Horror hosts have been around since the late 50’s. They are entertainers who show low-grade genre films while having a comedic dialog or skit in between clips. One of the more famous horror hosts is Elvira Mistress of the Dark. Many people would tune in late at night to watch her presentation of “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” or “Satanic Rites of Dracula”. The horror hosts developed a cult following and many devout fans. This movie, Son of Ghostman, is about one such fan.
Denny has been recently dumped and is unemployed. He is a huge fan of his childhood hero “Ghostman”, a horror host who has retired but his reruns live on. One night Denny decides to record a video posing as “Son of Ghostman”. The video makes its way online and he is a huge hit. Denny decides to use “Son of Ghostman” to settle a score with a high school rival who is also a horror host. Things get complicated for Denny as he falls for a new woman in town and he tries to keep his horror host identity a secret.
What immediately caught my interest with this story was that it was a romantic comedy set against the world of Horror Hosting. Horror hosting is still alive and well thanks to the internet but I don’t think many people realize it, and someone making a film about it is impressive. Director Kurt Larson wrote the screenplay and really caught the spirit of the horror host. The set, the writing, and the performance by Devin Ordoyne as the character “Son of Ghostman” all made me wish it was a real show. You could tell Larson has a special spot in his heart for horror hosts.
The camera work for this independent project is very well done. The story moves along at a steady pace, it never gets too heavy-handed and does not have scenes that drag on for too long, as can sometimes happen in a movie like this. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and the acting was well done. I also enjoyed the comedic timing of some of the dialog, which had me laughing out loud a number of times. The script does get a bit predictable but that does not take away from the entertainment value of the movie. Overall, “Son of Ghostman” is a great example of the quality of cinema coming from the independent movie scene. 3.5 out of 5 Stubs
