4 reviews
GHOST WEBCAM is a horror movie in which all the action plays out on a computer screen, as people communicate with each other via video calls.
A young man under house arrest chats with a young woman via a dating app. She directs him to the eponymous website, and before long she seems to fall victim to a ghost right on his screen.
There are by now a number of horror movies in this format, and some of them are quite good to excellent: THE DEN (2013), UNFRIENDED (2014), HOST (2020) and this year's THE INVITED (2024), for example. Each of these starts with a unique premise and develops the story in a direction that is not only unexpected but builds on what came before to present an overall coherent story in an entertaining and especially a gripping way.
In this movie, we have a unique and even intriguing premise, but the direction the story takes is neither particularly coherent nor particularly gripping.
I want to be clear that while it is obvious that this is an extreme low-budget film, I am not holding that against it. Rather, I see the main problem with the screenplay. A few more rewrites could have for example made a more coherent connection between events from 30 years before and the present, reduced the "dead time" moments in the film while cranking up the intensity in the latter parts of the film, and made the motivations of the ghost as it relates to the bystanders more plausible (for instance, via surprising plot twists or unexpected connections) while taking the story in surprising directions.
The implausibility that struck me the most was that a ghost with the powers shown in the final scenes would have no need to contact people the way it does.
Since the film is at about an hour pretty short, it may still entertain fans of the genre without overstaying its welcome, but to me it represents a missed opportunity because its biggest problem is not a a lack of money but a lack of ideas.
A young man under house arrest chats with a young woman via a dating app. She directs him to the eponymous website, and before long she seems to fall victim to a ghost right on his screen.
There are by now a number of horror movies in this format, and some of them are quite good to excellent: THE DEN (2013), UNFRIENDED (2014), HOST (2020) and this year's THE INVITED (2024), for example. Each of these starts with a unique premise and develops the story in a direction that is not only unexpected but builds on what came before to present an overall coherent story in an entertaining and especially a gripping way.
In this movie, we have a unique and even intriguing premise, but the direction the story takes is neither particularly coherent nor particularly gripping.
I want to be clear that while it is obvious that this is an extreme low-budget film, I am not holding that against it. Rather, I see the main problem with the screenplay. A few more rewrites could have for example made a more coherent connection between events from 30 years before and the present, reduced the "dead time" moments in the film while cranking up the intensity in the latter parts of the film, and made the motivations of the ghost as it relates to the bystanders more plausible (for instance, via surprising plot twists or unexpected connections) while taking the story in surprising directions.
The implausibility that struck me the most was that a ghost with the powers shown in the final scenes would have no need to contact people the way it does.
Since the film is at about an hour pretty short, it may still entertain fans of the genre without overstaying its welcome, but to me it represents a missed opportunity because its biggest problem is not a a lack of money but a lack of ideas.
- Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi
- Aug 17, 2024
- Permalink
First off, I will preface by saying that Ghost Webcam is by no means 'great' but, it is admirable for what it was.
Ghost Webcam is a micro-budget to no-budget found footage flick that takes greatly from its predecessors including Unfriended, Searching and Host. Unfortunately, it never gets as good as any of them.
The character stuff wasn't too interesting and the performances were ultimately unconvincing. However, I was strangely entertained throughout the film. The story was fun enough and even though the low budget dulls some of the plot elements, it was still a very welcoming return to fun, online found footage films.
So with all this in mind. Don't watch it with the expectations of seeing a Host successor, cause this film just isn't that, no matter how hard it may try. But if you like no-budget Tubi films, you may as well give it a go. It's also super short so there's not much to lose!
Ghost Webcam is a micro-budget to no-budget found footage flick that takes greatly from its predecessors including Unfriended, Searching and Host. Unfortunately, it never gets as good as any of them.
The character stuff wasn't too interesting and the performances were ultimately unconvincing. However, I was strangely entertained throughout the film. The story was fun enough and even though the low budget dulls some of the plot elements, it was still a very welcoming return to fun, online found footage films.
So with all this in mind. Don't watch it with the expectations of seeing a Host successor, cause this film just isn't that, no matter how hard it may try. But if you like no-budget Tubi films, you may as well give it a go. It's also super short so there's not much to lose!
- Greg_EVERTON_Reviews_INT
- Mar 6, 2023
- Permalink
I couldn't get past the great writing, and excellent acting. As a horror conisour, I have seen alot of great films. But this movie takes the yummy cake. The whole time my friends wanted to stop the movie but I forced them to push on. I, Halen Kooper think that cinema has peaked and don't see the point of further trying to make a movie as good as ghost Webcam. Again I Halen Kooper will pay you 100 dollars if you sit through this movie and don't enjoy it. It's so damn good. And yummy. The twists and turns will keep you guessing and the Ford commercials in the middle throw you for a loop but somehow increase the fun.
In conclusion I, Halen Kooper love this movie 10/10.
In conclusion I, Halen Kooper love this movie 10/10.
- damiannagasaka
- Mar 17, 2023
- Permalink
Proof that you can create a watchable film on a budget of $0.00.
The nature of the film left it visually confining, which was mitigated somewhat by the rotation of characters.
It might have been better if trimmed to 45 - 50 minutes. Maybe there was some requirement that it exceed one hour.
I thought the acting by those playing Nate, Mia and Kate was quite good, and none of the acting was really bad.
Some of the writing was disjointed. The connection between Stan, the woman who bought his house and his daughter didn't really make sense. However, these sorts of horror movies seldom make any sense at all, so we should be forgiving.
The nature of the film left it visually confining, which was mitigated somewhat by the rotation of characters.
It might have been better if trimmed to 45 - 50 minutes. Maybe there was some requirement that it exceed one hour.
I thought the acting by those playing Nate, Mia and Kate was quite good, and none of the acting was really bad.
Some of the writing was disjointed. The connection between Stan, the woman who bought his house and his daughter didn't really make sense. However, these sorts of horror movies seldom make any sense at all, so we should be forgiving.
- johnalfredtaylor
- Jan 17, 2024
- Permalink