A dry, depressing news cast on Halloween night, 1998, opens this Irish horror comedy, Haunted Ulster Live. Covering the troubled parts of Northern Ireland, exploring folklore, and rediscovering network television, writer and director Dominic O’Neill creates a nostalgic experience with his first film while reliving the ghost hunting shows of yore. It’s inspired by the 1992 television phenomenon Ghostwatch, a British mockumentary show debuting on Halloween night of that year that had millions calling in to the BBC to question, praise or condemn this non-traditional programming; I’d say this hit the mark in this homage, giving a nod to this frenzy the show created.
As a newscast ends, we are brought into an attic with a DJ where the show Haunted Ulster Live is being announced. The hosts of this show are Gerry Burns (Mark Claney) and Michelle Kelly (Aimee Richardson). A TV show like no other, Gerry introduces a “house like no other,” 13 Castle Gardens, warning this may be too much for the faint of heart. Apparently, this is a true haunting, with something tormenting the occupants, the McKillen family. Michelle is staying in the “Ghost Tent,” accompanied by some members of the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association, with plenty of equipment to catch supernatural activity. If you’ve seen Insidious or The Conjuring you’ll likely recognize some of the techniques the group is using to try to capture a spirit on film.
Gerry sits down with the McKillen family: matriarch Sarah (Siobhan Kelly), eldest son Stephen (Jay Lowey) and young daughter Rose (Libby McBride), having a very 90s talk show moment including some dramatization of the alleged events in the house. Sarah begins to tell Gerry about the phenomena; starting in November, she noticed black, disappearing footprints in the kitchen, heard noises when no one was home, and – after Gerry checks Sarah’s sanity – he suddenly turns to something Stephen’s teacher brought up: Blackfoot Jack, an old local legend of a child taker. They hear footsteps which have begun moving up the stairs and Sarah believes there’s something wrong with the attic where DJ Declan (Dan Leith) is stationed. Rose has supposedly begun sleepwalking and talking towards the attic, and Sarah says that since the girl was young she seemed to sense things. Just as Gerry is making his reassurances to find this entity, the group is stirred by a loud noise to find the family’s pots and pans are scattered – a new issue, Sarah notes, and Gerry’s name and a number has been carved into the wall. Scepticism abounds with both the hosts and their crew though, with guesses being taken at who caused the commotion for show, the children being labelled suspects.
After a brief technical break, the show returns to introduce the two ghost hunters joining them in contacting spirits: Robert Pratt (Dave Fleming) and Sinead Love (Antoinette Morelli). Robert believes in attempting to find explanations for the paranormal while breathing life back into Druidic knowledge. Sinead has a gentler touch, believing the dead have earned their rest. She can hear the cries of those restless undead. Knowing the power of loss, she yearns to help the spirits, and those that they contact, to find peace. As the ghost hunters arrive, both, especially Sinead, feel overwhelmed by a presence they claim doesn’t welcome them there. Gerry asks Sinead, as she’s an open channel to the dead, what she’s felt and she claims not only to feel anger and loss, but that she’s already in contact with the male spirit who has delivered her one word: Mirabel.
Clear but simple enough camerawork from director of photography Conor Losty plants us right in the 1990s in a somehow fresh, but still cloudy screen like most TV shows were back then, right down to the bad furniture store commercials and stranger danger infomercials. O’Neill creates a feeling of closeness within the house and the tent, compacting our characters into their places and making the house feel like the trap it supposedly is. The mockumentary lens lends itself to some great B-roll footage of conversations between characters and the changing ideology they are experiencing as the haunting escalates in its fervor. Characters are played pitch perfectly, from the smarmy hosts to the enthusiastic believers they are using to contact the dead; the chemistry is excellent from conflict to comedy and no one misses a step, keeping their characters animated and evolving through the terrors. The story tracks not only old folklore, intricate legends and some dubious history, but many of the modern trappings of ghost hunting and paranormal research (fainting from the power of the spirits, seances, etc.). Additionally, it covers the frenzy people have developed for getting on camera including human interest bits and classic “unreliable eye witness neighbors” to discuss shady claims sowed in belief and rumor, marrying the past and present nicely.
I don’t think I was even alive when Ghostwatch debuted and as an American viewer, Ghostwatch didn’t land the same cultural impact as it did in the UK, but from my research and after viewing this film, I feel like I might like it. O’Neill is faithful to the silliness and seriousness of the old broadcasts that put audiences in a frenzy, getting creative with practical effects, excellent lighting, and strong acting in a haunting that could make even a sceptic tilt their heads. Both tribute and triumph, this mighty little film and its compact runtime is a lovely watch calling back to the media of the past. An endearing debut that brings mockumentary fun to an already stirring idea, I think cast and crew come together well to design a time capsule of horror and the beginnings of reality television – still being delivered to us – with a surprising ending. A chilling story with no extra fat, I think this is a flawless homage to a past, niche horror phenomenon I’ve never seen done before that has been brought to life with passion and authenticity.
Haunted Ulster Live (2023) is hoping to confirm US and international premieres very soon.