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ARTICLE
DVD Review: Ghost Image
by R.J. Carter Published: September 30, 2009
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: August 25, 2009 Distributor: MTI Home Video Director: · Jack Snyder Cast: · Elisabeth Rohm · Waylon Payne · Stacey Dash · Matthew del Negro Related Sites: ·IMDb: Ghost Image
Grade: B-
At first glance, "Ghost Image" looks like it might be another shocker horror with bloody phantoms. And, indeed, early on it seems to be angling that direction. Fortunately, director Jack Snyder had other ideas and what could have been just another sanguine haunting turns into a spooky murder mystery with the victim's ghost joining the investigation.
Jennifer (Elisabeth Rohm) is a videographer and, with her partner and lover, Wade (Waylon Payne), has developed a not-so-bad business. But the night after a celebration party, she wakes up to the awful news that Wade has been killed in a tragic car accident that turns out not to have been so accidental after all.
Soon after, as Jennifer morosely watches video footage of Wade, he begins to inexplicably speak to her through the video. It could be a message from the other side -- or it could be Jennifer's psychosis coming to the fore again, born from survivor's guilt when she was a child and her family was killed. For years, Jennifer was on medication to stop the sleepwalking and the visions of her dead sister, and she's only recently off the pills. But in the wake of Wade's death, the visions have returned, leaving everyone -- including Jennifer -- to wonder: did Jennifer kill Wade?
Matthew del Negro and Stacey Dash co-star in this independent flick that is slow getting up to speed but which pays off if the viewer is willing to invest the time. The lead actors certainly deserved their billing, with Rohm evoking a very young Helen Hunt. Ancillary characters, however, come across a bit wooden and halting -- as though the actors are mentally thinking "Okay, now it's my line," before speaking, which tends to sap any natural flow from the dialogue.
St. Louis natives will want to pay close attention to the outdoor scenes. In the opening scene, my initial thought was, "Say, that looks like it could have been filmed off the balcony of the Four Seasons hotel." Following scenes of the bricked roads and outdoor cafes of the Riverfront and Soulard, as well as shots of the Old Courthouse, Union Station, and, naturally, the Gateway Arch complete the experience, giving the film a bit more character than the overused Manhattan or Vancouver backdrops.
