Writer: Chad Israel, Emanuel Isler (Screenplay)
Starring: Callum Blue, Nadine Velazquez, Makenzie Moss, Erik LaRay Harvey, Alden Tab, Danielle Lauder
Plot: A long abandoned slaughterhouse is transformed into modern lofts in a re-gentrified urban neighborhood. Soon after tenants move in they are tormented by a dark secret that has been trapped in the building for over 30 years.
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Simple Horror
Story: The Ghost of Charnel House starts with Alex (Blue) and his wife Charlotte (Velazquez) turning the once abandoned former slaughterhouse into a modern day luxury apartment building, with the soft opening underway and the first few tenants moving in including Devin (Harvey), Emily (Lauder) and Jackson (Davies) everything seems to be going well.
It doesn’t take long before the past ghosts of the build start visiting Mia (Moss) the daughter of Alex and Charlotte, before long the whole house starts to receive visits from a spirit with unfinished business.
Thoughts on The Ghost of Charnel House
Characters – Alex Reaves is the man behind the refurbishment of the building, he sees this as a fresh start for his family which will give them financial support for life, he starts having visions which will bring the connection back to the previous owner. Charlotte is the artist and designer (I think she did this too) who has help turn the building into the apartments and soon becomes the one that needs to fight to keep her family together. Mia is the daughter of the couple who starts seeing the little boy haunting the building, treated like the imaginary friend for the most part, she has behavioural problems and follows in her mother’s artistic nature. Devin Pyles is the man that has a connection to the previous use of the building, he is here to investigate just what happened here and knows about the darker side of the building.
Performances – Callum Blue in the leading role is fine without ever standing out in the leading role, which is going to be a theme when looking at the performances, nobody does anything to make themselves feel stand out in the film.
Story – The story here follows the re-opening of an old slaughterhouse as luxury apartments, but the ghosts of the old building are still there haunting the people that move in. this does give us the limited characters as the building isn’t officially opened, but will let people move into the property they have purchased early, this helps the story because an over crowded building would have only dragged the film down. The story is trying to be clever with certain connections only to fall mostly short with this side of the story telling. Once you do work out where the story wants to go you will work out the ending pretty easily which again disappoints and as for the supporting characters they seem to have no connection to the actual hauntings and are here just to give us a body count.
Horror – The horror in the film comes from the ghost visits and the technology not following the rules it should be, again simple scares which don’t give us anything to be frightened off.
Settings – The film is set in one house, we have an apartment building with history which gives us the haunting side of the film. it works well for the most part too.
Special Effects – The effects are not over used, they are simple when needed but nothing that becomes clear to what is happening in the film.
Scene of the Movie – Butch the Yorkie.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The pointless disposable supporting residents.
Final Thoughts – This is a very simple horror, it does the basics right without ever being put in the position of being anything special or standout, nothing is terrible, it is just average throughout.
Overall: Average horror.
Rating