Inner Ghosts (2018) User Reviews (20)

Almost.

[kb-62551 · 4/10 · 16 January 2020]

I love a good ghost story. I don't object to the same story being told, so long as the film makers put some heart into it and make it their own, adding something. "Inner Ghosts" came close. We follow the struggles of a lady who straddles the conflicting worlds of psychic mediumship and neurology. She is a university professor, working to develop a patent worthy device to communicate with the disembodied. She has research collated that suggests the consciousness (the film even wrestles with the word - soul) of severe dementia patients, the comatose and the dead are alike and can be reached for communication.

Well, that's different. Nifty idea. In this movie's world, the dead and company have things to say, the living cope with grief, and proving the concept of life after life is all on the table in this movie, down to Helen's steadfastness in holding to her research, fighting with tenured professors and couching the language of her findings to not be too far down the rabbit hole of "woo," nonsense, superstition and rubbish. The protagonist's own daughter is a suicide victim she, of course, is desperate to reach. This story line is present, but not as over-bearing as many flicks would make it.

Then the third act happens and it all goes to complete waste. I wonder what the original script was. Surely not this.

Sad, it could have been so much better. I came this close to recommending it. Uncork'd entertainment seems to be a "just okay" distributor. They offer low budget films that aren't on the dreadful side but could really use better editing and this is one. One choice that should not have been made is the attempt to cut corners on the climactic end scene. We get a combination of CG and prosthetic effects that look - well, how do they look? I can't tell, between the blackness and flashing. I had to minimise the screen down to thumbnail sized - those g'd@mn flashing light don't "stimulate the reptilian part of the brain" so much as give me immediate migraine and eye pain. I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.

Avoid!

[pediatricgrime · 3/10 · 9 January 2020]

When the last 7 minutes of the movie consist of strobe light as if it were a rave, then you surely understand the level.

Annoying

[mba_roxx · 3/10 · 18 October 2019]

Those girls are way too hysteric all the time, it's distracting, and quite frankly, annoying to listen to

Good, but...

[lindalozar · 3/10 · 23 May 2020]

The movie, to start with, wasn't all that bad. But the ending destroyed any good will the movie had. Three main characters, all female. All three mediums, 1 former medium, back in business, two mediums in training. For women involved in the paranormal, aware of the possibilities of contacting the dead, knowing full well that it isn't all unicorns & rainbows, they sure are hysterical. The older female, Helen, having done it in the past, has the sight, she is not as bad, but gets thrown when someone who maybe a demon attacks her. The two somewhat younger females (appear to be mid to late 20s or early 30s), have no idea about behavior. I know, they just saw their mentor slaughtered, but, ladies, you do have time to get untied & out when the killer goes to take a nap after round one of his "experiments" involving a machine designed by the dead for communication with the dead. They are tied up, rolling back & forth on the floor, crying & screaming, instezd of trying to see about untying each other. This is where everything starts unraveling. Nothing makes sense. Strobe lights, screaming, odd music, nothing gives a nice view of the end, or even an attempt at a decent ending. From the looks, about 10 minutes (at least) could have been cut out of the middle. This could have changed up the end, more time, better exposition. But, no. Overall the movie is good, but, please, don't bother with the actual end. It won't answer any questions, won't even end the movie on a decent note. You get the feeling that nothing makes sense.

Terrible (and avoid if epileptic)

[susana-c-fernandes · 2/10 · 11 March 2020]

I wish I could say something nice, since I know some of the people involved. Unfortunately, the main storyline is the only good thing about this movie, it is quite novel and interesting. But as soon as you start diving into it, it goes to hell (and not in a good way). Some of the acting is laughable, I mean the villain looks like Santa Claus (he's so cute) and the other actors are also not believable. The extras are sooooo bad. The whole movie is just... Terrible, and not all can be justified by the small budget. The final sequence is so bad they had to add 10 minutes of strobing light to make it somewhat impactful. The only impact it had was me wanting to run off the theater. But I sucked it up to see the movie end. It wasn't worth it. Definitely avoid, specially if you're epileptic.

What horror?

[bgsmoove · 2/10 · 9 January 2020]

If you're looking for horror you won't find it here. The Demon never does anything significant, and nothing truly happens. Try if you like, but you've been warned.

