Ghost Stories

Dirs: Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman 1hr 38mins (15) Woooo!

The terrifically entertaining Ghost Stories is “a fairground ride with dodgy brakes”, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Adapted from their own successful stage play, writer-directors Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson have created a horror anthology in the tradition of such 1960s classics as Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. Nyman himself plays Professor Goodman, a sceptical academic who introduces three tales of unexplained phenomena. A nightwatchman (Paul Whitehouse) experiences a terrifying vision; a schoolboy (Alex Lawther) has a fright driving home; and a retired City trader (Martin Freeman) encounters a poltergeist. Like Professor Goodman, we start off feeling we’ve “seen it all before”, said Geoffrey Macnab in The Independent, then the film becomes increasingly frightening – and more fun. As often with anthology films, despite the fine performances, the limited screen time allotted to each part only allows “so much emotional investment”, said Alex Godfrey in Empire. What’s ingenious about Ghost Stories is the way it plays with elements familiar to horror fans, sometimes making fun of them and sometimes using them to deliver genuine chills. It’s at its most effective when it “plays it straight”.