| Fantasy horror movies can be a tough sell, mostly because it’s nonsense by definition, but each now and then one comes along because it makes it about something else. The fantasy elements are rooted in real beliefs, and the horror elements are just how it’s presented, leaving you with a rather compelling story steeped in atmosphere and indigenous mythology. | | 2025
Directed by: Bretten Hannam
Screenplay by: Bretten Hannam
Starring: Blake Alec Miranda, Forrest Goodluck
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At the Place of Ghosts, translated from the Mi’kmaw language Sk+te'kmujue'katik, takes place in the forests surrounding Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia. Two indigenous brothers are reunited courtesy of a malevolent spirit. Mise’l (Blake Alec Miranda) works at a bar in the city and is engulfed by a darkness that had taken the shape of a person. There is really no other way to describe this, but the implication is clear. Misel immediately leaves town to find his brother Antle (Forrest Goodluck) in their indigenous community and warn him that they have been found.
What I like about this movie is that does in fact make sense. It tackles deep-seeded indigenous supernatural beliefs that don’t need to be fully explained to those of us who are white and have no understanding or knowledge of such supernatural beliefs. The two brothers believe they must travel deep into the woods to the origin of the curse to break free of this haunting.
The cinematography really is beautiful and very fitting. The brothers head out via canoe with green forests on either side, the ripples in the calm water representing the tension that the boys hold. The boys are scared because this darkness that has overtaken them is a malevolent spirit that is eventually going to kill them. It is more curious for the audience as opposed to suspenseful.
The supernatural and fantasy elements of the movie become quite strong on the boys’ trek through the woods. They encounter many individuals both real and imaginary. It doesn’t necessarily take a strong discerning eye to separate what is real from imaginary, but ultimately the two different types of encounters fit perfectly into two types of interactions: the real strangers physically help the boys on the journey, get over fallen trees, heal from their physical wounds; whereas the supernatural beings help the boys with their spiritual and emotional journey.
In the end, At the Place of Ghosts is about two brothers confronting a trauma from their childhood, learning how to let go of their painful past and move on with their present lives. Combining that spiritual journey with a physical one through the Canadian wilderness is a concept that is beautifully realized even if it does get a bit strange through all the supernatural fantasy elements.
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