Had Potential

[twelve-house-books · 2/10 · 29 October 2020]

I was intrigued with the story until the doctor blows the face off of the protagonist with a gun, at which point it was like I was in one of those stupid and nonsensical nightmares we all have on occasion that we want to wake up from but can't. The evil spirits are depicted properly, according to what I personally have experienced, but there is so much here that needs exploration. As it stands, the atmosphere was good, the acting was fine, but the premise needs work. I give this one 2 stars on atmosphere alone.

One cannot choose to renounce one's gift...

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 5/10 · 23 May 2020]

Whoa... +1 Star For Helen's 'Tell me your name' Scene!!!

-1 For What seemed to be a fairly unsatisfying ending.

It was an intriguing story to me up til the end and even the last 1/3 of the movie was pretty good.

The end left quite a bit to be desired for me but I'd still have to give a passing grade for the film, albeit barely.

There's something about Helen

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 4/10 · 18 May 2020]

So, story goes that Helen is a medium who gave it up to study the "spiritual" element in living humans as means to communicate with those that don't have the ability to manage their memory and cognitive process well enough, such as in the case of dementia. But first she has to practice on ghosts. This produced a hysterical scene of Helen giving a ghost a mini-mental status exam question. Priceless! But, alas, poor Helen becomes fixated on the communication with ghosts and training two others who have psychic abilities. (This film posits that one can develop psychic abilities if you have the beginning abilities and are open to expanding on these.) She is rebuked by her partner (is it a business venture? an academic setting? I'm not certain.) as it isn't profitable to build research and sellable applications using ghost communication as a basis. This all leads to more improbable boring material as 3-D printing becomes essential to the process of communicating with the deceased. Somehow. This one I feel is more to be blamed on the contrivances of the script and the lazy plot points to get to the end of the story with their "shocker" of a turn of events. Hohum.

Decent Atmosphere, But So Much to Unpack Here

[thalassafischer · 3/10 · 20 February 2023]

There is something effective about the visual atmosphere in this film but the plot is ridiculous.

Helen, a medium, somehow manages to get a PhD in neuroscience and become a researcher specializing in Alzheimer's patients after her teen daughter commits suicide (???) Odd career move that makes no sense based on her previous life experience and talents, and is fundamentally ridiculous given her advanced age that she'd just waltz into a career in NEUROSCIENCE on a whim, and not have devoted a large part of her life to it previously.

Her hypothesis is that there is an electro-magnetic component to the mind which is why ghosts exist long after death, and if this power could be harnessed it could be used to improve Alzheimer's patients or at least prevent severe decline.

Helen then proceeds to conduct her research to ask ghosts to count backwards from 100 in various sums to test cognitive ability in wraiths. I found this implausible too, unless the ghost was strong in math in life and carried some meaning for this human construct into death.

Then there's some old guy who keeps raging about patents and money, and there is realism to that - scientists can have a difficult time acquiring funding for their research but when he rants on and on about "a Nobel prize" it's just all too much. What in the world.

Beautiful Movie

[popularvideo · 8/10 · 9 September 2019]

This movie was off the radar for me and probably most people. It's a beautiful movie, with wonderful performances. This is the kind of good horror that any fan of the genre would love. Inner Ghosts takes the idea of mediums and turns it on its head. If you look to be scared, watch this movie but don't blame me if you have to leave the lights on for the next few nights.

Needs warning for flashing lights

[pm_butch · 6/10 · 8 December 2020]

The last several minutes are a continuous strobe. Migraine inducing. Needs a warning to this effect.

Strobe Lights

[mclellantierra · 1/10 · 19 July 2020]

So, this movie was terrible, but over 10 minutes of strobe lights at the end?! Please don't watch this if strobe lights bother you. I had to leave the room.

Don't just don't

[armadilla17 · 1/10 · 21 September 2020]

Please do not watch this, it had what seemed like the production value of 1970's Doctor Who. JUST DON'T WATCH THIS

Trigger warning for seizures!

[smstephan · 1/10 · 18 October 2020]

I thought at first the premise sounded interesting, but it deteriorated into a typical paranormal outing. The worst: The last several minutes are strobe lighting and cacophony. Avoid if you have any kind of seizure disorder. My head hurt for hours.

