Judas Ghost

Judas Ghost is based on a series of books by Simon R. Green. We follow Jerry’s team that works for the Carnacki Institute: they find ghosts, discover why they are here and put them to rest whether they like it or not.

Directed by the young and talented Simon Pearce, Judas Ghost had its first UK screening last Saturday at the London Independent Film Festival. It all starts and ends in a school hall where people have been experiencing a threatening presence and where no one wants to stay. The Carnacki Institute sends out one of his best team to investigate: Jerry (Martin Delaney) is the experienced team leader, Anna (Lucy Cudden) is the sensitive medium and Ian (Alexander Perkins) is the geeky technological addition. Mark, a former team leader, is only accompanying them to film a training video for the Institute...

Soon, events begin to occur and their violence is building up while the team realises they are up against a very evil ghost. Set in the same room, the elements appearing and disappearing are helping to get the viewer more and more scared. There is, for example, a phone that appears on the wall and starts ringing annoyingly. When Jerry picks it up, there is a gloomy high-pitched voice that shouts “You’re all going to die”.

Despite the fact that Judas Ghost is a horror film, it is also filled with humour. The special effects are quite remarkable for such a low budget production, the apotheosis being the swallowing darkness.

Judas Ghost is a good horror show that might find its full potential is a television series that would follow the ghost finders of the Carnacki Institute. The film could be an excellent TV series pilot!