An online therapist’s day goes from bad to worse when he meets an inept ghost endeavoring to scare him in Ryan Crepack’s ‘That’s The Spirit.’
Supernatural comedy blends humour with paranormal elements, creating a unique genre where the spooky meets the absurd. In these stories supernatural beings are not just objects of fear, they’re used for humour and mischief. This genre plays with the contrast between the unknown and the mundane, often highlighting how supernatural beings struggle to navigate human quirks or how humans fumble in the face of the paranormal. Shows like The Good Place and movies like Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters exemplify supernatural comedy by placing characters in extraordinary, otherworldly scenarios while poking fun at their reactions. Through this balance of the eerie and the amusing, supernatural comedy allows audiences to laugh at both their own fears and the fantastical ideas of the afterlife, creating a fresh, imaginative approach to comedy.
With, ‘That’s The Spirit’, Crepack has delved into this genre with a simple story that sees an online therapist called Sean (played by Crepack himself) trying to counsel his client Leonard (Steve Lo Biondo giving it the full Jack Nicholson). All the while a ghost played by Dave Esposito is trying to distract and scare him. Eventually, the ghost becomes so useless at his job that Sean becomes his therapist and spends his session time on the ghost instead of Leonard. As plots go it’s a fun idea if a little wafer thin, and during the 14-minute run time extraordinarily little happens. Sean and Leonard chat for a bit, while a couple of doors open and close on their own and some lights flash on and off. Then we get the ghost effect which is extremely basic but does the job. Sean and the ghost talk about life, death, and everything in between meanwhile poor Leonard is left hanging on the line.
The film is set in Sean’s living room and There are a lot of mid shots and close-ups of our actors and, other than the opening wobbly camera work as we approach the front door, the cinematography by Crepack and Sean Chin remains pretty static. What does work however is the acting because, despite the thin premise, all three actors are really quite strong. We are not talking Shakespeare levels of dialogue here but what we do get is three naturally gifted performers who are fun, friendly, and full of banter. It’s here that the basic camerawork comes to the fore bringing us closer to a very entertaining triumvirate, all of whom are thoroughly enjoying themselves. As That’s the Spirit becomes more of a chamber piece, these three help bring to mind Blithe Spirit and that makes the film worth watching.
Overall, That’s The Spirit, does what it says on the tin. It’s a film that manages to be witty without ever being hilarious, and new without ever being original. But where it does succeed is in showing that even the thinnest of concepts can be improved and emboldened by genuinely talented performers.
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