Common Sense Media Review
By Alistair Lawrence
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
WWII haunted house story has violence, gore, and swearing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Ghosts of War
What's the Story?
GHOSTS OF WAR follows a squad of U.S. soldiers during World War Two as their mission across Nazi-occupied France leads them to an empty Chateau that must be protected. As they wait for back-up, they must deal with a series of conflicts and unsettling supernatural events.
Is It Any Good?
With its interesting set-up -- a cross between a period war movie and a horror story -- this delivers more bumps in the night that it does genuine scares. This isn't a bad thing in itself, but it is haunted by various weaknesses. For a start, the main characters are a bunch of sub-Inglourious Basterds whose first interaction with their enemy is to fight and kill defenseless Nazi soldiers disarmed by a bomb blast. As a result, they're not a sympathetic bunch and there's little to differentiate them from one another, either.
Once inside the Chateau, its claustrophobic setting and unusual goings on do build suspense and mystery. But we're left to selected readings of various books by Skylar Astin's character, Eugene, to provide hints at what might be going on. This makes for uneven and awkward dialogue throughout, as bigger and bigger hints are dropped that all is not as it seems. It also results in Ghosts of War's twist being delivered with all the subtlety of one of its grisly murders. Solid performances and decent special effects make it watchable, but this isn't a haunted house story to write home about.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Ghosts of War's violence. What's the difference between the violence committed by the soldiers and by the movie's supernatural forces? How did it affect you? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
How scary is the movie? Why? What scared you the most? What's the appeal of scary movies?
Discuss the World War II backdrop? How much do you know about WWII? Why were U.S. soldiers fighting in Nazi-occupied France in 1944?
Talk about the language used in the movie. The soldiers use various racial slurs throughout the movie. Discuss the impact of this type of language. How white parents can use media to raise anti-racist kids.
How does the plot twist change the rest of the movie? Were you expecting it? Would you watch the movie again despite knowing the ending?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 17, 2020
- On DVD or streaming : July 17, 2020
- Cast : Brenton Thwaites , Theo Rossi , Kyle Gallner
- Director : Eric Bress
- Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African Movie Actor(s) , Multiracial Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Vertical Entertainment
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 94 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong bloody violence, disturbing and grisly images, language and brief nude images
- Last updated : January 20, 2022
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