In the haunted house thriller Ghostkeepers, geeky podcaster Barry “The Night Hawk” Bird (Christian Pawlowski) plans to record a special episode at the house, where Barry's favourite horror film The House Where Evil was Born was filmed. Invited to the house are the film's stars Victor Brimstone (Anthony D.P. Mann) and Vera Sunset (Sherri Paterson), as well as Amber (Jenny Costanzo), who claims to be the “best psychic in the state.” Also in attendance is Barry's sound technician Raike (Jennifer Verardi), who doesn't believe at all in paranormal activity. However Raike begins to experience some strange activity, which reminds her of moments from her past that she has tried her hardest to forget. Ghostkeepers is a film that would be easy for me to write-off. The film is very obviously made on the cheap and the acting is quite laughable. I particularly didn't respond well to the main character of Barry, who is the ultimate stereotype of the basement-dwelling fanboy. With his non-stop psychotic grin, he was most definitely the least-likeable character in the film. I don't know if this was intentional, but as a self-described geek, I can't help but feel a little insulted at this portrayal of fanboys. That said, underneath the low budget and bad acting is a story of some interest. While this isn't the most original of ghost stories, I thought it was executed well enough, especially once the film got into the backstory of Raike and how her childhood experience is somehow related to the hauntings going on in the house. Ghostkeepers also has it influences on its sleeves, with many references to films such as the original House on Haunted Hill and The Changeling. Also it's quite obvious that the character of Victor Brimstone (played by the film's director Anthony D.P. Mann) is somewhat influenced by Vincent Price. While it was not a complete waste of time, I thought that Ghostkeepers was little more than a cheap b-movie. The film is not particularly all that scary and the production as a whole seemed really amateurish. While some of the actors did a decent job, others (like Barry) were incredibly painful to watch. While I understand that the film was probably limited by a very low budget, it was still not a fully satisfying experience and almost anticlimactic. This is definitely a film that you should just wait until it appears in the bargain bins to see.6 | WATCHABLE
