'GHOSTWATCH' - 101 FILMS BLU RAY REVIEW

Back in the early nineties, the BBC was more than just a mouthpiece for Conservative Party propaganda and a safe haven for vicious sex offenders, it was a purveyor of original, quality programming and the flagship of British television. And on Halloween night 1992, viewers tuning into BBC 1 would be witness to their first, and last, full evening of speciality programming centred around all things spooky.

GHOSTWATCH was the product of STEPHEN VOLK; the writer of such supernatural fare as WILLIAM FRIEDKIN’s THE GUARDIAN and KEN RUSSELL’s GOTHIC and was broadcast as part of the BBC’s anthology series SCREEN ONE. While it was never advertised or marketed as anything other than a work of complete and total fiction, this did not stop it from courting a huge degree of controversy which saw it banned from repeat showings on British television, and the unfortunate suicide of an 18-year old man with learning difficulties some 5-days after it was first broadcast. It attracted over 30,000 calls from frightened and distressed viewers and effectively sealed the British television viewers’ fates to never see an entire evening of programming devoted to Halloween ever again.

This is why we can’t have nice things.

To be absolutely fair, Ghostwatch is fucking terrifying. Decades prior to us all playing “Spot the Hidden Ghost” in MIKE FLANAGAN’s HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE series, we were being spooked by the sudden appearance and the did-I-or-didn’t-I-just-see glimpses of “Pipes”, the spectral villain of this particular piece. It’s remarkable really just how much re-watchability Volk infused this show with, especially when you consider that television programming at the time was rarely “future-proofed” or rewarded repeat viewings. Then there’s the fact that the events really do all seem so real. Presented in real-time, and using well known television presenters and personalities, the straight-faced sincerity of it all helped to hammer this element home.

In terms of this particular home video presentation, 101 FILMS have done everything in their power to stabilise and clean up the original broadcast material into something that doesn’t make your optic nerves itch like someone’s rubbed your eyes with sand and dog shit. Unfortunately, the majority of TV shows produced between the mid 80’s and the 90’s were shot on film but quickly converted to video tape for ease of broadcasting. This may not necessarily have been too much of an issue if the original masters were readily available, but given the BBC’s track record of taping over literally anything of any quality with whatever new show one of their paedophile presenters wanted to host that week, this is the absolute best we’re going to get. That’s not to say that 101 have done anything less than a wonderful job, though. The wealth of extras available on this release (as well as the physical packaging itself) are exactly what a production of this kind deserves, and it is more than worth upgrading from DVD for.

Of the special features available, naturally the most intriguing are the specially commissioned documentary “Do You Believe in Ghosts?” which charts the production history of the show with the majority of the surviving cast members, and a re-print of the “sequel” story “31/10” which was written by screenwriter Stephen Volk.

Whichever side of the pond you happen to find yourself upon, if you’re a fan of the supernatural, it’s likely that you’ve either seen Ghostwatch or at least heard of it. With the advent of this release, now is very much the time to jump on the bandwagon and snag yourself a copy of this bona fide cult classic.

GHOSTWATCH will be released on October 31st, 2022 (30 years after it’s original broadcast) and is available to pre-order now from 101 FILMS by clicking here.

Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following MacabreDaily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.