Ghosts of the Ozarks

Ghosts of the Ozarks

Directors – Matt Glass, Jordan Wayne Long

Writers – Sean Anthony Davis, Jordan Wayne Long, Tara Perry

2021, USA

Stars – Thomas Hobson, Phil Morris, Tara Perry

 

1866, and a young black doctor (yes, there were a handful it seems) is invited by his uncle to practice in a walled off community in the Ozarks. The walls keep out the ghosts in the trees and red mist that kill and terrorise the townsfolk.

 

An odd offering as its seems both overcooked and underdone: overcooked in that, for example, the musical cues are often too on-the-nose, intrusively so; and underdone in that for all its elements, it never quite seems to gel. It’s obviously admirably developed by a small group, in that many cast and crew had multiple jobs; and its ambition isn’t in question, alluding to themes of slavery, social safety and purpose, but also corruption and power, etc. (It steps on many similar notes to Grimmfest’s ‘A Pure Place’). But all the allowances for the rough edges can’t quite make up for laziness in writing: for example, where our main protagonist just seems to wander into the red mist a number of times. Or the moments where the soundtrack goes country-twee. Or simply that, despite a vivid location and interesting premise, intriguing characters and decent performances, there is just something in the telling that lacks a magic ingredient.