It seems like for as long as the Universe has been in existence, people have searched for proof of the paranormal. It’s just a natural desire to try and prove that there is life after death. Over the last several years, television has been a big outlet for teams of paranormal investigators to showcase their cases & findings, with The Atlantic Paranormal Society, or T.A.P.S. for short, have emerged on the top of the ghost hunting mountain.
I’ll admit, after witnessing countless TV investigations, I always felt that someone out there could produce a feature film much in the same style, yet add their own touches to either make it the scariest film ever, or the funniest film ever. In 2016, director Oliver Irving looked to go the comedy route. Thus, the world was given “Ghost Team”.

Released on digital streaming services, the film tells the tale of Louis, a down-on-his-luck copy shop owner who dreams of becoming a paranormal investigator just like his favorite television Ghost Hunting team, Ghost Getters, who also happen to be T.A.P.S. team members Jason Hawes and Steve Gonsalves in a cameo. When told about a possibly haunted barn, Louis and his depressed best friend Stan decide to make their own team, investigate the barn, and use the footage to try and impress the Ghost Getters. Rounding out the team are Louis’ nephew Zak, a tech savvy misfit who provides the equipment; Victoria, a cable access psychic; Ellie, a beautician from the same strip mall that Louis also has a big crush on; and Ross, a bumbling security guard who wishes to achieve his dream of becoming a police officer, yet can’t seem to get out of his own way.

The cast list is as follows:
Jon Heder-Louis
David Krumholtz-Stan
Melonie Diaz-Ellie
Paul W. Downs-Zak
Justin Long-Ross
Amy Sedaris-Victoria
The characters all have their own quirks. It starts out as amusing to see Krumholtz as a guy who believes his wife has been abducted by aliens, and nobody believes him. In fact, one of the funny jokes has to do with him quipping that searching for ghosts is all well and good, but if he mentions aliens, suddenly HE’S the weirdo. But the problem lies with the characters of Victoria and Russ. They’re not really fleshed out the way they could have been, and that’s sad considering you have comedic actors the caliber of Sedaris and Long. They just weren’t given enough to really sink their teeth into.

While the film does have a promising premise, nothing of great value is ever actually done with it. When I first started watching it, and I got to the hunting stuff at the barn, I really thought we were going to get some good paranormal comedy. Instead, we get lame jokes, followed by a third act that really takes you out of the movie entirely. I mean they really dropped the ball with the entire third act. It’s not funny, it’s a rather dumb twist, and some of the performances during it were incredibly razzie-worth. It all just falls apart very quickly once you reach that point.

When it comes right down to it, this film had a chance to do something great. With the choice of actors and promising premise, they could have made this a cult following that would have lasted for years. Instead, they made a film that never really found its footing, and toppled over in the third act. But, as always, I invite you to have yourself a viewing, and let me know if you feel the same way or not. Until next time…