This Geek in Netflix: Death of a Ghost Hunter

I’ve been tapering off on my enjoyment of found footage videos. I was never that impressed with The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity 3 really fell flat. I’m over it, you know?

That bitching, fortunately, has little to do with the 2007 film, Death of a Ghost Hunter. I just felt like starting this article with a complaint. A second complaint? Why the hell is my neighbor’s fire alarm going off? Take out the damn battery already!

Death of a Ghost Hunter was this little movie made by another one of those incestuous bubbles of people that seem to form in the film business. This particular bubbly set circles around such titles as: The Frankenstein Syndrome, The Great American Snuff Film, and The Greatest American Snuff Film. (I think those last two might be related.)

The actors in it are unmentionable at the moment– no one that anyone would recognize unless they’re somehow obsessed with the great or the greatest american fictional snuff films, so instead I’m going to take this time to thank my neighbor for finally removing his smoke detector’s battery. Thank y– fuck. False alarm. (Har.)

Away from that high-pitched beeping and into the film, Death of a Ghost Hunter opens as being based on true events. The highly broken up opening crawl reads:

In 1982, Minister Joseph Masterson and his family were murdered inside their home.

(insert crazy footage here of slaughter involving a Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick)

“Ghost Hunting” is the process in which paranormal investigators use modern technology to obtain tangible evidence regarding the existence of life after death.

In 2002, renowned ghost hunter Carter Simms, was offered $5,000 to perform a paranormal investigation on the Masterson House.

Her investigation stands as the single most tragic paranormal inquiry in American history.

It ended with her death.

This film is based on the journal entries she made during her investigation.

When I first started watching this movie, I assumed that there was some basis of fact that inspired a weird story. That was quickly dashed when I saw the name “Carter Simms”. No one names their little girl “Carter Simms”. (Found-footage screenwriters take note: don’t do shit like this.)

During the whole textual introduction, we get to watch Ms. Simms drive out to Arizona, engage with one of the remaining Mastersons, all while doing the most unbelieveable, “I’m-reading-this-from-a-script”, voice-over I may have ever heard.

From the incredibly shoddy voice over, we learn that, after witnessing an unexplainable event, Seth Masterson has not only hired Carter to examine the house, but also has brought on a journalist and a video technician to record her experiences. Carter isn’t happy about the potential interference, but she accepts that he is the client and he is going to be
paying her a chunk of money for three days of work.

The next day, Carter goes into the house and begins to walk through the place. While exploring she (and us, of course) gets the crap scared out of her by the tactless and slightly nerdy video technician, Colin. Shortly after, sassy and street-wise Yvette shows up on the scene, waggling her finger. (Being sassy and street-wise means she’s going to die first, by the way.)

You would think, much like Carter did, that we’d have our whole crew for the movie by this point but, much like Carter, you’d be wrong. The waif-like Mary Young knocks on the door and introduces herself as the spiritual advocate for the Masterson family, there to stand guard on their reputation as good Christians.

This is the part where I’d pull out some sort of weapon and bean her in the skull simply for being creepy, but no one in the movie seems to have my epic foresight.

After (poorly acted) introductions are made, our four-person crew starts their sleep-over party with Carter “Mood-Killer” Simms recounting the details of the Masterson murders from the police report and uncomfortably segues into Colin recording Carter as she wanders around the house attempting to take temperature readings.

When they arrive in the master bedroom, where Mr. Masterson had his throat slit, the temperature suddenly drops and everyone panics and bolts back to Command Center (AKA: the dining room) where, eventually, one of the chairs moves (making everyone panic again).

Two more nights with increasing paranormal activity (har har) take place and result in the culmination of this movie… which I rather enjoyed.

Parts of this movie actually surprised me, as it strayed just far enough from the usual formulaic presentation that we’ve all gotten so used to. I will admit that, about ten minutes in, I was about to switch movies. I didn’t want to watch a bunch of poorly acted crap. But I stayed with it and, yes, while the acting occasionally knocked me out of the movie, I’m
glad I stuck around.

Do I think it could have been done better, with a bigger budget and better actors? Yes, of course it could– and it would have been amazing. But the people who helped put this movie together and, yes, after a very shaky start created something pretty damn neat.

I definitely suggest putting this movie in your Netflix Instant Queue for future scary-movie-night viewing– just be prepared to wade through the first ten minutes.  Also, neighbor, thanks for finally taking care of your wailing smoke detector.  I’m now less likely to make attempts on your life.