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Films covered include:
Carnival of Souls, Curse of the Demon, High Plains Drifter, Lady in White, Legend of Hell House, Nomads, Outward Bound, Portrait of Jennie, Scrooge, Supernatural, The Changeling, The Haunting, The Innocents, The Shining and The Uninvited.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, informative essays on several ghost films,
By
This review is from: Cinematic Hauntings (Paperback)
The editors claim "ghost films have been too often overlooked by film historians critics." They intend to fill that gap in "the subtle side of horror" with this book. And it does, more so than not.
Cinematic Hauntings contains 16 essays by different writers, each devoted to one of the following films: Blithe Spirit, Carnival of Souls, The Changeling, Curse of the Demon, The Haunting, High Plains Drifter, The Innocents, Lady in White, Legend of Hell House, Nomads, Outward Bound, Portrait of Jenny, Scrooge (the 1951 version, later retitled A Christmas Carol), The Shining, Supernatural, and The Uninvited. Because I accept the editors' premise--the relative scarcity of text analyzing ghostly horror films--I question some selections. If ghosts are spirits of deceased humans (or animals?) not all these films belong here. Some are a stretch. Is Carnival of Souls about a soul trapped between life and death, or a retelling of "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge?" That can be good, demonstrating the resilient diversity of horror. But stretch a definition too far and the word loses meaning. Any way you slice it, Blithe Spirit is a comedy, and Curse of the Demon contains no ghosts. Randy Palmer, who wrote the essay on the latter, anticipates this objection, writing: "Initially it may not seem that Curse of the Demon has a place in a book devoted to a study of cinematic hauntings, but in fact the film journeys beyond the metaphysical borders separating the physical and spiritual worlds, and many of its elements fit neatly into the category." He characterizes the film's shape-shifting cat, orb of fire, and demon as "ghostly manifestations of evil." Well, no. These supernatural manifestations are not ghosts, even if they do look "ghostly." That said, Palmer's essay provides an excellent production history of both film and source material (Montague R. James's story, Casting the Runes), a detailed plot synopsis, and insightful commentary. This format is followed by the other essays -- production and distribution history, synopsis, commentary -- with varying degrees of emphasis. I'm glad The Changeling is represented. Although little known, after The Haunting it's arguably the most effectively atmospheric English-language ghost film ever made. But instead of the 1951 Scrooge, I wish Tom Johnson had covered the 1970 version (which he dismisses). In its original release, I recall Scrooge ending up (temporarily) in Hell. That scene was later dropped (perhaps because it wasn't in Dickens's version) but I'd like to have learned its history. Some entries need and deserve attention. Curse of the Demon deserves but does not need. I can understand not including Ghost (a romantic fantasy), but I wish Curse of the Demon and Blithe Spirit had been dropped in favor of Ghost Story and The Fog, both fitting candidates. Caveats aside, Cinematic Hauntings is an attractive and informative trade paperback, generously illustrated with 115 stills, posters, lobby cards, and backstage photos. All entries include crew and cast lists. Two include endnotes. If the subject matter interests you, you'll want this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for ghost film fans,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cinematic Hauntings (Paperback)
Cinematic Hauntings is a thoughtful, excellent book that will both introduce you to great, subtle horror films and enhance your enjoyment of the ones you already know. Different authors give each essay a different flavor, but this is a great read--a must for any fan of ghost movies.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Quite As Enthusiastic as the Other Reviewers!!!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cinematic Hauntings (Paperback)
The book has 16 chapters each by a different author analysing
a particular movie dealing with the supernatural. Movies range from 1930's "Outward Bound" to 1988's "Lady in White" and because of the different authors quality varies. The chapter on "The Changling" had me putting that film on my must see list but even though I had always been intriguied by "Curse of the Demon" and will seek it out, the chapter, I felt, was far too long and actually drained the life out of the movie. "Carnival of Souls" was an excellent retelling of how the film came to be made. Just imagine how you would feel if you made a movie on a limited budget hoping to pave the way for bigger and better things only to get the acclaim you so richly deserve 27 years later. "The Legend of Hell House" is one of my favourite "ghost" films. I was interested to read that Richard Matheson, the writer, would have chosen Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as the two psychics - all I can say is I'm glad he didn't have cast approval as I thought Roddy MacDowall and Pamela Franklin were excellent. The standout chapters to me were "Supernatural" and "Outward Bound" - they seemed to be written in a more professional and scholarly way. I do think the chapters that worked for me were the ones written in that way - you got a nice outline of the story but the background and history of the movie were really detailled. And there were not that many like that - let's just say I will not be looking for "Nomads" anytime soon. All in all I would have preferred to see a few more classics like "Peter Ibbotson" (1935), "The Canterville Ghost" (1944) and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (1947).
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