Back during my teenage years, I dated a girl who was super into all those ghost-hunting shows that seemed to infest basic cable for a time (Creepy Canada, Haunted Hotels, etc.). There were plenty of bumps, creaks, and metre spikes, but never any definitive proof of the paranormal. These programs would never convince a sceptic, but if you were already a believer then you ate it up. Canadian filmmaking duo Adam Rodness and Stuart Stone take a tongue-in-cheek lark through the genre in their supernatural found-footage comedy Don’t F**k With Ghosts.
After a failed pitch for a Bigfoot documentary, Rodness and Stone (playing exaggerated facsimiles of themselves) are tasked with obtaining positive proof of ghosts by their eccentric investors. Narrowing their search to the most haunted place in Canada, Winnipeg, the pair comb various sites seeking spirits, often with the help of mediums whose mileage varies, often never leaving the driveway.
Their results are tepid at best and humiliating at worst, threatening to drive a wedge between the eager flamboyant Adam and the more practical Stu. A looming deadline forces them to get creative with a little movie magic to help salvage their floundering project. But will their final stunt unleash something from beyond this mortal plane? More importantly, will their insurance cover it?
Don’t F**k With Ghosts is a parody of a genre that expired in the 2000s, produced in a style that was stale by the end of the 2010s. It honestly feels like something that could’ve worked 10-15 years ago, but now feels hopelessly bargain bin. Rodness and Stone do their best to keep the proceedings light and zippy, their on-screen chemistry more often than not the primary source of laughs.
Other highlights include Josh Cruddas, swapping the stock creepy henchman character he’s best known for an overly eager paralegal who harbours dreams of the spotlight. He more than rises to the occasion and nearly steals the spotlight from his co-stars with every scene. The movie engages in ample meta-humour, blurring the distinction between front and back of camera (real life sound recordist “Kevin Bacon” fills the nominal requirement for a celebrity participant). It all might have landed better if this duo had established a wider audience before engaging in this level of fan-service (this author had never heard of them before now).
Rodness and Stone’s latest is a movie that desperately seeks audience approval and goodwill, but can’t quite manage the creativity and staying power to cement itself. Good for a casual stream or an airplane viewing, but more or less a waste of time anywhere else. Might be best to take the title’s advice and avoid finding out.
5/10
Don’t F**k With Ghosts is now screening theatrically across Canada