''The Scream Team'' is a 2002 American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Stuart Gillard Stuart Thomas Gillard (born April 28, 1950) is a Canadian film, writer, producer and television director. He is best known for directing the films ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (1993) and ''RocketMan'' (1997). He also wrote and directed ...

from a story by Robert Short and Dan Berendsen, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars

Mark Rendall Mark Rendall (born October 21, 1988) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor whose roles include the lead in the 2004 film, ''Childstar'' and Mick in season 1 of the Canadian television drama series ''ReGenesis''. He played Bastian Bux i ...

Kat Dennings Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally as Kat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom '' 2 Broke Girls'' (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel ...

, Robert Bockstael,

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...

Tommy Davidson Thomas Davidson (born November 10, 1963) is an American comedian and actor. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show ''In Living Color'', Mitchell on ''Between Brothers'' (1997-1999), Dexter on ''Malcolm & Eddie'' (1999-2000) ...

, and

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

and premiered on October 4, 2002, on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

as part of the network's series of original movies.

Plot

Two children, Ian and Claire, move into a town where their grandfather has just died. Ian thinks his grandfather's spirit is trying to tell them something, finding some library news clippings about a man named Zachariah Kull, who was accused of burning his home with his wife in it. Later, Ian and Claire capture a

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

named Jumper (a dead skydiver) who ends up freed by his partner, Coffin Ed (a Revolutionary soldier). They follow them and other ghostly wisps of air into the forest, where they find an abandoned building. Entering, they find arriving ghosts entering a

mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

, which leads to the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

. Ed and Jumper's boss, Mariah (a dead bride) isn't too pleased with this. Ian and Claire learn that they look for souls that don't want to cross over, and are dubbed the "Soul Patrol" by Jumper; they ended up with these jobs while waiting for their turn to cross over. In exchange for letting their grandfather complete anything he wants finished before moving on, the children discover that Zachariah has kidnapped him to increase his powers. The children join forces with the Soul Patrol, to destroy Zachariah and release all the captured souls. They confront Zachariah at an abandoned mine, where Mariah is able to parry his fireballs, but finds he's gained new powers; Jumper ends up captured, further increasing Zachariah's strength. In the end they discover Zachariah was really a misunderstood inventor experimenting with natural gas, and one of his inventions accidentally burned his wife to death. When he was killed, Zachariah told his wife to wait for him, knowing he wouldn't be able to cross over due to desiring revenge against his injustice. At the festival that honors the villain everyone thinks him to be, Zachariah emerges from a burning effigy. However, Claire and Ian reveal the truth, reminding Zachariah that his wife is still waiting for him to cross over. Zachariah releases all of the trapped spirits and finally moves on. The children and their father return home to find the grandfather's spirit waiting for them; the Soul Patrol kept their promise to let him take care of his unfinished business. He reveals how proud he is of his son, something he never did in life; when asked if he has to leave right away, the grandfather explains "eternity can wait awhile" and spends time catching up with his son before moving on. The family decides to stay in town, which is changing from bashing the formerly evil ghost to telling the truth about him. During the day, Ian and Claire visit the Soul Patrol, finding only Jumper and Ed, who explain that Mariah is talking to their bosses in the next world. Mariah returns, explaining that the little spectacle they caused to put an end to Zachariah's terror exposed the fact there is an afterlife; she is left anguished by this as she was almost done working for them, and the punishment is the extension of Mariah, Jumper and Coffin Ed's jobs. Ed visits them while they carve pumpkins with an invention of their grandfather's, avoiding getting hit by debris thanks to being a ghost – "There are some advantages to being dead."

Cast

as Ian Carlyle *

as Claire Carlyle * Robert Bockstael as Richard Carlyle *

as Coffin Ed *

as Jumper *

as Mariah *

Kim Coates Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...

as Zachariah Kull *

Gary Reineke Gary Reineke (born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian actor. Early life Reineke was born in Scarborough, Ontario on May 27, 1945. Career Reineke has appeared in more than eighty films since 1974, and was a Genie Award nominee for Best Supporting Acto ...

as Grandpa Frank Carlyle *

Nigel Bennett Nigel Bennett (born 19 November 1949) is a British-Canadian actor, director, and writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series ''Forever Knight'', for which h ...

as Warner * Edie Inksetter as Face *

Zoie Palmer Zoie Palmer is a Canadian actress best known for her roles as Dr. Lauren Lewis in the Showcase supernatural drama ''Lost Girl'' and as the Android in the SyFy science fiction series ''Dark Matter''. Early life Palmer was born in Camborne in Cor ...

as Rebecca Kull * Derek Sypniewski as Wizard * Anna Tauteiter as Fairy *

Joseph Motiki Joseph Frederick Motiki (born July 31, 1972) is a Canadian television host, actor, and performer. He is best known for hosting the TVOntario children's block '' The TVOKids Crawlspace'' and the Food Network game show ''Ice Cold Cash''. Early life ...

as Customs Ghost

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scream Team 2002 television films 2002 films 2002 comedy horror films 2000s fantasy comedy films 2000s ghost films 2000s mystery films American children's comedy films American comedy horror films American fantasy comedy films American ghost films American mystery films Disney Channel Original Movie films Films about the afterlife Films directed by Stuart Gillard Films scored by David Kitay Films set in Massachusetts American films about Halloween American horror television films 2000s American films