Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Dance with me, you little toad.", September 12, 2004
Pull down the shades and turn off the lights as it's time for a ghost story, of sorts...Ghost Story (1981), based on the bestselling Peter Straub novel, was directed by John Irvin (Raw Deal, Next of Kin), and lists an impressive cast including Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and John Houseman. Also appearing are Craig Wasson and relative newcomer Alice Krige, whose only other film appearance prior to this was Chariots of Fire (1981), although she has since had a long career, and I most remember her as the creepy mother from the film Sleepwalkers (1992), which was adapted from a Stephen King novel. She's also the best element in the film.
The film takes place mostly in a small New England town and is about four elderly men, members of The Chowder Society (they get together regularly to tell each other ghost stories), and a secret they've shared for the last 50 years, one that coming back to haunt them, both figuratively and literally speaking. It seems these men, now town elders, participated in an event, one which they vowed never to speak of again, but has begun to manifest itself, possible through guilt, in terrible nightmares suffered by all four men. Also, there's a little matter of a couple of nasty deaths...
Having read about this film so long ago in a Fangoria magazine, I had wanted to see it at the time it came out, but, alas, being all of about 11, I was restricted from partaking in all the nekkid and/or gory goodness of R-rated films. So, what's the deal with this film? Based on excellent source material and incorporating an experienced and highly talented cast, you'd think you'd have a real winner on your hands, right? Well, yes and no...what one may really notice the most after watching this film is the missed opportunity. I think the main problem is the same one suffered by author Stephen King in that the source material, the novel by Straub, is very lengthy, highly detailed, and extremely difficult to transfer onto the silver screen without seriously altering the material. Sure, the main elements will come through, but it's the intimate, complex details that tend to get lost, the ones that give the story depth and heart. The actors do a wonderful job, although Wasson, even though I like him a lot, seemed an odd choice to play the son of one of the elderly men. He ends up being sort of the catalyst that forces the older gentlemen to dredge up secrets buried, but never forgotten. The cast is wonderful, the direction well, done, the sets and scenery highly effective, but the element that brings the film down is that even at almost two hours, the story is missing the ookie goodness from the novel. Obviously the adapter had to pick and choose what parts to keep and what parts to omit, as is the case with any novel adapted to the screen, but the poor decisions as to what to keep and keep out become apparent as the story progresses, and the viewer begins questioning why the story becomes spotty and even crumbles at some points. The pacing is extremely slow, giving up little until it's ready. This may cause some viewers to become bored, but I rather enjoyed the gradual build up as it allowed for the viewer to really become immersed and soak up the positive, along with the negative, aspects of the plot. There are numerous flashbacks throughout, as the mystery unfolds, and I thought they were handled particularly well. The motivations of some key plot elements seemed unclear, specifically the Krige's character and the reasoning as to why she had contact with one of the elder men's sons, but I was able to get past that. I thought the special effects were done very well, and helped immensely in adding a somewhat gothic feel to the film. The film was definitely a horror movie, but took the road less traveled focusing on more of the horror inherent within the story, rather than providing the visceral imagery we've come to expect in modern horror films. The nudity in the film seemed a bit gratuitous, and while I enjoyed seeing an attractive woman bare her assets, it wouldn't have hurt to have a little less. There are some really good scares here, and given a bit of patience, the viewer will be rewarded. There are weaknesses in the story, and viewers who've read the book will most likely be disappointed, as the film just cannot compete, even though it does give a good effort. All in all, a solid, spooky, atmospheric slow-moving horror film with definite flaws that more or less equal its' strengths.
The wide screen print here isn't as good as it could be, as the picture appears murky and has a dull, lifeless quality. This isn't constant, but very apparent in a number of scenes. The audio could use a bit of remastering, as it's uneven, soft and hard to discern sometimes, but there are English subtitles available, which I made use of through most of the film. There are no special features other than a theatrical trailer, which I found a bit disappointing. While this isn't one of the better truly scary films I've seen, it does have something to offer, as it's certainly not the worst, either. It wouldn't be among my top recommendations, but if you find yourself one lonely and dark night looking for a bit of a fright, you could do a lot worse. If you've read the book, you might do well to skip the film.
Cookieman108
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very atmospheric., August 12, 1999
This is an old favorite of mine. It's not the scariest of its kind, but it does have some nice spooky atmosphere and eerie moments. -It was also made at a time when film-makers cared more about these things, it seems. This movie is a million times more scary than, say, "Scream" with its awful "shock-a-minute" approach. "Ghost Story"'s tension builds up all the way through it, to a memorable climax. -The sight (and sound) of Alice Krige's "bride of death" walking down the corridor, is truly haunting. -If you don't appreciate something like this in a Horror film, you're pretty lost and probably not a day over 25!. The brilliant Craig Wasson stars as the unlucky man who falls in love with a ghost. I highly recommend this old-style genre movie.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My own diatribe voting for this movie., October 7, 2004
I've read very mixed reviews of this film. I suppose I can understand how those who have gotten used to seeing high rate gore and special effects could get used to letting their imaginations lapse when it comes to seeing this movie. Those who can only focus on the sex scene - well, I imagine that has something to do with their brains being the size of a lima bean. This movie, you must remember, was made in 1981, so no, the special effects aren't up to modern day picky standards (although the scenes with Eva in all her glory are pretty gruesome). The majority of the book has been left out, and you'll just have to get over that, because it's hard to channel an entire book the length of Ghost Story into a 1 1/2 hour movie. So the focus is on Eva, her death, and her revenge. It is all about the revenge in this movie for what a group of high society boys did one summer night and tried to cover up. The storyline is presented romantically, the music is haunting and beautiful (unfortunately the soundtrack is out of print), and the sleepy snow scenes (like the opening scene) are unsettling and enchanting as Eva's vengeful laugh is dubbed in. This is a good, creepy movie. I will end my diatribe with this - grab a large bowl of popcorn, a Coke (or preferred soft drink), wrap your legs up in a comfy throw blanket, turn out every light in the house, and give this movie a go. If you just don't like it, close your eyes and listen to the music.
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