Ghost Town: The Movie

Having watched Dean Teaster's Ghost Town several times and carefully read the comments here I have come to several conclusions. First of all as someone else has pointed out Teaster's name is all over the movie. Yedt when you check the database here the credits have changed to Dean West. Hmmm? I wonder why? Changing your name will not hide you from the truth. The truth is this story had potential, but not with you. Watching the movie is like looking at something through thick dark glass. You can make out images, ideas, characters, plot, but somehow nothing particular. One commentator said that they were happy the movie wasn't dumbed down. That the confusing editing had something akin to Pulp Fiction in it. Pulp Fiction was never confusing in the least. While it was edited in a non linear manner, one was never confused as to the storyline. To claim that Ghost Town was edited in a like manner is a blatant attempt to give credence and respectability to what is obviously an amateur effort. I would be very surprised to find that Teaster when to film school or for that matter knows even the the basics of editing. The camera angles and shots are first rate for an independent film. The acting, while is spots is marginal, overall is quite good. But beyond this the film lacks a coherent framework that holds the story together. Some have likened it to a jigsaw puzzle put together incorrectly. But I think it goes beyond that. The lack of even a fundamental understanding of film construction points to a basic lack of talent in this area. That is not something that can be learned. You either have it or you don't. Take the critical comments here, by people who know, as overwhelming evidence that your talent does not lie here.

They may have tried hard,but there is a rash of inexperience both in front of the camera and behind it that kills the film almost immediately and makes the viewer wish he had chosen something else to watch.Even the more experienced actors like Rance Howard and Bill McKinney come away looking bad because of the painfully ridiculous dialog written for them by the film's inexperienced script writers.The story is interesting enough,though,and would probably have come out looking a lot better with a more seasoned crew in charge.While it might be true that this film was not intended to be a blockbuster,it still has to be entertaining,and it comes up painfully short.

Considering the screenplay was provided by a Nth-rate actor whose previous writing credits included the Skinemax-sounding "Supermodel Showdown: Costa Rica" (which appears to be a behind-the-scenes of a real photo shoot...so I'm not sure how one gets credited as 'writer' in the first place), it's pretty much a safe bet that this film is going to be a stinker of epic proportions.

It's a little sad to see Renee O'Connor involved in this. Granted, Xena: Warrior Princess would never be considered high art, but it had a sense of self-awareness and humor that allowed it to remain consistently watchable despite its camp. Virtues found lacking in nearly every project put forth by the creative team behind Ghost Town: The Movie.

You've been warned people. =)

I agree with Lawrence. I saw this at AOF. The editing was extremely difficult to digest, very D grade and amateur editing. The scenes drug on, very painful at times. They almost had a story and characters were just lost. It's a shame cause some of the shots were really, really nice and this movie could of been OK with some proper, professional, post talent. Rating this a ten is very humorous, very few ten professional movies exists, and it is very obvious that these must be people from this production rating it. That's OK, everyone wants their movie to be the best ;) but this film is far from a ten but a very good try for real amateur film makers. It looks like a first film but apparently it's not the companies first attempt. They are really going to have to step it up and make QUALITY projects if they want to compete and play with the big boys. It's a bummer to see the director also commenting on this page defending the movie, that will surely loses the integrity of the project fast. Directors should step back and let the film speak for itself and let the peoples honest judgment take play, people are smart they will tell you what they like and don't like. :) On a good note the setting was nice and the costumes looked great and some of the characters were really fun but should of been given a little more time to develop, seems like some characters had too much of the screen and others needed more. Very Confusing. Needs serious tightening and attention. Hope this is constructive criticism not to be taken to heart. Good luck on the next project! JBerg

About 20 minutes into this movie you begin to wonder just what is going on. What should have been a straightforward western tale of revenge is muddied up by poor storytelling. Too many cuts back to the back story and confusing choices of shot selection constantly nag at the viewer. Just when you think you have an idea about what is going on, the editor throws something totally irrelevant on the screen and you are left wondering what happened? This is incredibly frustrating! I can "see" the story on a basic level. I can sense what the film is trying to do. But it as if the editor is purposely trying to throw a wrench into the works. I am left with a simple question: Why would he do that? Nothing is more straightforward than a western. The good guys and the bad guys are easily distinguishable. And the plot is usually quite linear. Why then would you take a simple story such as this and assemble it in such a dyslexic manner?