Surprisingly good tho I didn't expect it to be

[emmalina-57480 · 8/10 · 8 January 2020]

I don't usually give reviews to be fair but this film surprised me. I'm more of gory aliens deep rising Freddy kruger chick plenty of blood and guts etc, don't get me wrong I didn't expect much from this film in all honesty I expected to switch off after 10 minutes but the acting in this movie was pretty darn good. It ingaged me from the beginning which is difficult to do and I'm glad I watched it I'm not one to give detailed analysis of the plot why ruin it for you, but I got to say keep with the film, the ending was actually pretty darn good and actually quite original compared to the tripe Hollywood has to offer. The acting from the main actress was convincing especially the scene when her daughter died she reminds me of a slightly younger Helen mirrel. The other girls were ok but nothing special or really bad to be fair, I'm not giving the plot away I don't want to spoil it for others but I give this film 8/10 I'm a genuine reviewer unlike some reviews on this site but I recommend this film. Ps it's not a omg u will jump in fright kind of movie or to be fair that scary but it has some shocking scenes at the end enjoy everyone and happy new year xx

My Review Of "Inner Ghosts"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 7/10 · 5 February 2020]

The story is a very complex, creative exploration of paranormal activity and psuedo-scientific applications. I say psuedo, but the logic behind this concept could very well be tested in mainstream science. Not all of the material but the basic stuff. "Inner Ghosts" is a good, layered story that mixes practical ghost story themes with more fantastical elements.

The acting is pretty good, the characters are fully developed and relatable. At times it gets a bit too theatrical and overly dramatic, but a story where contact with ghosts in order to test and explore intelligence in an attempt to find real world application isn't meant to play straight. The writing may stretch ones sense of belief but it is well done.

"Inner Ghosts" is atmospheric and filled with all the expected ghosty stuff you expect to see. At times, even with certain characters, the film is very reminiscent of "Insidious", but with a more scientific research edge. The cinematography is great. The real horror parts don't show up till the 50 minute mark. Then the film spirals into more Clive Barker territory.

Overall I have some mixed thoughts towards "Inner Ghosts". I loved the story, very interesting and layered. I thought the acting was strong. I do feel that the film runs a little too long, spends too much time on the melodrama character structure for the first 50 minutes. The last 40 is impactful and hits the horror elements strong, but during the ending the story become confusing, just a bit. Still the film is a strong indie paranormal thriller.

Old fashioned scares

[cheekybexon · 8/10 · 29 December 2020]

If you like slow burn of a supernatural film, then you'll like the film. I saw it at a film festival in the UK and I really enjoyed it and can't quite understand some of these reviews (maybe the film makers p'd some people off?). I thought it was brilliant. It's a good old fashioned scary film without relying on blood and guts. Granted the 3d printer/flashing lights does go on a bit long, but that's a small gripe really. Give it a go.

Interesting!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 17 January 2020]

"If ghosts can think and remember who they are, then the physical brain is not the only place where we store our inner selves."

That's the first thing this movie wants you to know about it. If you like Insidious and The Conjuring sort of movies, good news. Here's one with evil 3D printers and people training one another to be mediums.

This is the first full-length film from Portuguese writer/director Paulo Leite. It's pretty well done and has an intriguing premise, as Helen was once a medium but gave that up when her daughter killed herself. Today, she's dedicated to brain research. However, she also needs ghosts to do her research, as she's investigating the fields that the soul leaves behind.

Star Celia Williams, who plays Helen, and Elizabeth Bochmann, who plays the artistic Elsa, are real-life mother and daughter. She comes to be trained along with Helen's best friend's daughter Moira, but when science and the paranormal collide, no one's lives will be unchanged.

If you're sensitive to strobe lights, however, you may want to skip this one.

Not that bad

[jllz-49177 · 7/10 · 15 February 2024]

So few things to watch I chose this to run in the background while I screwed around on my tablet and ended up watching it. Yes it's not flashy but it's surprising well put together and well acted. It's like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode on steroids and technologically updated. It was worth staying to the end and an unpredictable ending.

What can I say without spoilers to get to the minimum of characters? Hmmmm! I enjoyed the spiritualism aspects that were handled respectfully and scarily! There's also a heck of an excellent and awful special effect of a shooting! Good effects and makeup but moderately used to highlight the story.

Give it a go!