You could have marked me down as a fan of Avent Images after their 2001 horror effort, Freez'er (review here). Husband and wife team of Laurence and Brian Avent-Bradley have just returned with their latest effort, Ghost of the Needle and it couldn't have come at a better time. When I was told that I'd be sent a VHS screener copy that had come hot off of the press, anticipation was quite high. I've been sitting on this one for a while now, constantly being suckered into writing about higher profile releases, but the time has come and I'm ready to give Ghost of the Needle the proper attention that it truly deserves. One of the greatest things about running this site is the ability we have to introduce the public to productions that are sligtly off the radar, just like Avent Images and their independent films these flicks really do deserve an audience. Ghost of the Needle is no exception so let's take a look and see what it has to offer.

I'm going to do my darndest to NOT give too much away, so if you think I'm being a bit vague, my apologies. Jacob is an eccentric and talented photographer. Eccentric in that his subjects range from scenes of the great outdoors, to bound and gagged female victims he plucks off the street. Here's the deal. Jacob likes to stalk young women, bring them to his studio (which is housed deep within the bowels of an abandoned warehouse), poison them, then prop them up for a creepy photography session. The $9.95 Sears portrait studio this ain't. It comes to pass that Jacob is commissioned to shoot a bridge out in the woods by a creek. He arrives only to find a young woman spending some quiet time and reflecting. Problem is that she's right in Jacob's shot. They chat it up a bit and she eventually winds up in his studio, fighting off a syringe of orange liquid. There's a scuffle, and Jacob takes a bump to his head. This is where things start to get really weird.

Jacob begins to hallucinate, nightmarish visions running through his mind, soon separating reality from horrific fantasy becomes quite difficult. Between Jacob's abusive relationship with his alcoholic father and a ghostly figure of one of his victims in the negative, the already unstable Jacob must sort through his own demons, and fast. When Jacob returns to the bridge to take yet another photo, he meets another young lady named Laura. Turns out that Laura is the wife of the gentleman who commissioned the photo of the bridge to begin with. A showing of Jacob's work prompts some more nightmares and issues, the real question being - who knows? Who knows about Jacob's secrets, and by the time Jacob himself is able to sort through all of the horrific events that are about to unfold, will it be too late?

One of the standout reasons that I like Avent Images and their films is because they are respectable to horror fans and the horror community as a whole. Their films are just sadistic enough to make you squirm, but still mature enough to surpass the usual independent cräppenfest. Ghost of the Needle is never pretentious or redundant, it's an incredibly entertaining and original story that always seems to feel comfortable in its own skin. As with Freez'er, Ghost of the Needle features some truly original and well developed characters. It's creepy and disorienting, but never too over the top or gratuitous for its own good. I hate to repeat myself, but the best word that can be used to describe Ghost of the Needle is mature.

Ghost of the Needle (as with Freez'er) is a classy indie horror flick, serious minded and never silly. There are no smart quips, horror film references or annoying scantily clad teensters. What we have here is a perfect example of an adult-orientated horror flick. Smart, well acted, nicely produced and directed and thoroughly entertaining. I wish a lot of indie horror flicks were made like this, with this much care an attention. The world would be a much better place for it.

Now, this isn't to say that Ghost of the Needle is a perfect film, because it's not. There are some elements of the story that come across a bit weaker than others, like Jacob's relationship with his father. Even at 85 minutes there are moments that can seem just a tad bit too long and there are some instances of looped dialogue that do come out a bit silly. It's very difficult to find that perfect film. It's even more difficult for indie filmmakers to achieve the perfect film with such limited resources. However, the folks at Avent Images manage to make really entertaining and original horror flicks that turn out just slightly less than perfect.

Although Ghost of the Needle is presented here full frame Avent Images are currently completing a letterboxed version of the film (yes indeed, it was shot on film, NOT video) and a 5.1 audio mix.

Now for a bit about Avent Images. Avent Images is a producer and foreign distributor of quality independent feature films in the horror, supernatural and psychological thriller genres. "Ghost of the Needle" had its first market screening at Cannes 2003 and has already been sold to multiple countries overseas and invited to three film festivals.

Avent Images is in pre-production on their next film and also looking to acquire one other quality film in this genre range to take to Cannes 2004. For more info visit www.avenetimages.com or www.ghostoftheneedle.com