Life is a card game. There are the lucky ones who are dealt a great hand in life, and there are those who are dealt a losing hand from the start. Director James Khanlarian tells the tale of one unlucky hand in his feature film, The Ghost Trap.
Jamie (Zak Steiner) is a young third-generation lobsterman who learned everything he knows from his beloved grandfather, much to his father’s dismay. With environmentalist pressure and increasing competition, the fishing industry is hanging on by a thread. But this is all Jamie knows.
Fortunately, Jamie found a fantastic woman in Anja (Greer Grammer), and the two plan to marry after a fruitful lobster season. Soon, the heavy hand of fate strikes, and Anja is thrown overboard on Jamie’s boat. Anja survived but had gone without oxygen for an extended period of time. She now has difficulties stringing words together and has the cognition of a child.
With no one from Anja’s family coming to her aid, Jamie takes it upon himself to be by Anja’s side through the ordeal, but her recovery is moving at a snail’s pace. He also has lobsters to catch, a boat to maintain, fierce competition from his father’s rivals—the Fogerty family—and a rich slimeball who’s buying out poor lobstermen and taking over their territory.
“…battles between being there for the woman he loves and realizing she’s not the person she was…”
What The Ghost Trap does so well is plop us right into the shoes of our protagonist, Jamie. He’s a nice guy just trying to make a living in a small fishing town, and immediately, the story begins to torture this guy. Zak Steiner gives us an incredible performance, and we feel every single moment of heartbreak and disappointment.
The story between Jamie and Anja will feel familiar to anyone who cares for a loved one and feels tethered to this person. Jamie constantly battles between being there for the woman he loves and realizing she’s not the person she was before the accident. He battles between being an honorable man and the realities of moving on in life.
The second central plot is Jamie’s fight to save his job and the town’s fishing industry. It’s an uphill battle and fiercely competitive—the keyword is “fiercely.” The townsfolk are so desperate to get their fair share of what little fishing is left as desperate times call for desperate measures. This storyline is supported by an impressive supporting cast, including Xander Berkeley, Heather Thomas, and Steven Ogg.
The Ghost Trap explores themes of love, loss, and resilience in a small fishing town on the edge of collapse. If fisherman-noir were a genre, this would fall right into it. Nothing goes Jamie’s way. Though, his journey is heart-wrenching and hits home for anyone who’s had to confront life’s hardships head-on, leaving you reflecting long after the credits roll.
"…the story begins to torture this guy."
