As a reviewer, I get a lot of discs I've never heard of. More often than not, there's a good reason I've never heard of them...they're total crap. Stefan Avalos' The Ghosts of Edendale is an exception, though. It's a creepy supernatural horror film that may not be perfect, but at least there's some real attempts to truly scare its audience, not simply shock them with gore. It's an obscure and atmospheric little thriller deservingly in search of an audience.

Kevin and former model Rachel are a young couple who relocate to the Los Angeles area to try and make it as screenwriters. They find a small house in the Edendale area, a small hill in Hollywood, which is renowned for being the birthplace of the movie business; silent screen star Tom Mix's ranch was located, as was the Edendale studio. Today, the neighborhood is populated by people who, in one way of another, are connected to the movie business. All the neighbors are equally knowledgeable (and obsessed) with Edendale's illustrious past, and those who don't "fit in" (i.e. their neighbor Andrew, who, after a disastrous audition and subsequent "mental breakdown," is ostracized from the neighborhood's frequent get-togethers), have a way of disappearing. Rachel has a tough time adapting to life on the West Coast - it is hinted that she's had some work-related psychological stress in the past - and is soon seeing faces in the structures, ghosts in the closet and hearing voices emanating from the walls. While she tries to convince herself it's only her imagination playing with her, Kevin falls immediately in love with the neighborhood, and begins writing an old fashioned western screenplay, which friends in the neighborhood fall in love with, even though they haven't read a word of the screenplay. Kevin's appearance and personality change too, from a humble, struggling writer to a nasty-tempered and arrogant Hollywood player, much to Rachel's chagrin. When she confronts him about his personality change, as well as questioning his new-found friends' sincerity about a script no one has read, he lashes out at her. On her own, she inquires about Andrew's disappearance; she's told by neighbors he moved away, even though he's taken none of his possessions. Meanwhile, the ghostly apparitions appear more frequently as Kevin becomes increasingly distant and cruel. Rachel finally decides to leave him, which proves easier said than done in a third act I wouldn't dream of giving away here. The Ghosts of Edendale plays like a low-budget version of The Shining , with a heavy emphasis on mood and atmosphere. Some may balk at the ambiguity of the climax, as well as the lack of explanation for sometimes disturbing set-pieces, but I always appreciate any filmmaker who doesn't feel the incessant need to spell everything out for the viewer, or substitute logic with unnecessary gore (although I admittedly enjoy movie gore very much). Having seen countless horror films during my life, I also appreciate any movie that can produce even a single scene which startles me, and this one actually includes a small handful, most notably when Rachel opens the closet and encounters a disfigured boy; the boy has really nothing to do with the story itself, but it's unexpected, well-done, and it made me jump. As much as I love and admire The Shining , if I'm to be honest, it isn't very scary. The Ghosts of Edendale effectively builds a feeling of dread which Kubrick's classic film does not, even though the latter is technically superior. The ultimate payoff will infuriate some viewers raised on Halloween rip-offs as being anti-climactic, but it actually makes the most sense from a logical point of view. The movie isn't without it's flaws. Aside from Paula Ficara, who does a great job as Rachel, the acting is fairly pedestrian. Maybe it's just me, but Stephen Wastell (who plays Kevin) looks and sounds so much like a beefier version that obnoxiously unfunny host of the TV show, The Planet's Funniest Animals , that I couldn't be totally absorbed in his situation. The visual effects range from unnerving (the aforementioned ghost boy) to pretty phony (the apparitional cowboys chasing Rachel up the street). Still, director Stefan Avalos make the most of an obviously limited budget to create an atmospheric and tension-filled 90 minutes, even if there's no real reason for these ghosts to be reeking such havoc on Rachel's sanity.

I've never been a fan of movies shot of digital video, even though I acknowledge the technology is the only way many fledgling filmmakers with no money can get their films done. The problem is that the process doesn't really transfer well to DVD. There are numerous shots (mostly nighttime scenes) which look really murky and grainy, and an equal number of scenes in which the colors look washed out (and I don't think it was intentional here). The soundtrack fares much better, which is good for a movie in which sound plays such an intricate part of the story. Here, it's rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.

There's a lot of interesting special features which will impress fans of independent horror films. A full-length audio commentary featuring director Avalos and producer Marianne Connor is included, and they offer a lot of interesting anecdotes about the making of the movie (I've always enjoyed commentaries done by folks who didn't have the world handed to them, and this one is no exception). Also included is a 30 minute behind-the-scenes home video, a 10 minute featurette on the visual effects, the original trailer and some deleted scenes, which also feature commentary by the director. Similar Films: The Shining; The Haunting; Poltergeist

The Ghosts of Edendale is no classic, but it definitely deserves a bigger DVD audience than it's probably going to get. It may be lacking a bit in substance and/or logic, and there are occasions where the sometimes shoddy effects detract from the overall mood, but it's atmospheric, suspenseful and very well made considering its budgetary limitations. Those wanting something beyond the hack-and-slash genre are highly advised to seek this one out. It's a minor gem of a film waiting to be discovered.