Carter Simms was a paranormal investigator offered $5, 000 dollars if she would investigate the notorious home of a murdered family, slain through the use of a butcher knife. Considering herself a skeptic sort of investigator, who goes into places reputed to be haunted, Carter attempts to "debunk" claims of paranormal activity. But the Masterson home isn't like any other place she's ever investigated, and as the film informs us right off the bat, this would be her last investigation. Accompanied, much to her chagrin(she likes to investigate homes and other places by herself without others to get in the way of a proper investigation), by a video camera operator and a journalist(and an annoying, finger-pointing, judgmental religious fanatical girl who comes uninvited), at the behest of the owner of the Masterson home, Carter will conduct her investigation and make some startling discoveries. With investigative tools fans of GHOST HUNTERS might recognize(EMF and EVP detectors, digital night vision cameras), DEATH OF A GHOST HUNTER might appeal to fans of paranormal investigation reality shows. This movie does go a bit overboard with detailed explanations at the end to inform the viewer exactly what happened in the Masterson home and why, but there are some surprising eerie moments to be had here. We watch as the others have their difficulties contending with Mary Young Mortenson(Lindsay Page)and her bible thumping criticisms, always offering her beliefs and scolding them repeatedly. It is rather unfortunate that in the movies, this seems to be the way Christians are often always depicted, to be so obnoxious and irritating. That said, Page is quite chilling when it seems she has become possessed by whatever lurks within. Sickly and rather ill-tempered, Page seems to deteriorate psychologically. Davina Joy is the rather liberal and carefree Yvette, a polar opposite of Mary Young, a girl who likes to have a good time and dresses more "provocatively"(well to someone like Mary Young, it's provocative), swears, and talks about sex openly. Mike Marsh is Colin, the chain-smoking video camera tech specialist, a profane, but friendly guy who really does lend Carter a hand when it comes to catching paranormal activity. Patti Tindall, the film's narrative voice, is Carter Simms, her character's journal entries the basis for most of what we see during the film. It isn't until the fates of all involved are decided, where the film takes an alternate route to show us what actually happened to the Mastersons, as well as, some dirty, little secrets which pollute their supposedly saintly reputation as beloved God-fearing servants of the Lord.

I think the most indelible image which might be remembered is the the ghost girl peeking from her room, but other moments are almost just as creepy: a captured image of a ghost named Miranda(who becomes an important figure in why the murders took place, herself a devastating victim of religious fanaticism and hidden sexual deviance)moving across a window from another building across from the Masterson house, the "headdress"( a device which locks on a victim's head, costumed with crucifixes), and nude photographs which spill out of a bible found in a closet. The "paranormal attack" is a bit too over the top for my tastes and reeks of POLTERGEIST, although a chair dragging across the floor by itself always works for me personally. The revelations of the Mastersons themselves, particularly the patriarch, are certainly eye-opening, but the exposition which concludes the film, narrated by the delusional Mary Young, goes on and on to infinity. I like the idea of giving us little hints without feeling the need to draw us a map. Carter herself does seem to keep it together until the activity grows more intense, and Mary Young becomes more of a nuisance.

When I started watching this movie, it began about as badly as I had expected it would. I seriously considered turning it off, because I thought it wouldn't even be worth the time to write a review about how bad I assumed it would be. It does take time to pick up, but it ended up delivering a lot more than it seemed capable of.

The movie is a lot more intelligent than I anticipated. I got the big clues right away; but the smaller ones I couldn't figure out until the end (or found out I missed entirely). There's several plot twists, some you see coming, some you don't; and this turned out to be a unique story that left me freaked out by the end. Not a lot of movies do that anymore, so that's saying quite a lot.

The actors were all fairly competent, but Lindsay Page's character (Mary Young) stood out in excellence. There are several strong female characters in this movie, but there is also graphic allusions to rape. You don't actually see anything, thank god, but the scenes are disturbing enough to earn a warning label for the female audience.

The only reason I am giving it an 8 out of 10, is because the sound didn't have dependable quality. I missed some sentences completely because it was inaudible.

Other than that, this movie shows that intelligent story telling and character depth is a lot more important than flashy FX. If you're in the mood for a scary movie that's different than the usual ilk out there, this would be it.