Slamdance Film Festival 2022 Greetings again from the darkness. What a terrific film to kick off this year's Slamdance festival! Writer-director Clay Tatum and co-writer Whitmer Thomas co-star in their own story that brings the "old" meaning of ghosting back to the forefront. But fear not, this is about as scary as the clip from the classic cartoon "Casper the Friendly Ghost" that's included. Rather than spooky horror, this is about comedic situations involving a particular ghost (not named Casper).

Clay (Tatum) is a frumpy slacker who fancies himself a photographer, but lacks the drive to market himself or his work. He does, however, think a different haircut might help, even if he wields the scissors himself. His wife Whitney (Whitney Weir) chuckles at the idea, but seems extremely supportive (or forgiving) of her husband's lack of effort in life. While Whitney's away on a business trip, Clay seizes the opportunity to eat and drink the hours away, somehow accomplishing less than he would on a typical day.

Displaying an unusual spark of inspiration, Clay crafts a scam to raise his share of the rent ... proving his lack of drive might actually be his finest quality. Later, while out taking pictures, Clay runs into his old friend Whit. They may be from the same hometown, but there is something a bit off in their re-connection. Clay tries to part ways, but Whit's having none of that - he's thrilled to be seen by his old buddy.

Robert Longstreet adds a jolt of energy in a poker sequence that evolves into a slow-motion booze-filled musical interlude. It's yet another example of Clay's moral compass, but most of the movie revolves around the interaction between Clay and Whit ... and that's fertile ground for some laughs and a premise that works pretty darn well. The filmmakers start us with a prologue with a bump in the night, though we aren't really allowed to understand it until near the end of the film. It's a nice start to the festival and an impressive project from the young filmmakers.

Clay (Clay Tatum, the director and co-writer of this movie) is an unemployed photographer and scam artist who decides to hang out with an old friend named Whit (Whitmer Thomas, who co-wrote the script) when his wife Whitney (Whitney Witt) is out of town. He soon learns that the acquaintance whom he lost track of is actually dead and now plans on haunting him.

Whit is excited to have a friend that can see him, yet Clay hates everyone and only barely likes his wife, who is due back at any time and he certainly can't be haunted when she gets home.

This is cringe-inducing humor meets horror, which is an intriguing mix, and Tatum and Thomas really play well off of one another. It's also quite black in its humor, reveling in the ways that human beings can treat each other horribly and their selves even worse.

I haven't been this let down by a film's ending since 'Enemy' starring Jake Gyllenhaal. I mean, seriously a big frickin' spider? Really? But I digress. The Civil Dead got so much right for the first two thirds of the movie, and then fizzled out into the worst ending. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that neither lead character is given a complete story arc and we leave them almost exactly how we found them. Movies like this make me ask, "Why, what's the point?" A good film can't be a series of questions that never get answered, and it seems irresponsible to roll credits when the story has yet to end. Both male leads (Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas) are fun to watch and their chemistry is very natural. The quality of the film is impressive for a low budget Indie, and for the first feature from director Clay Tatum. I'm of the opinion that an entire story only exists for its ending, so this film disappoints at the fundamental level. A person can count on exactly two things from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan: a stupid twist ending and a giant turkey of a movie. Those two things are mutually inclusive, bad endings cause bad movies. This movie isn't bad because its ending isn't really an ending, but it isn't good either for the same reason.