For a low-budget Indie movie, Ghost of the Needle was not bad at all, far from perfect but one of the better ones. The dialogue is rather choppy with a few frothy unnecessary parts. The characters could have been developed more, Jacob gets interesting in the latter parts of the movie but the rest came across as stock clichés. There are moments where the movie does get sluggish and like it's not going anywhere. And there is the odd plot-line that disjoints things and bogs the movie down, they also don't add a whole lot. However, it does look quite good, any effects are used minimally while the settings are appropriately grim while not overly so and the camera work is fluid and atmosphere-enhancing. The music is creepy, while the story has a great deal of suspense and quiet menace, not all of it works but most of it does and very well. What happens isn't scary as such but there is almost always something unsettling, the closing scene is tense and the idea of what Jacob does with the bodies is done harrowingly, an equally harrowing idea to start with. Brian Avenent-Bradley directs reasonably stylishly and with a sense that he knows what he's doing. He's also in the lead role, his performance is not a consistent one, he's somewhat too sullen and uncertain to begin with but when Jacob has more to him later on he does make for a subtly menacing serial killer. The acting isn't award-worthy but it's not too bad, Greg Thompson puts a lot into his performance and it shows, he's very enjoyable to watch. All in all, wasn't expecting much but Ghost of the Needle was an enjoyable and reasonably crafted movie but won't be for all tastes. 6/10 Bethany Cox