A dark comedy about a disgruntled summer-stock actor who contemptuously disregards the superstition surrounding Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. By doing so he unleashes the curse of The Scottish Play and wreaks havoc on the company.

Turn the stage lights up for this film about actors bringing one of the darkest plays ever penned, William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, to life! H9 Films and director John Stimpson’s dark comedy, Ghost Light (2018), treks into some paranormal occult territory by bringing sorcery and spectral otherworldliness to a quaint Canadian countryside, along with their eclectic cast of modern-Shakespearean characters.

You will be pleasantly surprised to find that this movie co-stars mistress of whimsy, Carol Kane, as Madeline, who you will recognize from MANY movies — my personal favorites: Addams Family Values (1993) and The Princess Bride (1987) — and in Ghost Light she is as charmingly witchy as always. The film also stars comedy vets Cary Elwes (Saw, Robin Hood: Men In Tights) as terrible but famous actor Alex, and Roger Bart (The Producers) as bitchy director Henry, along with many other seasoned actors which round out this fairly large ensemble — most notably Shannyn Sossamon as Liz Beth, whom I love from one of my first ever indie-movie watches, Wristcutters (2006), and Danielle Campbell as Juliet, and who was kind of a dud in an otherwise entertaining paranormal TV show, the Originals. With so many comedic talents, you are due for some very light brand of horror – think R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps, the TV show run from the 90’s, complete with upbeat musical interludes…but probably a tad more adult with some sexual content.

Arriving at a rural, former resort, The Riverside Lodge and Theater, which sits nestled in the woods somewhere in Canada, a traveling acting troupe unloads their tour-bus and begins to prepare to practice for their upcoming 51st performance of Macbe… the cursed play which shall not be named! As legend has it, this Scottish play is the Bard’s most dangerous work, as the very utterance of its title unleashes an ancient curse which dooms a production to be visited by a witch who pokes bad-natured fun at a cast before escalating her dark magic to evermore deadly levels. When jealous understudy Thomas (Tom Riley) screams Macbeth in a fit of anger, the witch’s spirit is called to the playhouse, unbeknownst to its practicing players. The next morning, from out of the wooded countryside emerges an angelic and bewitching maiden, named Juliet (Danielle Campbell), who needs a place to lodge and decides to join their ensemble as the 3rd witch of the infamous Wayward Sisters characters. Soon after, disruption descends upon the cast, as the players have their sanity tested when they begin to see peculiar and macabre scenes, and also, nearly escape unseen stage deathtraps leading up to the play. When opening night finally comes upon them, the players open to a lively and packed house, but will close to dead silence. All’s well that ends well, but not for everyone.

Ghost Light has a lot to offer as far as acting — again, the cast is stacked(!) with experienced actors who bring the spirit of a traveling theater troupe to life seamlessly, channeling their own extensive experiences, I’m sure. Even if you are not into the theater, per se, this cast is fun to watch as they get sucked into the hijinks of nefarious witches who apparently love a good curse. Honestly though, the witch plot-line seemed like an afterthought until the last 30 minutes where we really see the magic happen — it could have been darker, but me thinks this mortal doth protest too much as sometimes we do need some respite from gore and guts. Also, I found the characters, though well portrayed, to definitely be on the flat side, however luckily there is good dialogue and banter from the secondary characters. There are some supernatural elements shown off with practical and CGI effects, again, primarily towards the end while they are in the midst of putting on the play. Ghost Light was an easy watch, but I wouldn’t say it’s one to come back to or mull over. Overall, though the look of the film was great, the tone came off a bit made-for-TV (not surprising, since upon further inspection of the John Stimpson IMDb page he has a long history of writing, directing, and editing TV movies) and it disappointingly peters out towards the end — bringing a veteran ensemble together in one go is really its only redeemable quality.

Something wicked this way comes this June 18th, when co-writer/director John Stimpson’s Ghost Light gets its U.S. release. Having already premiered at last year’s L.A. Film Fest where it won Official Selection, you can soon find this film on all digital platforms and DVD nationwide for you to take a look for yourself.  Though I think this film would mostly be enjoyed by “theater people”, give it a watch, just hold onto your head!