A blend of WWII and haunted house movie sub-genres, Ghosts of War benefits from well-paced thrills and an engaging story, however its final-act revelations do prove to be too clever for its own good.

Genre mashups are not an original concept, but there has not been one quite like Ghosts of War. Where many filmmakers have repeatedly gone down the same old bloody road of Allied soldiers versus Nazi zombies, writer and director Eric Bress (The Butterfly Effect) has taken an alternate route to present a story of American G.I.’s taking on an menacing spectres while on tour in Nazi occupied France. The results are a mostly thrilling and engaging horror movie experience, until the inevitable twist kicks in to derail a lto of the good work laid beforehand.

Ghosts of War stars Brenton Thwaites as Chris. He leads a squad consisting of Eugene (Skylar Astin), Kirk (Theo Rossi), Tappert (Kyle Gallner), and Butchie (Alan Ritchson). There order is simple: bunker down in an abandoned French castle once occupied by the Nazi high command and wait for further orders. Chris and his team are of course thrilled with such a cushy mission, yet it does not take long for the real inhabitants of the mansion to make themselves known, with the minds and souls of Chris and his men at risk.

Bress returns to directing duties 16 years after his debut, and with Ghosts of War he re-establishes himself as an original voice in genre filmmaking who can create and deliver his ideas with style. Mostly set within a beautifully constructed mansion, Ghosts of War features several frightening sequences that adds some spice to a genre that has become over-formulated by the Conjuring series and it knock-offs. Sound effects work is particularly strong, which is needed in a film that relies on things to go “bump” in the night.

A cast of familiar faces bring a sense of camaraderie and charisma to the screen. Thwaites continues to improve as a leading man, yet it is Kyle Gallner who steals the show as the borderline sadistic Tappert. It is easy to see why this cast of burgeoning talent took to Bress’ screenplay, with much in the way of fresh ideas found in the movie with more than one surprise up its sleeve and fright behind every corner.

That being said, Ghosts of War would have benefited from a less convoluted conclusion which although intriguing, undermines so much of the good work established beforehand. Sometimes the simple approach can work the best, especially in a movie that already stands apart from the pack in concept alone.