One of the most chilling films I’ve seen this year Pay the Ghost comes to Blu-ray/DVD featuring one of the creepiest narratives of a child disappearance. Very good acting, directing and cinematography lend to this sinister story that not only grabs at the heartstrings, but continues to frighten till the credits roll. It makes me wonder why the distributors did not release the video in October for the horror crowd because it’s that good.
Teacher Mike Lawford (Nicholas Cage) has been very nervous waiting for tenure and a professorship. He has been working late so his wife Kristen (Sarah Wayne Callies) and 7-year-old son Charlie (Jack Fulton) have been neglected. His duty to carve the pumpkin for Halloween eve has been pushed aside and even his son’s nightmares about a ghostly shadow outside his window gets very little attention from him. On Halloween he doesn’t get home in time for trick or treating so he decides to take Charlie to a local carnival just down the street from their New York City home.
The crowded street make it hard to maneuver and when Mike steps forward in the crowd to get Charlie an ice cream cone, the boy disappears from view. Kristen blames Mike for not holding onto Charlie and their marriage starts coming apart. Frantic, Mike tries everything to find Charlie and for months he prods police Detective Jordan (Lyriq Bent) to keep looking and keeps stapling flyers on polls throughout the city.
The story gets very suspenseful following the heartrending beginning turning into a relentless search by Mike to find the boy on his own. Director Uli Edel (TV Mini Series “Houdini”) offers up a big dose of fear, horror and violence as he guides Nicholas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies through “hell” immersed in a labyrinth of evil men and apparitions. In addition to the fine acting his sets and music bring on a foreboding aura setting up scenes that become frightening and gripping.
Nicholas Cage has been in as many bad films as good and this one definitely gets placed in my book on the better side of his career. As a father who fears the worse yet has the instinct to press on and never give up, his performance reminds me of the movie Prisoners starring Hugh Jackman. Just as intense, but with added horror Pay the Ghost leaves its audiences a bit more unraveled.
Pay the Ghost has not been rated by the MPAA but contains language, horror violence, scary images and sexual inferences. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good horror thriller. (B-)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jack Fulton, Lyriq Bent
Director and writer: Uli Edel
MPAA Rating: Not rating, contains language, horror violence, scary images, sexual inferences
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 34 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date: September 25, 2015
Video Release Date: November 10, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD (also available on Blu-ray)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
