10th October 2018 | 31 Days of “Alternative” Horror: Urban Ghost Story
Back in the early 1990s, VHS was still all the rage and the new format of digital cameras were still a long way from becoming available to the masses. Filmmakers Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffee were ahead of the curve and in a league of their out as self-professed Guerrilla filmmakers who quite simply had to learn the craft of independent filmmaking, on both the creative and the business side — which is something that really isn’t needed anymore in today’s digital filmmakers paradise.
Jones and Jolliffee were rare finds in the way that they knew what they wanted to do, and instead of just writing their screenplays and shelving them as a pipedream, they went on to produce them. Instead of producing a film that went nowhere, they distributed, put films up for festivals and received critical acclaim. What’s more is that they did this in the public eye — which in pre-internet days is something of an effort in itself.
What’s more, they’re published authors: they created the Guerrilla Filmmakers Handbook and that is how these two now veteran filmmakers and film educators made available the intricacies of filmmaking as a business. They provided the ultimate reality check for students and aspiring filmmakers, and the realisation that there were more forms, permissions, rights, legal matters, equipment, labs, people, time and money — outside of creativity — needed to make it work. It surely put many off and prevented a whole generation from making a mockery of the business.
Urban Ghost Story was their third movie to be shot on Super16. Set in Glasgow, it tells the urban story of a teenager, Lizzie Fisher, played by Heather Ann Foster, who cheated death after a road traffic accident. She recalls a near-death experience and believes that she brought something malicious and evil back with her from the afterlife. Her mother, Kate Fisher, played by Stephanie Buttle, is sick and tired of her teenage daughter’s tall tales. As if reality isn’t frightening enough — Lizzie keeps some unsavoury company, as does Kate in what is the real guts of the Glasgow underground. Soon enough, Kate starts to believe her daughter’s stories and seeks a variety of help.
This story has been seen before, represented most famously with the Enfield Poltergeist that was proven to be a hoax. This film came out at a time when horror was starting to find a new trend: shock chillers, music heavy franchises and glossy teenage hijinks where every possible scenario has a bunch of shallow characters cornered and killed — a late trend off the back of Halloween’s dwindling franchise. But this movie doesn’t try to be anything but honest, and sticks to the rules.
This film also comes just after the dip in horror, where Stephen King TV movies were at their premium and the only thing that made us scared was Sam Neil and fairy photography. Urban Ghost Story isn’t glossy, isn’t fuelled by hype, neither does it have giant monster shocks at the end because of studio pressure. It tells a story where the scary elements are unseen; the fear is all too familiar, and human. The setup and payoff are both believable.
Who knew a film about a poltergeist could get by without maggot themed hallucinations, scary clowns or even jump scares present only for effect. Just remember one thing, Mr Spielberg: if a poltergeist is seen, it is no longer a poltergeist movie.
Written by: Stephen Radford
website: stephenradford.com
Next: 11th October: The Burbs
