Haunted Ulster Live is a 2023 British horror film in which two TV presenters team up to investigate an alleged poltergeist in Belfast.
Written, directed, scored and co-produced by Dominic O’Neill, Also produced by editor Will McConnell.
The Beyond Visible Films production stars Aimee Richardson, Mark Claney, Siobhan Kelly, Antoinette Morelli, Owen James, and Dave Fleming.
Plot:
On Halloween night 1998, Gerry Burns (Mark Claney) teams up with popular children’s presenter Michelle Kelly (Aimee Richardson) to investigate poltergeist activity in an allegedly haunted house on Castlereagh Road in Belfast.
A séance causes the broadcast to descend into chaos when an unseen force mysteriously abducts the youngest child, and the two presenters must face their greatest fears on live TV…
FrightFest blurb:
“Inspired by the iconic BBC series Ghostwatch, think Ulster TV meets The Blair Witch Project in Dominic O’Neill’s fusion of traditional Irish storytelling and folk horror suffused in an atmosphere of 1960s British and American horror.”
Reviews:
“In order to work, the audience needs to be well-versed in the lore and broadcast of Ghostwatch […] Although lacking the star power or real transmission components of Ghostwatch, Haunted Ulster Live has a lot of fun with its scenario. Its reliance on the audience being media literate might leave the uninitiated bemused, but for those who are keyed into the joke, Dominic O’Neill has made a rip-roaring good time.” ★★★ The Hollywood News
” …the story takes some really unexpected twists and turns in the third act, and for my money, that just might be the best thing about this movie. I was on the absolute edge of my seat for the last 20 minutes or so, and my eyes were completely glued to the screen as I learned what was really going on here. That great third act cements Haunted Ulster Live as a worthy new addition to the haunted house subgenre…” Horror Obsessive
“An evocation of what TV used to look like, it also weaves in threads about the way the media were going – with some very tiny flash-forwards to suggest the aftermath of the events and also set up a couple of clever reversals. It has a Nigel Kneale-like attitude to what ghosts might actually be, though it takes the trouble to build an air of menace in the house – where, from the first, we get a sense that putting this psychodrama on television to share with the viewers at home is a very bad idea.” The Kim Newman Web Site
” …has an awareness of its own derivativeness built in. “I know youse want to recreate this night for laughs,” one character will say, “but this actually happened to me.” It is that slippage between popular entertainment and lived experience, between creepy comedy and personal tragedy, that creates the contradictory layers of meaning in O’Neill’s film, where what Gerry speculates may be “a double haunting“ will turn out to be rather more involuted.” Projected Figures
“Haunted Ulster Live is nice to watch, its duration is more than adequate and it has good moments inside, but in the final balance, it gives the sensation of wanting to be very brainy and complex without having worked enough on it.” Terror Weekend ★★½ [translated from Spanish]
“While I can’t judge how well he recreated late 90s Irish TV O’Neill does do an excellent job of making the viewer feel like they’re watching a live TV show that’s going more and more off the rails as it progresses. Haunted Ulster Live starts out as enjoyably spooky Halloween entertainment and becomes progressively more frightening as it goes on. The last act lets loose and delivers a twist I certainly didn’t see coming.” ★★★★ Voices from the Balcony
Release:
Haunted Ulster Live had its world premiere at the 2023 FrightFest in London on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
Trailer:
Cast and characters:
Aimee Richardson … Michelle Kelly
Siobhan Kelly … Sarah
Antoinette Morelli … Sinead
Owen James … Kyle
Mark Claney … Gerry Burns
Dave Fleming … TBC
Budget:
£40,000 (estimated)
Technical specs:
1 hour 18 minutes
