Prime Time: Ghost Crew (2022)

I like to support independent film-makers whenever, and however, I can. But it has to be a two-way relationship. I have to see something there, even if it's hard to see because of limited resources and a very small budget. Ghost Crew is a recent feature flm from Lawrie Brewster, another from his company, Hex Studios (a company co-created with Sarah Daly). Both Hex Studios and Brewster seem to do well when it comes to getting their films actually made, having used crowdfunding platforms on numerous occasions, and building on goodwill afforded to them because of their Owlman creation, featured in films such as Lord Of Tears and The Unkindness Of Ravens. I have an Owlman action figure that was part of one crowdfunding reward, and I own over half of the films released by Hex Studios, but this is the first time I have sat down to watch one of them. I don't own this one, but I was intrigued by the premise. Sadly, I should have started with something else, possibly anything else, from their catalogue.

Ghost Crew is the tale of an amateur TV presenter (Tom Hughes, played by Tom Staunton) who tries to keep viewers intrigued and entertained with his investigations into supernatural incidents. One day, while reporting from near the Harbourmaster's House in the fine kingdom of Fife, Tom meets a young woman named Sandy (Megan Tremethick). Sandy brings an extra mystery to Tom and his cameraman, Michael (Michael Brewster), which is obvious from her first scenes of vague utterances and strange looks. What follows is a disappointingly predictable and lazy chain of events leading to a final act that admittedly does just about enough to gain a bonus point or two.

Ghost Crew is memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. The script, by Staunton, isn't good. Everything is far too clearly signposted, humourous interactions miss the mark, and there's no attempt to pin down the format or style of the film. Rightly or wrongly, I figured this would be some kind of "found footage" film. It is not, but it seems to want to keep trying to work in that way, perhaps as an easy way to lower costs and explain away the lack of any decent visuals (although anyone who has worked hard on a decent "found footage" film will be able to tell you how tough it can be to get things right).

It's hard to really judge the direction from Brewster, the film often feels as amateurish as intended, but I think there were many ways to improve things here. One early scene, for example, has our presenter being hassled by a pesky bystander out to cause mischief and ruin the shot. Even the most amateur cameraman knows to try and zoom in and block out the nuisance on those occasions, as can be seen during many live outdoor news reports, but Michael instead seems intent on moving around to keep this rogue element in frame. Why? Because it's moderately amusing. Brewster should have known to either reframe that sequence, or replace it with something else entirely, but he doesn't, and it's one of many bad decisions that he makes throughout.

I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the cast because I don't want to seem unduly harsh. They're just not very good. Michael fares best, mainly because he only has to jump into frame in one or two scenes, but Staunton has written himself a role that is beyond his acting capabilities, sadly. His performance needs to be full of incompetence, but with something buried beneath the clumsiness that makes him a good person to get involved in the mystery presented. It doesn't have that mix, which leaves us stuck with incompetence upon incompetence. Tremethick over-emotes in a way that makes me think she's spent a long time in drama groups, and maybe in the odd stage play or two, but did't think about the huge difference between stage acting and film acting. There are others who turn up to play supporting characters, but most of them feel as if they've either been roped in to do a favour or won the chance to act in a film for a day.

Ghost Crew isn't good. It's relatively short, which is one plus, but it doesn't feel it. Everything drags, although that may have been more of a problem for a viewer like myself, familiar with some of the filming locations that Brewster and co. decided would make a good background for a horror movie. They're right in that regard, but this is the wrong movie to make use of them. Ah well, next time I'll review one of the Owlman movies and hope to have much kinder words for all of the people who work hard, and often with great passion, to maintain Hex Studios as a viable movie production company based in Scotland.

3/10

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