Ghost Waits, A | Blu-ray

One of my favorite cinematic micro-genres are movies that deal with very literalist representations of Heaven and Hell. Not simply as hallucinatory tortures as in movies like Angel Heart or the first Hellraiser movie, but as literal places inhabited by the souls of humanity, with their own rules and laws and practical structure.

In that vein, A Ghost Waits feels like an unofficial extension of the Beetlejuice universe, where the afterlife is real, but is also filled with all the workaday bureaucracy that humanity has created among the living; an undead reflection of modern ills.

As a low-budget, indie production, the style is rough around the edges. But the music is beautifully evocative and the story is deeply romantic in goth tones. A heartfelt recommendation for sad souls who like love stories.

Special Features (via arrowvideo.com)

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary by writer/director Adam Stovall
• Audio commentary by Adam Stovall and MacLeod Andrews
• Audio commentary by the cast and crew
• Humanity and the Afterlife in 'A Ghost Waits', a new video essay by Isabel Custodio exploring the film's themes and cinematic forebears
• Eight interviews with cast and crew moderated by critic and programmer tt stern-enzi
• Interview and post-film Q&A with Adam Stovall moderated by Alan Jones at Frightfest Glasgow 2020
• Outtakes
• Easter eggs
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde