Incident in a Ghostland (2018)

Netflix’s algorithm can more than tell from my watch history that I lean towards the macabre content. One of those suggestions, Incident in a Ghostland (2018) which is also titled Ghostland was consistently recommended and I’d consistently avoided it, not feeling interested based on the trailer alone. Crystal Reed plays Beth, the older version of one main character and I loved her in Teen Wolf but even the familiar face didn’t make me finally watch. Cut to a few weeks after the series of recommendations and a TikTok came up on my FYP that recommended horror movies with twists. I love twists and trying to guess the twist if I know there is one or being shocked by an unexpected twist, 2 of my favorite horror movie features. With the recommend from a horror fan I figured why not with the expectation I’d scroll around social media if and when I lost full interest. While watching however I was shook that I couldn’t look away and rewound multiple times to make sure I didn’t miss clues, hints, or references in the detail laden scenes. To watch Incident in a Ghostland free with ads now on Tubi TV click here.

Although Reed plays the older version of Beth the younger version is portrayed by Emilia Jones and the other main character is her sister, named Vera. Vera is another character with a younger and older version, portrayed by actresses Taylor Hickson and Anastasia Phillips respectively. Additionally their mother, portrayed by Mylène Farmer, is a critical character with less screen time. We meet the family of 3 on their journey traveling to their recently deceased distant relatives’ home that they’ve inherited and intend to move into. Their conversation in the car gives some insight into the dynamic of the family, Vera the more typical, well adjusted teen who had a boyfriend and friends she left behind to move and Beth a little weirder, an aspiring horror writer who love H.P. Lovecraft and was a loner. Their mother is French and despite them all knowing French Vera insists they speak English and tends to be mean to her sister Beth without a clear indication of why or a rational reason.

It becomes clear that Beth is a “scaredy cat” when she is petrified from a jump scare that signifies possible danger despite being a horror writer, which is very relatable. It’s also revealed through a hushed conversation that Beth has a habit of doing what Vera and their mother call “playing make believe” in her writing. Vera explains that she found a full interview written by Beth as if she is an adult writer being interviewed about an upcoming release like it was real. This plays a big role in the movie later on but for now the focus shifts to the creepy, inherited house. They find a doll emerging from behind a mirror like a messed-up jack in the box and horrifying dolls in varying stages of decay cluttering the house while examining the inside. Their aunt, who’s house they’ve inherited, is described as having been the quirky, weird, French woman who lived in the old house according to an earlier scene with a local Harbinger they interacted with on their journey.

A van arrives outside the house, the same one that Vera flipped off on their way to the house and a large man along with a hooded figure who has a knife are inside the van. The van seemingly following them to their isolated destination they are then attacked by the large man and the hooded figure with the knife but Vera is knocked out early in the scuffle. Beth, having been established as the scaredy cat of the family, completely freezes effectively becoming useless as the attack proceeds. Luckily their mom has a fight response rather than flight or freeze and despite taking some damage from the initial ambush she kicks major ass and ultimately wins the standoff. Beth still frozen is just able to look on but suddenly the adult Beth is waking up from a night terror about that event rather than it being the present situation at hand.

The older version of Beth, having survived the brutal attack, has become a successful horror writer who now goes by her full name, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is married in the present and has a child named Harlequin, even completed a big televised interview about her upcoming release. This interviewer nudges that the book is based on the incident that her and her family faced at her aunt’s house. She makes it clear in response however that she doesn’t like to talk about the event and it’s apparent that she has not attempted to deal with the trauma of the event yet. There’s virtually no time to dwell on that though because she gets a call from her sister, Vera, who is frantic and screaming for help on the other end. Her sister unfortunately did not come out of the attack as well as she did and rather than turning to art she still suffers from it as if she’s still living in it. Beth’s lack of reaction suggests this is a common, expected occurrence that she’s less than stoked to deal with, probably also worried for her mother’s safety when Vera is in that state of post-traumatic stress.

Without being quick to action Beth decides to go check on her sister and mom at the isolated house, slightly worried but not fully panicked yet. She’s unable to get into contact with her mom and get reassurance that this is an episode so resolves to head out there and see for herself. Once there Vera is still having visions of attack they sustained and voluntarily locks herself in the basement and scenes of her being violently attacked by ghosts are shown. It isn’t clear if this is in her head and she’s suffering mentally or if she’s also suffering physically from supernatural attacks that are making Beth and their mother believe she’s not in real physical danger. Beth doesn’t even consider other sources of the visions or Vera’s physical symptoms but rather seems exhausted from dealing with a mentally ill sibling and an aging parent that is struggling to care for them any longer. Their mother tells Beth not to believe anything that Vera says or claims and suddenly Beth starts to get her ass kicked by the same supernatural, invisible entity that has been kicking Vera’s ass up until that point. Beth still doesn’t believe Vera and something doesn’t add up in light of the invisible entity attack. Vera starts unraveling and stating over and over that Beth needs to wake up and realize what has happened. This reveals the sad truth: Vera and Beth are still trapped in the basement.

The older versions of the 2 women are fantasies made up by Beth because their mother did die in the attack rather than triumphantly rising and defeating the attackers. The 2 women are still girls, trapped in the basement and even Beth’s family was imagined and conjured up from 2 paintings in the basement that Beth can see, one of a Harlequin and the other of a man. She’s disassociated and detached into a fictional reality because her own is too difficult to deal with and that seems more than fair. The reveal is shocking and good, the twist referenced and promised by the TikTok creator’s video but the reveal does happen rather early in the film which begged the question, “now what?,” for the remaining chunk of film time. As Beth learns or rather realizes and remembers the reality of their situation it is revealed that they’re trapped in the house with a very disturbed woman and a large man who seems to have the temperament and intelligence of a small child. The girls are being used as dolls, living dolls, to entertain the large man who is prone to throw fits and attack sudden noises and movements in violent rages.

Beth and Vera strategize and craft a way to escape, using the houses charms and their captor’s weaknesses against them to maneuver out of the house. Once they escape they run through the night and fortunately happen upon a police car on the highway that stops to help them. The captors however have managed to make it to the same spot around the same time and shoot the police officers, clearly disturbed enough to not care which makes them way more terrifying. They’re able to capture both girls again and upon this Beth escapes back into the reality she’s created in her mind but this time fights it to not abandon her sister in the real world. The murder of the police officers draws more police and this leads to a face off between the second set of officers and captors that ends in both being killed and both girls surviving their final battle with their captors.

When the movie began I didn’t like how little Beth reacted to the action around her but once the whole story comes together it makes sense why she wouldn't. Her mind is too stunned to even react to the situation unfolding to the extent that she builds her own world to escape to and she slips into freeze mode, unable to move or do anything to save her mom. Watching her mother die in front of her quite literally breaks her psyche and creates the world that seems like the flash forward for the viewer to experience alongside her. Her fantasy world draws on her current environment pulling details from her surroundings into her own narrative to make them digestible but distorted to her. It's heart wrenching to watch Vera struggle with both the actions of their captors and the reality of their circumstances after Beth’s situation is revealed while trying to pull Beth back to reality. While Beth is in her false reality she is actually able to make progress towards their escape, finding a weapon in the dolls hair pin and managing to find out how best to attack the "Fat Man" without fully realizing.

Even upon the girls escape we cannot breathe a sigh of relief as the captor’s truck returns to not only recapture them but kill both officers, a completely unexpected escalation in action at that point. In that scene I liked the fake out of the truck coming down the road towards the sheriff's car, leading the viewer to believe that it's the truck coming for the girls, but in reality this is just a regular truck, further lowering their defenses for the real danger lurking closely behind them. Though the fact that they got recaptured pissed me off I understood why the plot might've needed just a dash more tension to feel complete upon their survival and the twist that they were still in captivity. Incident in a Ghostland is well worth the watch, in particular for fans of twists in reality or the gore-psychological subgenre combo. The big reveal is guessable past a certain point but I didn't guess the remaining action of the film which kept me on my toes waiting for a conclusion despite feeling that the big reveal had passed rather early in the plot. I'm glad that both girls survive in the end after all that they go through but was sad to find that the mother hadn’t actually survived the initial attack. In part because of that but also just general topics I wouldn’t say this will be a frequent watch due to the heavy nature of the subject matter.