Ghost Story

Watched this one in the theater when I was a kid, still enjoy it to this day as one my all time favorite movies. Yes, it does have holes in it and sparks some questions as to why the one seeking revenge is doing what they're doing. There are solid performances from ALL the cast members, especially from Craig Wasson and Alice Krieg If you've ever read the book by Peter Struab, you'll know why there's holes in the movie as the book is very much like a 'Stephen King' book, in that it is so rich with information and atmosphere that the film producers and John Irvin just could not get all of it into a 2 hour film. I actually a couple of years ago that they might be re'making this one, but as a Mini-Series on TV

I give it 8 out of 10 stars

Enjoy

When this film was first released, it was greeted with a sense of disappointment. Many felt it did not do Peter Straub's source novel justice.

I thought this was an unfair judgement at the time, and watching the film again today confirms this belief. "Ghost Story" does not attempt to emulate the complexity of Straub's epic tale : that would have been impossible. But it does distil the essence of that story - four ageing men haunted by a terrible tragedy from their youth - and puts it on screen with chilly precision.

With some masterly photography and a recurring motif of running water (most dramatically in the truly scary bathtub scene), Irvin imbues the film with a real chill of the grave feel. The ending, as Alma descends the staircase of her decaying house in her wedding dress, isn't a gorefest : there are no elaborate effects or dramatic battles between good and evil. But it is subtly terrifying nonetheless.

Just about all the IMdB reviews, good or bad, have praised Alice Krige's performance. For such a young actress, she's simply stunning. It's a brave, brilliant portrayal. A feminist reading of the film could argue that the real horror lies in the inability of men (and especially the callow youngsters featured in the 20s flashback) to cope with a powerful, sexually-assertive woman.

This is a clever, stylish film which lends itself to differing interpretations. It creates more elegant frissons of fear than almost any other 80s horror film.

... with a fantastic cast of veterans - Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, and Patricia Neal. Unfortunately, the film always keeps getting in the way, leaving the veterans with scant onscreen attention.

The tale concerns a group of men, haunted by a death they were all accidentally responsible for in the early 1930s, and what happens when the ghost of that victim (Alice Krige) returns for vengeance, resulting in a lot of men shocked to death and abrupt shock cuts that show a rotting corpse in place of Krige's face. Unfortunately, maybe because of studio interference, the majority of screentime goes to Craig Wasson as a pair of Fairbanks' identical twin sons, one ill-fated very early on, the other more successful in surviving. Frankly put, although he isn't bad in the film, it feels like false advertising. (Wasson also has to have one of the tackiest death scenes in cinema history as the ill-fated brother who, terrified by Krige's skeletal look after a night of sex, plunges backwards stark naked from a high-rise window, as the film shows him against a badly processed back projection flailing his arms about, while his private parts flutters every which way like a Planters peanut caught in a strong wind). There's a reason Krige goes after the next generation in the case of Fairbanks' sons, but you'll have to watch and find out what that reason is.

So, Astaire and all the others I came to see are left with mere onscreen scraps, and are left with unformed characterizations. That feels like a grave betrayal for this classic film fan, especially in the light that it was the final film for Astaire, Douglas, and Fairbanks.

There were some particularly well-done parts though. For one Alice Krige was perfect for her part because her porcelain doll looks make her appear to be somebody out of an earlier time. Winter in the New England town the veteran actors live in has the look of a place that's haunted - it's very atmospheric. And finally, the film points out how having a crisis at 20 rather than 30 makes all the difference in the world as to the calmness and wisdom with which that crisis is handled.

Four elderly men members of The Chowder Society fall victim to a vengeful ghost (Alice Krige) who seems to be connected to something they did decades ago and who once dated one of the member's son (Craig Wasson) from beyond the grave. Old fashioned, entertaining film features possibly the best cast ever gathered to star in a horror film. The film itself has a very atmospheric feel to it and generates some suspense, but never really scares the auidence.

Rated R; Nudity, Sexual Situations, Violence, and Profanity.

I read Peter Straub's book and was quite pleased with the result of the movie. First of all, like many, I loved the cast. They are all great men of the world cinema and the pull off the story with great aplomb. The movie is about something someone does in his or her youth and then must live with forever. In a good ghost story, the characters get no points for being once youthful and reckless. The fact that they meet and share their stories means that they never seem to intend closure. They never allow themselves to face the music and, hence, the revenge of the spirit is acceptable in the world where they find themselves. I just thought that a society devoted to the telling of ghost stories was a great idea. Anyway, while the plot does wander around a bit and it takes time to get to the point, it still works great. It was nice to see that Fred Astaire could still act (because he was such a great dancer we forget that he had a great comic talent and, in this case, a dramatic talent). The others are equally formidable. There are also some pretty slimy, putrid visions that appear and make for a pretty good rank on the jump scale. The actually scene that explains everything (I won't spoil it) is both sad and revealing. While not the greatest movie, it works very well and I would recommend it.