‘Reacher’s Alan Ritchson tur šo zemāko 2020. gada pārdabisko kara trillera filmu

When Ghosts of War was released in 2020, it didn’t gain much traction and received mostly unfavorable reviews from critics. From a current perspective, this horror film, set in the penultimate year of World War II, strikes a different note, with its effective mix of suspense and action, as well as supernatural and psychological aspects. Admittedly, the initial premise of Eric Bray’s film isn’t all that original, as the war setting is nothing new to the horror genre, thanks to such outings as The Master , Slavery, Trench 11 , Slavery, The Bunker , etc. However, few films offer truly interesting concepts within the genre’s wrapper, mostly contenting themselves with new ways to introduce various monsters (most often, zombies) into a historical setting. A notable exception was MJ Bassett ‘s 2002 film, Deathwatch , which presented war itself as a monster. And Ghosts of War , despite all the plot differences, focuses on the same idea, focusing on how war creates terrifying moral dilemmas and showing how guilt and shame for certain actions or Inaction can create its own monsters and curses.

What are “Ghosts of War” about?

In 1944, five American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division arrive at a chateau somewhere in the French countryside. They are ordered to guard the place, and at first none of the men think much of it when the unit that had the previous shift seems to be in disarray and can’t get out of there fast enough . In the area, the guys barely manage to settle in when strange, seemingly paranormal events begin to occur all around them. Between a mysterious knocking sound coming from the fireplace that seems to be using Morse code to send ominous messages, and a journal detailing the terrible fate of the family that once lived here, the heroes succumb to the dark presence that lurks around them. German soldiers arrive and attack, but by this point the Americans have already realized that what they are dealing with inside the house could be far more dangerous than the enemies they are trying to keep out.

Savrupmājas gotiskais iestatījums un visi iespējamie drebuļi, kas saistīti ar to, var ienest vēl vienu atsauci uz pārdabiskām šausmu, kas paredzēts Otrā pasaules kara laikā, – neveiksmīgu turpinājumu jau nevajadzīgai pārtaisīšanai, Sieviete melnā krāsā: nāves eņģeliskas iznāca 2014. gadā. Tomēr atšķirībā no pēdējiem Kara spoki Neizmanto karu tikai kā fonu klasiskam spoku stāstam par atriebīgu garu, kurš vēlas atriebību, bet iekļauj to emocionālajā kodolā šeit: Karš nav šausmu fons; tas ir katalizators tamApvidū Ēriks Bress nav iesācējs žanra kinoteātrī, iepriekš strādājis pie Galamērķis Franšīze – gan otrā, gan ceturtā filma – kā scenārists un vadījis Tauriņa efektsApvidū Iekšā Kara spokikuru viņš gan uzrakstīja, gan vadīja, Viņš efektīvi izmanto vietu, kas lielākajai daļai stāsta joprojām ir diezgan ierobežotaliekot tai darboties gan šausmās, gan ilgstošajā darbību secībā, kas attēlo vāciešu uzbrukumu.

“Kara spoku” un tā efektīvā vērpšana paceļ to no tipiska spoku stāsta

Tāpat kā daudzas filmas ar skaidru pretkara ziņojumu, Kara spoki ir ļoti specifisks rakstzīmju komplekts un ļoti īpašs dalībnieks, kas viss palīdz asināt Ideja, ka vairums cilvēku, kas atrodas tranšejās, nav melnbalti varoņi vai neliešiApvidū Tikai parastie cilvēki, kuri cenšas noturēties pret savu veselīgumu haosa un neprāta apstākļos. Tas ir īpaši redzams nākotnes Džeka Reachera gadījumā, Alans Ričsonskurš spēlē vienu no privātpersonām ar savu preču zīmes dabisko harizmu par cilvēka, kurš varēja būt stāsta varonis, un ar to, kurš to sasniedz līdz gala kredītiem kādā citā scenārijā. Tomēr šeit viņš negaidīti kļūst par pirmo un gandrīz nejaušu upuri, vēlreiz uzsverot ideju par karš kā tumšais spēks, kas apēd visu un visus savā ceļāApvidū

The other main cast members contribute to the effect as well. Brenton Thwaites plays the unit commander who does his best to lead but comes off as just as confused as the men he’s supposedly in charge of. And Kyle Gallner, who hadn’t quite achieved his Scream King status at that point but already seems to have several notable genre outings under his belt, seems to be channeling his experience in Haunting Connecticut into playing the character who is perhaps most receptive to the supernatural presence in the mansion. Rounded out by Skylar Astin and Teo Rossi, the group comes off as a regular bunch of young men who have been scarred and exhausted by war but try to cling to some semblance of normalcy, gathering around the fireplace and scaring each other, relaying horrific incidents as if they were campfire stories.

While Ghosts of War is by no means a subtle film, the gradual dissolution of a familiar reality is what it does best by hinting at a possible twist through a series of inconsistencies in the story that are noticeable to history buffs and a famous reference to Ambrose Bierce’s short story, The Incident at Owl Creek Bridge in The District. When the film was first released, much of the criticism it faced was specifically focused on the film’s ending, arguing that both the twist and such resolution were pointless. However, in the context of the film’s broader significance , there is another way to view this controversial ending in The District. In its final sequence, Ghosts of War seems to fully embrace its psychological horror origins, showing that the only way to deal with trauma is to go back to its roots and address it directly, rather than going through soothing motions that are merely an illusion of moving forward.