Ghost Stories, a British anthology film, offers modest delights of the Hammer Studios kind. It was adapted from a long running West End play by its original directors Jeremy Dyson and Andy Newman.
The trio of horror shorts revolve around a framing device weaved into the film about an investigator trying to disprove the supernatural origins of three unsolved cases. In the first, a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) with a tragic back story must deal with visions both imagined and demonic. The second, has a scared young man (Alex Lawther) battling a forest wraith who was hit by his car. The last stars Martin Freeman as an ex-banker battling a mansion full of poltergeists while dealing with a wife in labor.
Ghost Stories refusal to CGI itself up is its most admiral quality. The practical effects get the reliable jump scares its theater audience are expecting. Good old fashion British acting generates the rest of the horrors.
Ghost Stories is a delightful anthology for those purists who like their horror Hammer and slow building.
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