Directed by Stuart Stone, “Don’t F**k with Ghosts” follows Stuart Stone and Adam Rodness, a filmmaking duo commissioned to work on a movie about ghosts. In the film, the duo plays fictional versions of themselves, who initially try to get their pitch about the Bigfoot creature commissioned. Not long ago, the Zellner brothers brought up “Sasquatch Sunset,” about the same subject. While this Sundance release uses a fictional narrative about Bigfoot, Stone & Rodness (their versions) wants to make an explorative documentary about these believed-to-be-real creatures. Their financiers don’t see potential in this pitch. So, instead, they want the duo to make a movie about ghosts.
With Halloween being a major festival, not just for religious but capitalistic reasons, it’s not a surprising expectation for investors to put their money on the safest, potentially lucrative bet. I mean, who will watch another movie about the Sasquatch, right? People may not be as interested in these wild creatures as they used to be. So, the duo accepts the revised offer. You can’t judge them (or their fictional versions) for making this decision. That way, they can at least get a project on the floor. After all, even a seasoned filmmaker like David Fincher is eyeing an English-language version of “Squid Game” instead of making the third season of “Mindhunter.”
Stone and Rodness, who have a couple more comedic projects under their belt, present “Don’t F**k with Ghosts” as a mockumentary. It offers a philosophical duel between the skeptics and the believers. The believers would look at anything and everything as a sign of the paranormal presence while skeptics cannot help but raise doubts in such situations. The duo visits a haunted house and meets psychics, mediums, and ghost experts for their investigation. Much of the film shows different people representing different sides of this equation. Even Rodness and Stone choose different sides. While Rodness trusts that ghosts exist, Stone doesn’t. There is an additional layer to how and why their belief systems are formed.
As a filmmaking duo, the two try to almost constantly one-up each other. They mask their insecurities about their looks, appearances, or traits, which inadvertently makes them reveal themselves even more. It’s like when you’re told not to think about something, you can’t help but think about it! Rodness and Stone end up exposing themselves in the same manner. Their banter reflects their lack of deeper thought on abiding by either side of the argument. So, there is an evident meta-ness to the film that predictably helps with the film’s mockumentary approach.
Rodness and Stone’s banter, which takes up much of the film’s space, reminded me of the podcast humor that has become popular in recent years. While their conversations seem random, it feels like they orchestrated that randomness. You stick with such banters because you find the hosts appealing for one or the other season. The same happens with Rodness and Stone. While technically a paradox, they bring in staged candid/inorganic moments, which majorly work in the film’s favor. The duo’s chemistry helps it work fairly well as a buddy comedy.
Beyond investigating the validity of arguments from either side, the duo also decides to use the ‘I believe it means it must be true’ argument for their benefit. They preach to the choir which will most likely accept their beliefs! There are a few more interesting bits of commentary about real-life parallels dispersed throughout. However, the movie remains faithful to its lighthearted humor rather than being a cerebral satire. Such elements are occasionally introduced but do not get discussed much.
At times, “Don’t F**k with Ghosts” feels like a collection of comedy sketches put together in a feature film package. Despite this issue, it doesn’t lose steam and remains a moderately amusing satire about paranormal activity shows. While it is fairly cohesive, it does not feel coherent since it works with any absurd idea that comes to their minds and adds it to the film hoping it will stick. It explores different possibilities in a way that could have worked better in another form of comedy. As a feature film, it ends up being a fun but forgettable Halloween viewing.
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