Cirrus@Austlit

'Millicent, a professional musician, lectures in music at a Melbourne university. Popular with the students, she loves her job and the opportunities it brings her. Millicent lives alone in her flat. She is also a recovering alcoholic who has a commemorative tattoo - 'Johnny Ghost' - that stretches across her shoulder. It signifies a past that she has long since buried - the time of post punk Melbourne in the early '80's, when she was a different person. In fact she has suppressed the past so effectively it is concealed like a crypt inside her. So she lives her life in almost solitary confinement - paying for an old sin. When she decides to take a risk and remove the tattoo she encounters ghosts who won't let her move on so easily. They want her to pay for what she has done.'

Source: Official website (http://www.johnnyghostfilm.com/synopsis.html). Sighted: 27/6/2012)

One reviewer, quoted on the film's official website, notes that:

'In fact perhaps the scariest thing about 'Johnny Ghost' isn't the recent spirits themselves but Millicent's own breakdown in their assumed presence. As a result it is almost inconsequential whether these ghosts are real; nowhere in the film is there anything to suggest these ghosts are able to be seen by others, and they act for the most part impassively. While the film does occasionally hold to its genre conventions with a couple of real jolts, it mostly, and I will use the word again, 'unsettles'. Millicent (a great non-modern name by the way), is unsettled not just emotionally, but in the real world too, not fitting in or 'settled' anywhere, not even in her own home. This feeling pervades the film with a proper sense of eeriness and dread, rather than the scarifying thrills typical to ghost films.'

'Millicent, a professional musician, lectures in music at a Melbourne university. Popular with the students, she loves her job and the opportunities it brings her. Millicent lives alone in her flat. She is also a recovering alcoholic who has a commemorative tattoo - 'Johnny Ghost' - that stretches across her shoulder. It signifies a past that she has long since buried - the time of post punk Melbourne in the early '80's, when she was a different person. In fact she has suppressed the past so effectively it is concealed like a crypt inside her. So she lives her life in almost solitary confinement - paying for an old sin. When she decides to take a risk and remove the tattoo she encounters ghosts who won't let her move on so easily. They want her to pay for what she has done.'

Source: Official website (http://www.johnnyghostfilm.com/synopsis.html). Sighted: 27/6/2012)

One reviewer, quoted on the film's official website, notes that:

'In fact perhaps the scariest thing about 'Johnny Ghost' isn't the recent spirits themselves but Millicent's own breakdown in their assumed presence. As a result it is almost inconsequential whether these ghosts are real; nowhere in the film is there anything to suggest these ghosts are able to be seen by others, and they act for the most part impassively. While the film does occasionally hold to its genre conventions with a couple of real jolts, it mostly, and I will use the word again, 'unsettles'. Millicent (a great non-modern name by the way), is unsettled not just emotionally, but in the real world too, not fitting in or 'settled' anywhere, not even in her own home. This feeling pervades the film with a proper sense of eeriness and dread, rather than the scarifying thrills typical to ghost films.'

'Experience this new Australian thriller featuring a range of powerhouse performances in an introspective study of grief and vengeance. As Christian travels through rural Australia to investigate the suspicious death of his daughter, he picks up Alice, a young runaway. An awkward friendship unfolds, but as the solitude of their journey seems to ease, a dark threat lingers nearby. From the gruesome opening to the explosive climax, THE HORSEMAN is a distinctive blend of grisly action and tender drama.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 19/10/2012)

'Experience this new Australian thriller featuring a range of powerhouse performances in an introspective study of grief and vengeance. As Christian travels through rural Australia to investigate the suspicious death of his daughter, he picks up Alice, a young runaway. An awkward friendship unfolds, but as the solitude of their journey seems to ease, a dark threat lingers nearby. From the gruesome opening to the explosive climax, THE HORSEMAN is a distinctive blend of grisly action and tender drama.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 19/10/2012)