Dir. Pascal Laugier | Now Streaming On: Prime | Rating: 1/5

I sat down to watch this film off a positive review from a horror group I’m a long time member of, but I do feel like I was led astray. Incident in a Ghostland, also known as just Ghostland, is a disjointed mess of a psychological horror film. I was surprised to see that this was directed by Pascal Laugier, who worked on Martyrs (2008) and The Tall Man (2012). Though Martyrs falls under my umbrella of revenge horror written by men which I personally choose not to watch, I respect that it is a fan favorite of many revenge horror buffs. The Tall Man was also a solid crime horror, with an interesting storyline. This all considered makes it particularly disappointing that Ghostland is so remarkably unremarkable. ⁠
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From the first twenty minutes of the film, the main characters are insufferable and the family dynamic is unrealistic. The bulk of this film relies on a pretty significant plot twist that happens at the midway mark, which makes my review somewhat challenging. Much of the screen time follows the home invasion, in all its gruesome and unsettling details. Actress Taylor Hickson, who plays Vera, actually suffered a permanent facial injury during the filming of one of these scenes. There is a lot of screaming and wailing and dimly lit rooms. I wish I could tell you more than that, but I promised not to spoil a single story, even a poorly told story. ⁠
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Due to its prolonged scenes of gore, this is not a film for casual horror viewers, but I might go as far to say this isn’t a film for regular horror watchers. Ghostland will pull you through the ringer, just to leave you entirely disappointed. Skip this and watch The Strangers. ⁠
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Know Before You Watch: Features intense gore, blood, death, sexual assault. ⁠