What I love about ghost stories are their flexibility. Unlike other monsters that go bump in the night, ghost stories don’t always have to be rooted in the horror genre. The general idea of them certainly do tap into our fear of the unknown (or more appropriately, the unknowable), but it can explore deeper themes of loss, of grief, regret, pain, and of coping with the past. These are all common themes even outside the horror genre, and that because they simply make for great drama, and that is what writer/director, Paul Harrill, is tapping into here with his new film, Light From Light.
In the film, we follow Sheila (Marin Ireland), a single mom who works a day job at a car rental agency, but her real passion is in paranormal investigations. One day, she is told about a man who might be experiencing something, so she is called for a meeting. The man is Richard (Jim Gaffigan), a recent widower who believes the spirit of his wife, Susanne, might still be around in their quiet Tennessee farmhouse. So, she agrees to take on the case, and look into the occurrences happening in the home with the help of her son, Owen (Josh Wiggins) and his friend, Lucy (Atheena Frizzell).
If you come into this expecting anything spooky, you are only setting yourself up for disappointment. The tone is set for the whole mood of the film very early on. Richard is talking to Sheila about his experiences, and says that he felt a hand grab his shoulder. She asks if it was forceful, and if he was scared. He said no, in fact, it was gentle. That is the best way to describe the film. It’s very gentle, very somber, deeply understated, and achingly human and empathetic.
As someone who has always had a fascination with this particular subject matter, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the melancholic and soft spoken nature of the film and its characters. For some viewers, I can see how it may come across as too slow or too dry. A somber mood blankets the whole film, and it doesn’t offer much in terms of levity. The only moment of urgency in the entire film comes in the form of a brief sequence where Lucy gets a severe allergic reaction after getting stung by a wasp. The rhythm and flow of this is not going to appeal to everyone, but I found it easily engrossing.
The performances are really strong across the board. Ireland brings a kind yet somewhat distant presence that is informed by a tough past, which we learn more about as the film goes on. Gaffigan carries himself very well in a character that is holding the weight of a year’s worth of grief on his shoulders, trying desperately to find something he can use to cope with and move on from what happened to his wife. Wiggins and Frizzell are solid, even though most of their screen time is spent within a subplot involving the two of them trying to figure things out in regards to their relationship, which may or may not be a thing. It’s a subplot I never felt was necessary, but it’s so oddly endearing that I was glad it was there.
Light From Light left a pretty big impression on me for being such a small and unassuming film. Its engagement doesn’t come from the spectacle of ghouls and hauntings, but from the emotional journies that the characters take. The catharsis doesn’t come from an exorcism, it comes from a deeply felt conversation where the characters open themselves up to each other in a way neither would have expected. It knows it can’t provide an answer to all the existential questions about the existence of ghost, but it beautfully explores how those questions make us feel and what they mean to us. Paul Harrill understands that what is often forgotten is all the best ghost stories have always been about people.