Sleuthing teenager and budding author
Annabelle Hooper is taken to Nantucket by her parents for a holiday.
Her father is hoping this trip expands her horizons, and opens up her
writer's block. It begins to with its pretty and rustic scenery, but
soon Annabelle starts seeing more than she bargained for, when she
realises their new house is haunted. Together with some new friends she
sets out to discover the history of the house and the island,
Coming
straight from Canada (actually Massachusetts, but same thing
basically), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket is a pretty
good time to be had, and great for kids and teens! It's a spooky tale of
the supernatural, that knows not to talk down to its audience. That's
not to say it's a legitimately gripping = in league with The Changeling
or The Haunting, but it's never like a throwaway Disney film (not to
harp on those though, as they can be fun in a stupid or legit way), and
some scenes are genuinely tense!
The
plot is quite well thought out. Even though some of the twists are
very, *very* predictable, you enjoy the road getting there, and there
are some elements I honestly really appreciated! For example, you know
how ghosts in movies are often cryptic, and don't just come right out
and say something (and you wish they were corporeal so your popcorn
would hit them)? Well Ghosts of Nantucket is in the same League as
Realms of the Haunting, in that the ghost is not only talkative (after a
certain point), but upfront and helpful! Thank god! It's amazing how
refreshing one little touch can be.
Really my only huge issue with the plot is that it takes forever for the prologue to be connected with the rest
of the plot, and does raise more questions than it answers (if the ghosts
aren't bad, why were those kids running out in mortal terror?).
The Fiddler's Green conceit is pretty high concept, and a little silly.
Everyone also seems to treat it pretty casually, while also
acknowledging it as something world-changing. This confused me a little,
to be honest, and as I watched I was never sure if Fiddler's Green was
literally a magical place, or if it was just a lush Tahitian island with
lots of oil or something. I was surprised that the unseen mastermind so
readily believes in magic! Props to him for not being a skeptic.
That
leads nicely into the matter of this property's future. Ghosts of
Nantucket is a perfectly acceptable/= standalone feature, but it lays a
few seeds to be explored later, such as the unseen employer of the two
villains. He's like a Blofeld figure, although less in the action, which
I kinda appreciate. on one hand I would've liked to see more of him and
got to know the character at least a little, but this way the movie has
the chance o focus purely on its own story and cast, and leave future
stuff for future movies.
The
scares in this movie was mostly well crafted. There are a few jump
scares (often clumped together in the same scene!), but they're not
horrible ones, and it goes easy on them after the first quarter. The =
are mostly pretty subtle in their creepiness, relying on effective music
or silence to get across =. Later on the plot overtakes the scariness
(especially once we realise pretty quickly that the ghosts are
benevolent), but there are still some eerie scenes here and there, like
he musical ghosts (singing? Not so great. Tone? Bloody spot on!)
The
cast of characters in Ghosts of Nantucket is a colourful one. This
isn't necessarily a good thing though. The lead is pretty good. Plucky
and resourceful, in a believable enough way. Her = Maddie on the other
hand talks in the most obnoxiously genius way imagineable! If she was
meant to be autistic or something I guess it could make sense, but otherwise, not really.
Thankfully she's still a good character, and this habit becomes less
pronounced as the movie goes on.
Jake is the
straight man, and the one always =. Thankfully he does genuinely care
and contributes very effectively in some scenes, so he's never useless
or just an annoying whiner. A weaker link is Billy. He's not terrible, and he does improve as the movie goes on, but he gives off serial killer vibes, and could not have been more obvious if the words 'I am a ghost'
were emblazoned on his forehead. He's also a bit intrusive early on,
and I was thinking "Dude, no-one invited you!". Like I said though, he
gets better in a few ways, and most of these issues cease to matter
after a while.
Then
there are the villains, Argyle and Tweed, who are the most over-the-top
guys imaginable! They act like they're in an amateur-drama production,
and dress accordingly. They have their annoying moments, but also some
amusing ones too. They rarely feel like serious threats though. The
supporting cast can be pretty overbearing at times too. Never enough to
be too bad, but it still might = I at least respect the film though for
not making everyone dull cardboard cutouts. It went the extra mile/put
the effort into making everyone distinct, so even if they didn't
succeed, I still applaud their effort
Everything
I said above covers the acting as well as the characters. The main
group are the best, a little wooden or umconvincing at worst, but pretty neat and
impressive at best. It's some of the adults who deliver the worst
performances (or the most eccentric, depending on your point of view).
The
location in this movie is great! It really brings Nantucket to life,
and makes you wanna visit. If this was designed even a little to draw
tourists in, it succeeded with me!
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