Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Carribean) star in the supernatural horror Ghosts of War which takes place in Nazi occupied France during WW2. The soldiers are tasked with guarding a mansion once held by the Nazis, which turns out to be haunted by the family that used to live there. The film starts with war on the ground, real soldiers working instead of glorifying the generals who sit strategizing miles from any action, which follows the recent trend of war movies doing the same (Dunkirk and 1917).
There are some classic horror tropes: doors that were locked opening by themselves, strange noises when nobody is there, jump scares and some light possession. The soldiers end up fighting two enemies, the Germans and the ghosts. Kyle Gallner gives a great performance as the unsettling and overly violent one of the squad and the set design of the haunted house is very well done.
Astin’s character as the main German translator does get a bit heavy with the expositional narration, particularly towards the end, but there is also a great twist that was very unexpected. Overall, the story was pretty original and the supernatural elements held up well.
‘Ghosts of War’ is available to stream on Netflix.
Pep Reviews 