With Ghosts of War, writer / director Eric Bress proves you don’t need an inflated budget to make a compelling war movie, and the fact that it also works as a horror film is just icing on the cake.
Occupied France, 1944; a squad of five soldiers, commanded by Chris (Brenton Thwaites), is ordered to defend a French castle that, until recently, was used as a headquarters by the Nazi high command.
This mission turns out to far more dangerous than they imagined, however, when the soldiers realize the mansion is haunted by some very pissed-off ghosts.&
First and foremost, the cast that Bress assembled for Ghosts of War is extraordinary; Thwaites is strong as the slightly confused, more-than-a-little frightened leader of this ragtag outfit, but it’s Kyle Gallner’s performance as the mentally disturbed sniper, Tappert, that stands out.
As for the horror, , definitely delivers the thrills and chills, and while Bress does occasionally rely a bit too heavily on jump scares, the scenes where the soldiers are touring the house, trying to find the source of mysterious noises, will have you on the edge of your seat.
The battle / war sequences may not be the most convincing (once again, the culprit is mediocre CGI), but they aren’t bad either, and the film even boasts a pretty cool mystery (the soldiers attempt to figure out why these ghosts aren’t at rest). All this and a surprising twist that comes right at the end adds up to one hell of a fun horror flick.
Rating: 8 out of 10