Ghostwatch ★★★

FOUND footage is now a major sub-genre of horror cinema.

If you think the origin is 1999’s The Blair Witch Project you’re nearly 20 years out.

That honour belongs to the infamous and frequently banned Italian film Cannibal Holocaust released in 1980.

What we don’t see as much are horror films purporting to be actual documentaries, which makes the British film Ghostwatch so intriguing.

This  mockumentary was made by the BBC and broadcast live on Halloween night in 1992.

It provoked a level of public concern akin to Orson Welles’ 1938 The War of the Worlds radio broadcast but was further criticised to the extent that the BBC eventually had to issue a public apology and it has never been shown again on British television.

More on that later.

Director Lesley Manning and writer Stephen Volk were behind the idea which was greatly enhanced through the use of actual television presenters at the time, including Michael Parkinson.

It’s billed as an attempt to determine evidence of paranormal phenomena by having a presenter and camera crew spend the night in an allegedly haunted suburban home with the mother and two daughters residing there.

Adding to the authenticity is the fact that a house in a North London Estate is considered an actual site of demonic possession by some.

Parkinson is in the studio with guests on both sides of the argument and regularly throws to the on-location broadcast.

During the course of the program a series of unexplained occurrences are presented, questioned and, in some cases, dismissed, but the final act leads to an on-air disaster.

The show attracted hundreds of thousands of phone calls to the station’s switchboard during its broadcast, many of which either praised or condemned the BBC for airing it.

These people realised it wasn’t meant to be real, but there was also a large percentage who truly believed it was real and reported strange occurrences either in their own homes or on the broadcast they were watching.

According to Wikipedia, the BBC became concerned about the potential effect on the public and almost pulled the show before the broadcast started.

The British tabloids had a field day, dining out on criticism of the program. Blame for a number of incidents were laid at the BBC’s feet, including a man’s suicide several days after watching the broadcast.

Despite defending its actions and claiming the average viewer would have known the broadcast wasn’t real, the BBC eventually issued a public apology.

Today there are several programs on streaming services that do have film crews spend nights in purportedly haunted buildings seeking evidence that they rarely find.

Ghostwatch may look dated and a little phony today, but none of these current programs have anywhere near the same effect on the viewing public.

Watched on Shudder.