Review of Death of a Ghost Hunter (2007) by Ethan A — 04 Jul 2008

I popped in Death of a Ghost Hunter this afternoon and left with a sick stomach. I looked up the director, Sean Tretta, on IMDB shortly after and saw that he has directed 3 films in his life. The Great American Snuff Film was his first and after looking at the DVD cover, it won't be playing in my DVD player anytime soon. This guy is **cked up. I will give him credit though, he does succeed in making his audience squeal and moan as they watch his tormented, gruesome scenes. The first hour of Death of a Ghost Hunter was slow but effective. There was little blood and gore and some creepy moments. Ghosts peeked around corners and the typical piece of furniture moved a couple times, but it kept my interest. I find the most effective horror films are those that show little blood/gore, and it seemed as if this film was on its way there.

As the movie "seemed" to come to an end, I felt it was a pretty decent horror film. There were some flaws and a couple really strange moments (and strange does not mean a good thing.) But right when I thought the film was about to end, the beginning of 15 gruesome, disguisting and downright gross minutes began. I don't think that 30 seconds went by without a high pitched scream. The screams gave me a headache and the disguisting, bloody scenes gave me a stomach ache. I don't even want to describe what I saw. All I will say is that this Sean Tretta guy is messed up and that there's a reason why nobody has ever heard of his movies.

I read a view user reviews and some people compared Tretta to Eli Roth. In a way, the two are similar. They are both messed up in the head and love bringing gruesome scenes to the big screen. But when I watch Roth films like Hostel and Cabin Fever, I can't help but laugh once in awhile because he adds in this comedic feel somehow. I enjoyed watching Hostel because it kept me entertained with its rediculous scenes. He doesn't intend to make them funny but for some, odd reason, I laugh at his films. I'm not laughing at them, I have liked all the films hes done. Tretta, on the other hand, created a 10 minute scene that can be compared to those in Hostel. But instead of sitting there being somewhat entertained, I was cringing and gagging. These scenes were depressing and shocking, and something I hope I do not ever have to watch again.

I did something in this movie that I haven't done in a very long time, and that's fastforward. I couldn't take the stupid, dragged on ending any longer and I just had to press the button. I would suggest doing the same, but only for the ending. I would give the first hour and 20 minutes an 8 and the last 15 a 1. Don't ask me how but that evens out to a 6.

-Ethan2430.