or statistics. Fantastic. The second thing is that the film from what I have read was made for about $300,000. And yet the filmmakers managed to have a spectacular highfall and a frightening car wreck with a thunderous explosion. They really know how to put every dollar on screen. It really is inspiration for indie filmmakers out there that you can make something great with very little.Go see this film and open your mind. You won't get the same obligatory plotpoints and cardboard cutout characters. You'll get something 100 times better.

This shows that you can make an involving, emotionally moving film on a low budget - characterisation and story are what counts here, helped by a grimly realistic setting. I won't give too much away, but it's about a young girl who 'dies' in a car accident and is brought back to life, and what follows...the DVD is out in the UK soon - take a look!

This debut by Jolliffe is not bad, but if suffers from wanting to tell too much at the same time: the guilty conscience of Lizzie, the horror of living in a block of flats, of nosy neighbours, of journalism, social service and so on, and so on. The result is an uneven, detached picture. Heather Ann Foster is very good as Lizzie.