Ghost Squad (2015)
25KGhost Squad: Directed by Joel Souza. With Will Spencer, Cade Sutton, Phillip Wampler, Kevin Nealon. Growing up in a small town, Charlie, Alex and Nick weren’t the most popular kids around after they formed “The Elite Monster Unit”. Chasing notorious, mythical legends and ghosts was exciting to them, not “cool” to the other kids around. So they lived their lives on the outside of the “in” crowd. Making matters worse was Charlie’s obvious crush on Brandy, one of the most popular kids in school and sister to one of the biggest bullies around. Trying to impress Brandy, Charlie accepts a dare from her brother Nick that says he and his friends must spend Halloween night in a house long rumored to be haunted.What seems to be an easy challenge quickly turns out to be a night of frights as Charlie, Nick and Alex find themselves in the fight of their lives trying to out smart (and outrun) their new nemesis, a ghost dog named Salty, who does whatever he can to make this the worst night of their lives…
“GHOST SQUAD is not a breathtaking work of staggering genius, nor does it appear to be designed to be. It is, however, a fairly fun romp and taste of the supernatural perfect for young kids (or older ones) who arenu0026#39;t ready to go full-steam ahead in this genre. The scares are gentle, for lack of a better term, with just enough thrill to keep kids engaged.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film follows young friends off to spend the night in a haunted house after a dare by their local bully. Thatu0026#39;s standard old-school fare, but the film gives it a nice update. This is not IT nor STRANGER THINGS, but the performances are admirable on the part of all the kids involved.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is what feels like a rather forced subplot and theme about dads and sons, but a surprisingly gruff showing by SNL alum Kevin Nealon actually sells the idea pretty well — again, for the primary audience. The script is not shabby at all, though the pacing is off; not *slow,* but off. The performances keep the film going even though the central storyline takes a bit to find its feet.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, GHOST SQUAD is genuine and heartfelt and even pulls off a pretty cute ending that hits the right note for any fretful parents.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGHOST SQUAD is not recommended for adults, and nor are they its intended audience. Itu0026#39;s a polished version of the Goosebumps TV show from days of yore, and a less scary version of the modern, updated films with Jack Black. If your kids arenu0026#39;t ready for that film, GHOST SQUAD is a perfect place to start.”
