Plenty has been said aboutAlan Ritchson— not all of it necessarily complimentary — but there is no denying that he has played a key role in shaping the “military action” landscape in the past few years. InReacher, Ritchson plays Jack Reacher, a former major in the United States Army Military Police Corps. The skills he earned during his days as a serviceman benefit him greatly whenever he faces off against miscreants. The friends he made during his days in the military are also very loyal to him.
Ghosts of War
In Guy Ritchie’sThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Ritchson portrays Anders Lassen, a Danish military officer who was the only non-Commonwealth recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II. In the movie, Lassen is a key cog in Operation Postmaster, an off-the-books black-ops mission to disrupt the Nazis' U-boat resupply operation on the Spanish-controlled island of Fernando Po. Back in 2020, Ritchson also starred in another World War II movie:Ghosts of War, which is ideal for both horror and war fans.
Members of an Airborne Infantry Face a Different Kind of Threat in ‘Ghosts of War’
Ghosts of Warwas directed by Eric Bress, whose flair for terror and innovative cinematography can be seen in many of his movies, but seldom more so than in this. The war flick plunges us straight into the bubbling cauldron of the Allied campaign across France during World War II.
Five American troopers of the 82nd Airborne Division— Private Butchie (Alan Ritchson), Lieutenant Chris (Brenton Thwaites), Corporal Eugene (Skylar Astin), and Private Kirk (Theo Rossi), and Private Tappert (Kyle Gallner) —have been tasked with guarding a French château previously occupied by Nazi forces. Once they arrive,they encounter strange phenomena, including eerie noises and a repetitive Morse Code message coming from the fireplace saying, “I have no legs.“They alsohave visions of the Helwig family, the previous occupants of the house who were massacred by the Nazis for sheltering Jews.
The troopers thenfind a journal kept by a German soldier detailing how the Helwigs were killed. The father was burned alive, the daughter was hanged, and the son was drowned in a bathtub. And as Eugene is interpreting another Morse code message,his hand starts moving without him controlling it, spelling out the words, “If you leave, you die.”
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Well, the warning is clear, but the troopers figure they cannot stay in this hellish place.They attempt to leave, only to find themselves trapped in a time loop, reliving their arrival at the chateau and all the horrors they’ve experienced so far. Quick thinking is thus required. Upon going through several ideas, they conclude that giving the Helwigs a proper burial will calm the supernatural forces.
End of movie? Not even close. After the burial,the diary’s language suddenly changes from German to Arabic, and in what’s undoubtedly one of the craziest horror-war movie twists, the Helwigs are revealed to be Afghan, not French as initially implied.The troopers aren’t World War II veterans either. They fought in the War in Afghanistan.
One of their key missions involved evacuating a family called the Helwigs, who had been helping the Americans. But when an Islamic State patrol ambushed them, the troopers opted to hide and watched as the Helwigs were slaughtered.Before she died, the mother of the family uttered the word “Vetrulek,” an ancient curse that condemns people to eternal trauma. So why did the movie have a World War II setting? Why did it even show Nazis at the beginning? We’ll let you find out.
‘Ghosts of War’ Utilizes the Best Narrative Elements of the Horror and War Genres
The best horror movies tend to be those where the villain (or villains) appear too powerful (or too strategic) to beat. For the most part, the heroes tend to be helpless, frantically finding ways to survive rather than confronting the threat head-on. FromSawtoThe Thing, the examples are endless.
Such a narrative structure is heavily used inGhosts of War. Here,the troopers have no clue how to deal with the supernatural forces in the château. When the violence gets underway, frenzied spells of Tarantino-style gory excess come in quickly and fiercely, interspersed with gallant, almost outrageous, eruptions of panic-driven actions. Their weapons are useless, and their attempts to escape prove pointless because they are trapped in a time loop. They are thus left with no option but to hope for the best. This kind of awesomeness was to be expected, considering director Eric Bress made twoFinal Destinationmovies.
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The best war movies are also those where the servicemen endure plenty of suffering, not those where they have an easy time against the enemy. These films showcase war, not as a facile boys' day out in which few get hurt, but as a real representation of the physical and psychological burden. PictureFull Metal Jacket,where the men undergo a torturous stint at aboot camp, then they are obliterated by a mysterious sniper when they head to Vietnam. Or pictureLone Survivor, where seemingly capable SEALs are annihilated by Afghan fighters, leaving only one person standing in the end.
InGhosts of War, the troopers take plenty of punishment. Being stuck ina haunted houseproves traumatic for them. Even worse, the spirits try to attack them and kill them using the same methods that the members of the Afghan family were killed. It isn’t until the final moments of the movie that respite truly comes, and even then, it’s hinted that another threat looms in the shadows.
‘Ghosts of War’ Came Out at the Worst Time
Ghosts of Waris the kind of film that ought to have pushed its stars to greater Hollywood heights. Unfortunately, it wasreleased at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hence, very few people ever knew about it. After a brief stint in theaters (where it only grossed $345,289), it was released on DirecTV. Butunlike many comparable pandemic-era horror flicks, this is a genuinely frightening affair and is, on most occasions, astonishing in its uncompromising savagery.
At the time of its release, Alan Ritchson hadn’t become a major star yet. Even though he had starred in hit shows likeBlue Mountain State, Black Mirror, Smallville,andTitans, Hollywood still saw him as a supporting player. His presence in the movie thus couldn’t help push the financial figures in any way.
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IfGhosts of Warwas released today, it would arguably perform better, not only becausethe current theater climate is very conducive to success, but also becauseAlan Ritchson has become one of the world’s most in-demand actors. Right now,he has five movies in the pipeline, including a Christmas action comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Awkwafina, and an action thriller that sits in the same yard as the earlyFast & Furiousmovies.
There’s also good news for those who loved Alan Ritchson inGhosts of WarandThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.The actor isn’t done with war-themed movies. Ritchson is set to star inWar Machine,a film about the final recruits of a military special ops boot camp who find themselves dealing with a deadly force from another world. The concept sounds incredible, and we have faith in the outcome, considering that the film is directed by Patrick Hughes (The Hitman’s Bodyguard and The Expendables 3).
With many of these releases still months away, now is the perfect time to watchGhosts of Warand sink your mind into the complexities of war. Although it is let down somewhat by its thin B-movie character development and excessive irksome bouts of pacifist activism, this film remainsa landmark in its respective genres, breaking new ground by covering two major global conflicts in a mere 90 minutes. It serves as some form of visual allegory for the kind of shared madness that often sees powerful nations embrace asinine barbarism in a quest for the vaguest of goals at a cost that defies sensibility and comprehension. Watch it on Apple TV+ and Fandango at Home. But be warned. The proceedings get really spooky.
