Superior Superstition

Rating: 8/10 (30 August 2016)

Wow. I cannot believe I am saying this, but this "ghost" story is one of my favorite horror movies in the past several years.
I'm not a fan of ghost stories/haunted house tales. Maybe it's a Catholic thing. No offense to the followers or religion itself, but perhaps the reasons why Priests and the Catholic Church are brought up in so many haunted flicks, these kinds of "true stories" hit closer to home to that faith. Maybe, that's why so many followers are scared of these possession flicks.
Personally, I don't believe in the roaming spirits, so I am not frightened by any of these types of movies, including this one. But, I do believe in trying to broaden my horizons. So, a few years ago, I gave the infamous ghost trilogy a shot. These included the most popular haunted movies: The Conjuring, Sinister and Insidious. Truthfully, I wasn't a fan, myself, of any of the three, and most of them blended in so much I couldn't tell you which was which.
That said, I do recall I cared a tad bit more for the Ethan Hawke one. I believe that one was named Sinister. That one I did like, but only a bit more than the other two.
Since, again, I'm not on board with these supposedly "true" event films, I ended my open-mindedness with the originals. I wasn't about to waste my time with the sequels or spin-offs when I knew I would never fully enjoy them.
This ended now. I was convinced by a friend and enormously high ratings for The Conjuring 2 to finally sit down and watch it. By far, it surpassed its original tenfold and the other two tremendously. In fact, I can safely say, this, 1408 and original Blair Witch Project are my favorite intentionally scary ghost movies.
The Demonbusters of the 70s are back to co-investigate an English Estate that may/may not be possessed and if spooky, the Catholic Church might step in to help. But, they might be too late by then.
Boy, did I summarize this movie with zero spoilers. I am proud of myself! But, it was easy. This movie is pretty straight-forward in regards to synopsis. The real meat of the experience was the acting, the heart and depth of the characters. That was one major positive.
The other for me was the fact that what started off as yet another clichéd, by the book haunted house movie quickly turned into a real movie, an original take and ghosts that freaking did stuff. Most of it blew me away and I liked the ghosts out of the shadows. Finally! It wasn't a movie so reliant on showing barely any movement until the end.
Sure, they say "less is more" in horror, but damnit, that's so overdone by now. I really want to see something. I want the other characters to see the same thing, as well. And this movie delivered in spades after about 20 minutes or so.
The action, if you can call it that in this kind of film, was well thought-out and inventive. The characters, namely our favorite Demonbusters, made us really care about them. And the ending was exactly how I wanted it to play out. (Selfish, but that's what I like to see and not the same ole finale most horror filmmakers think is still original and wanted.)
Not only would I recommend this movie, I would just say skip that Ghost- Trilogy I spoke about and just watch this. Again, I can't speak for the almost countless sequels and spin-offs, but I can say this beats any "original" any day of the week.
***
Final thoughts: Chris. You owe me a new phone. No. You know exactly what I am talking about. Pay up.