Oliver Irving attempts to find the humor in the mundane with his new film Ghost Team.
This is the second project which Irving has directed and much of the plot is based on his fascination with the supernatural as a child. Directed and co-written by Irving along with Peter Warren, Ghost Team stars Jon Heder as Louis, an average guy whose boredom with his life prompts him to go ghost hunting. The only seemingly quirky aspect about Louis is his fascination with the paranormal and a show called Ghost Hunters, who is looking for a new member to add to their team. One day after going through the motions at the copy place where he works, Louis meets a customer who mentions his barn might be haunted. Taking this as his cue, Louis then reluctantly begins to assemble a rag-tag team for this ghost hunting mission. With his depressed and recently single best friend Stan, played by David Krumholtz, by his side he attempts to acquire the equipment necessary for his mission and along the way enlists the help of Zak, Ross, Victoria and Ellie played by Paul W. Downs, Justin Long, Amy Sedaris and Melonie Diaz respectively. While the film has its suspenseful moments, you’re never fully immersed in horror, in fact there are comedic undertones in tensest of scenes.
This is certainly not a blockbuster comedy, but what it lacks in spectacle it makes up for with hilarious performances by the cast. For an independent low-budget film such as this which focuses on the underdogs of society, it left audiences hopeful. The story isn’t romanticized and even our protagonist faces self-doubt making these characters more relatable. David Krumholtz’s deadpan humor throughout the film is an added treat and shows us to find humor in pain. Without giving too much away, Louis and his friends find more than what they bargained for and if you want to know what happens check out the film in theaters August 12th.
