[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS TO THE PLOT AND ENDING]
It's Tuesday the 18th of June and I have been lucky enough to be invited to the world premiere of Ghost's first feature film, 'Rite Here, Rite Now', at Picturehouse Central in London. I've not been shy about the fact that I am a major Ghost fan, so much so, that I flew out to attend the two nights at the Kia Forum in September 2023 where this movie mostly takes place, meaning I had some idea of what we were about to witness...or so I thought.
Written and created by frontman Tobias Forge, fans wait outside to see the bossman but are surprised with leftover tickets to fill the theatre. In the foyer, Tobias and his family, fellow director Alex Ross Perry, and live concert director Jim Parsons walk a red carpet to the spooky score music from The Omen and Alien. As we took our seats, director Jonas Åkerlund, Bambie Thug, Creeper, and Joey Tempest of fellow Swedish band Europe appeared. As a die-hard fan, I felt like I had to be on my best behaviour as Tobias took a seat a few rows directly behind us. Before the film began, radio host Daniel P Carter welcomed us and reminded us not to use phones during the film or Q+A.
[Once again, in depth Spoilers ahead]
The wait is over, and the film begins with a brief recap of Ghost lore for newcomers, but the first lore bombshell is dropped about 30 seconds into the film, confirming that Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator are Cardinal Copia's parents. The lead singer of Papa Emeritus IV/Cardinal Copia has been having a hard time accepting the idea that he may not be Papa forever. His mind tricks him into seeing what he wants to see to avoid the reality of his possible death. "This is not a tale about death, but one of life" (spoiler alert, this is a lie).
Backstory recap out of the way, and we are treated to the first four songs of the LA show. The performance is as expected, shot to a high standard. As someone who was front row at the show itself and got a sneak glimpse of the camera viewfinder, I had high hopes and was not disappointed at all. Not only do we get great shots of the whole band, but the audience and the vibes of the fanbase are captured really well. During 'Kaisarion', we were given an idea of how the story may tie into the concert, as Copia goes backstage periodically to interact with the crew, and most importantly Sister Imperator.
After 'Spillways', Copia and his mother have their first scripted scene, including a questionable British 'innit'. I think some of us may have glanced at the culprit in the room. One thing I missed the first time was how Copia is seeing what he wants to see. When he looks at his mother, she is sitting in a cosy chair, with cookies beside her, when he looks away, she is in a wheelchair and the cookies on the plate are replaced with pills, Sister Imperator is clearly unwell, and fans are panicking.
Next, 'Cirice' stood out because fans of the band know it as the song where Copia chooses an audience member to sing directly to. They filmed this moment so Copia would look and grab the camera as if you were chosen. I liked this touch.
Copia has many silly moments behind the stage, including tricking the audience to the sound of hairspray but actually taking a shot of squirty cream and a Benny Hill-style de-robing skit.
Ghost has impressive stage lighting, whether you're seeing them live or on a recording. Every song is planned and the vibe is set with light tricks and moods. After 'Watcher in the Sky', Copia quite literally jumps into an equipment case to be wheeled to the B-stage. On his journey, the ghost of Papa Nihil appears. There is tension between the absent father and son, with Copia mocking how he only made two decent songs before Nihil reveals he actually made three, another revelation for fans. After a quick fart gag (if you have seen all the chapter videos you'll know it wouldn't be a Ghost movie without one) Copia takes the smaller stage at the back of the auditorium for a hauntingly beautiful rendition of 'If You Have Ghosts' accompanied an orchestra of veiled Ghoulletes.
To make his way back to the main stage, Copia is dressed in a blue silk boxing robe and gold gloves, making his way through the crowd throwing punches. Those who were at the show and had seen the trailer thought there would be more significance to this, "who is is going to fight?", but the costume was removed once back at the main stage.
One of the highlights of the live show was the incorporation of dancers, painted in full skeleton makeup, for the never before played live song 'Twenties', I'm glad they kept the audience reaction of the high pitch scream as the song began as well and shots of the crowd quite literally with their jaws on the floor.
The longest scripted scene came while the onstage band performed 'Miasma', where Papa Nihil and Sister sit Copia down to give him a speech about how everything in life circulates, and how we need to be more present in the moment, and not busy worrying about the future, making Copia tear up. Here I need to say that we know Tobias Forge can do many things but man, he can act. Is there anything he can't do? This was one of the most heart-warming and touching moments of the film, including where Copia finally acknowledges his father, calling him 'Dad'.
To change things up, the viral hit 'Mary on a Cross' features a full Scooby-Doo-style animation explaining Papa Nihil and Sister's backstory. The concert continues with a short skit before the encore where Copia is convinced he needs to do an encore, then plays the three songs 'bullied' out of him by the crowd, including Dance Macabre, which involves lifting Copia like royalty by the returning skeleton dancers. Another stunning moment.
Once the concert ends, Copia takes a ride in a hot air balloon, almost a nod to the Wizard of Oz, before his mother's life flashes before her eyes and it is heavily implied that she birthed twins in her life. Could it be Copia has a twin brother? Copia is quite literally brought back to reality as he crashes and wakes up on the floor to see his mother dying. As he mourns over her body we see the return of Mr Psaltarian, who delivers a note left to Copia by his mother announcing he is now the head of the clergy, Frater Imperator.
The surprises don't stop there, as a brand new song plays, seemingly the third unheard song performed by Papa Nihil, 'The Future Is A Foreign Land' a very pro-peace song mimicking those released in 1969. But don't get out of your seats just yet, in true Marvel style we get a post-credit scene, where we get our first glimpse of Frater Imperator (meaning brother in Latin) and the smallest hint of Papa V, but of course, we were left on a cliff-hanger, a quick turn around and you could see Tobias looking very pleased with himself. Fair play sir.
We were then treated to a Q+A with Tobias, Alex Ross Perry and Jim Parsons, hosted by Daniel P Carter. We were asked not to say too much about what happened here, I'm assuming it was being filmed as there was a big camera, perhaps for the DVD extras? But the general vibe was discussing how the film almost didn't happen and the influences behind certain scenes, including Benny Hill as mentioned earlier.
Overall, and I may be biased, I can not sing enough praises for this movie, I have since seen it a few times more since the premiere, taking people who are not fans of the band and they have been entirely won over. It's fun, it's camp but it's so well put together in terms of small details, story and cinematography. The incorperation of the real crew (shout out to Ashley and Kevin) whilst giving us a powerful reminder to live in the moment and live life to the fullest was almost life altering. I was so happy I got to relive one of the best live concerts I had ever seen and I can't believe this film struggled to get financial backing, and I am so glad Tobias and his management took a risk with funding this spectacular piece of music media. Go see!!
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