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Ghostwatch
1992
Horror
TV Movie
1h 31m
On October 31st, 1992, thousands of British households were terrified out of their wits by GHOSTWATCH. A supposedly live transmission, this BBC Halloween special features presenters exploring a haunted house in London--and finding more than they bargained for. The film created a genuine sense of dread, and many viewers believed the programme to be real...leading to it being banned for years. Keep an eye out for Mr. Pipes... (Amazon)
Directed by:
Lesley ManningScreenwriter:
Stephen VolkGhostwatch
1992
Horror
TV Movie
1h 31m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 65.77% from 221 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(223)
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Rated 19 Oct 2016
92
84th
Very innovative for its time, when people were more gullible and mockumentaries weren't a dime a dozen. Occasionally spooky, sometimes hokey, but mostly just good, cheesy fun. The outrage it sparked was equally entertaining.
Rated 19 Oct 2016
Rated 28 Oct 2017
80
77th
Not a single use of the word "ghastly"
Rated 28 Oct 2017
Rated 03 Jan 2023
87
85th
Loved it. In our house we refer to a Ghostwatch as when I secretly pay more attention to a movie than to my wife. This time it wasn't secret so this did not apply as such. Ghostwatching The Rock during my son's birth is not only one of my greatest film accomplishments but also one of my most horrific failures as a human. Movies, they treat us well.
Rated 03 Jan 2023
Rated 06 Jan 2011
2
15th
The best part of this is the Bite Back segment, which aired after the program, where grown men and women expressed their outrage over having been duped into believing that a child-molesting ghost had caused fevers in pre-adolescent girls and attacked members of the BBC. I have to believe that segment was also staged otherwise I'll lose what minuscule faith I have left in humanity.
Rated 06 Jan 2011
Rated 16 Oct 2024
83
83rd
It might not quite crack the top 10, but this has probably the 11th or 12th scariest glory hole
Rated 16 Oct 2024
Rated 07 Jul 2012
79
51st
Ten years ahead of its time, and genuinely creepy at multiple points. The ending was a bit annoying considering how well they played everything until then (in that regard it's ten years behind its time). This is a brilliant concept though and I wish I was there watching it the first time around.
Rated 07 Jul 2012
Rated 23 Oct 2011
74
65th
It's interesting to see the roots of the horror mockumentary, years before the Blair Witch Project. There are some decisions which - nowadays, at least - make things really freakin' obvious, and others that just don't work; on the other hand, there are some that are creepy-impressive in ways you don't see much anymore.
Rated 23 Oct 2011
Rated 27 Mar 2009
70
82nd
Pacing could have been better, but it really feels like a live broadcast for the most part. The ending sequence is worth the watch. Rare, but a good find.
Rated 27 Mar 2009
Rated 30 Oct 2022
80
77th
Lively and charming. Takes the Welles' War of the Worlds approach one step further and seemingly had a similar response. Parkinson is brilliantly serious.
Rated 30 Oct 2022
Rated 09 Oct 2018
80
78th
Top badass moment? Craig Charles being silly and then having to deal with stories about dead dog foetuses. Nice. And Sarah Green trying to make a circle of damp carpet seem interesting. Before the Internet, media phone tapping and social media, people believed everything they saw on TV, especially if it came from the wholesome BBC. Did this really outrage the population as much as Bill Grundy's Sex Pistols interview? One cat (plus lots of off-screen ones), no chainsaws or decapitations.
Rated 09 Oct 2018
Rated 10 Sep 2017
83
82nd
Astonishingly effective, lulls you in to the point of frustration before it strikes, finishing with a real bang as the illusion of reality gives way to the ghost story.
Rated 10 Sep 2017
Rated 14 Feb 2014
7
61st
Pretty brilliant and accurate. Was believable until the "seance" in the studio. Was let down throughout by poor acting from the family and the female host in their house. Creepy at certain points and Parky is brilliant, being sceptical about pretty much everything.
Rated 14 Feb 2014
Rated 06 Nov 2012
84
61st
Oh hey there, found-footage horror movie that predated Blair Witch Project by 7 years yet still manages to do more interesting things than more recent entries in the genre. This was a fun little horror movie that gave me a couple of chills.
Rated 06 Nov 2012
Rated 29 Sep 2012
85
68th
I wish I could have seen this live.
Rated 29 Sep 2012
Rated 06 May 2024
80
85th
Tried to imagine reaction back in 1992 by reading about it, like consequences it had on children and so -- kids with PTSD! --, and shit, it just adds multiple eerie layers to an already unique creepfest. Groundbreaking television in the sense it replicates a perfectly arrogant, but catchy live show trying to debunk a supernatural story about two kids and their mom living in a haunted house, only to be slowly engulfed by the story it's trying to tell. So beautifully influential, frame by frame.
Rated 06 May 2024
Rated 19 Mar 2022
76
41st
Big points for laying the groundwork for Blair Witch Project and all the other great faux-documentary horror that followed. Influence aside, it's a pretty underwhelming flick. It's not a complete dud and does stumble onto occasionally creepy moments. Perhpaps because I didn't watch it late night on 90s broadcast TV, but it didn't quite do it for me. The cheesy bits really spoiled much of the experience (what can be scarier than wind... but it's INDOORS!?). A little too unfocused overall.
Rated 19 Mar 2022
Rated 21 Oct 2021
60
51st
I can see how this affected people watching the show "live" but this just didn't work for me.
Rated 21 Oct 2021
Rated 11 Mar 2021
65
12th
eh, average. I think it loses its effect because we know its not real and its been done to death since its release in 1992. I think those that saw this 30 years ago live on TV would have thought it was an amazing piece of television
Rated 11 Mar 2021
Rated 09 Oct 2019
87
65th
B+
Rated 09 Oct 2019
Rated 05 Feb 2017
75
44th
It's pretty funny which makes up for being merely ok as a found footage horror.
Rated 05 Feb 2017
Rated 17 Feb 2016
70
82nd
It was a good one.
Rated 17 Feb 2016
Rated 05 Nov 2014
50
48th
I like the idea of this better than the execution, an entire nation trolled by its own state broadcasting company. Unfortunately it's extremely cheesy for the most part, and only the very end is creepy at all. Most likely Ghostwatch has the reputation it has because "found footage" was far more likely to fool people in 1992 than after Blair Witch.
Rated 05 Nov 2014
Rated 22 Sep 2013
2
46th
[Watched when aired so distant] My little Cousin didn't stop going on about this for months, alas I was already to sceptical to get carried along with it. Feels odd to be jealous of nightmares though.
Rated 22 Sep 2013
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Directed by:
Lesley ManningScreenwriter:
Stephen VolkCollections
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