Ghosts of the Ozarks

Austin Film Festival 2021 Greetings again from the darkness. Most mothers tell their kids, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." Young Doctor James McCune (Thomas Hobson) has decided to take up the offer from his Uncle Matthew (Phil Morris, who "Seinfeld" fans will recognize as outrageous attorney Jackie Chiles), and become the town doc in North Fork. The year is 1866, and after an eventful trip that sets us up for a horror film, James arrives to find one of the earliest 'gated communities'.

Upon arriving, two things stand out to James. First, it seems all of the North Fork citizens know his name and have been waiting on him to show up. Second, he's fascinated by the sight of a mixed-race community living in harmony. His bright-eyed awe shows his wondering whether this this some type of Utopian society? Not long after he realizes his Uncle Matthew holds the power position in town, James begins to notice the cracks in the façade of his new found paradise.

The town's characters are quite a bunch to behold. Torb, the multi-talented blind barkeep is played by the always-fun Tim Blake Nelson (recently seen in OLD HENRY). Tara Perry (the film's co-writer and wife of co-director Jordan Wayne Long) plays sharp-shooting Annie, not one for putting up with much drama. Her rather large, protective brother William is played by Joseph Rudd, while Angela Bettis as Lucille and David Arquette as Douglas play normal and annoying - I'll leave it to you to discern which is which.

"From one seed an entire forest can grow" is the film's opening quote, and it takes on an entirely different meaning as the story progresses. A gathering red fog indicates the menacing ghosts are present, but are the forest ghosts the real threat? Co-directors Jordan Wayne Long and Matt Glass, along with co-writers Long, Sean Anthony Davis and Tara Perry have adapted their 2016 short film into a ghastly fun feature, with Mr. Hobson and Ms. Perry reprising their roles. As we've learned power plays come in many forms, and sometimes legends are used to distract from the truth. Thanks to this film, I have a new guideline: any movie that features Tim Blake Nelson singing with an Irish accent is automatically worth watching.

To be honest, for Horror movies these days, this one is going to strike many as very slow and uneventful. It is indeed very, very different from the 'Hip' Horror of today. It is a very old fashioned story set after the Civil War. Its strong points are that just as a film in and of itself, it is extremely well made. The acting across the board is very strong. There are many instances where because the characters are so well developed and portrayed, you really become emotionally attached to them and are genuinely moved by what happens to them. In many 'Modern' Horror movies this is rarely the case. So, the primary focus here is on character as opposed to a Slam/Bang story.

The atmosphere and time period are created in a deep, layered, and fully believable way. Another strong point is that right from the beginning an intriguing mystery is suggested as the audience wonders just what exactly is going on. I felt the tone and mood that the filmmakers created was quite effective. First presenting us with the almost Fairytale like village, and then slowly but steadily building an increasing sense of tension as the audience tries to figure out where this is going.

First and foremost, in my very lowly and wretched opinion, I just really appreciate the fact that the film is very well made. With such a slow building story, it is vital to keep all of the elements, the acting, the situations, the pacing just right in order to be successful to build to a good finish, which I honestly feel they do quite effectively.

But, be warned that this is NOT your run-of-the-mill Slash & Dash modern Horror movie. And, if you are looking for ANYTHING that even resembles modern day Horror, you are very likely to be disappointed. BUT... if you truly enjoy quality filmmaking in and of itself, and if you don't mind a very slow burn, low key build to the story, and I guess if you also happen to like the time period which is represented very well here, there is a chance that you might enjoy this very unusual, but well put together film.

***EDIT

After reading Ferguson-6's excellent review above, I just wanted to add that if you would like more details about the characters and such, his review will give you some excellent information about the flavour of the movie. I have a tendency to give more of an overview of how good of a film I thought it was and why, but without giving very many specifics.

So, I would HIGHLY recommend that you also make sure to read Ferguson-6's great review above (he also gave it a '7') 😊

The plot is simple - and one that should work with relative ease. James, a young doctor (Thomas Hobson), is invited to set up his practice in the remote, utopian town of North Fork in the post-Civil War Arkansas Ozarks. This town, of course, is set in their ways. They host their own internal secrets, while fighting off an external supernatural menace. Ghosts of the Ozarks had the potential to be gothic and creepy; low-lying fog and the full moon are every horror fan's friends. The mystery could have been a slow, involved burn with Shyamalan-ian twists. Instead, the movie is hampered with sub-par acting, generic dialogue, and ridiculous Civil War cosplay. Truly, North Fork's ghost wouldn't even have kept the Scooby Gang overly occupied.

If Ghosts of the Ozarks had a style to its production, the amateur acting from its primary cast of Hobson, Perry, and Phil Morris as the town's mayor, could almost be excused. But the movie looks flat and dull. The story is a dud that even Tim Blake Nelson with a cleaver could not cut with any excitement. XYZ Films, the movie's distributor, is known for chancy, genre flicks (Nic Cage's Mandy, anyone?). Ghosts of the Ozarks has a ghost of a chance to entertain even the basest of genre fans.

This could have been so much better if classified as 'suspense' and not 'horror' - which it isn't. Expecting a 'horror' genre led us to keep thinking, as we were watching, "When will the horror part start?". It never did.

Excellent acting, good filming, interesting plot. But trying to market this as a horror genre will disappoint many people, and put off an audience who would otherwise enjoy a suspense genre. Hence many negative reviews. Which is a shame for such a well acted film.

Can be somewhat o.k. But really nothing special. It lacks personality and feels extremely generic like so much of what is being done these days. Its a very "run of the mill" movie but still can be an o.k. Watch if you're bored and have nothing else to do but there is by far much better stuff to watch out there.