Ghost Story (1981)

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Best movie ever!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"Ghost Story" charts two generations of men who find themselves being stalked by a mysterious woman with sinister intentions, her presence originating between four elderly New England plutocrats who share a fifty year-old secret. When one of the men's sons returns to town after his brother's mysterious death together, they unravel the story behind her.Based on Peter Straub's wildly successful novel, "Ghost Story" came about during the peak of the slasher film and is one of the few remembered supernatural horror films of the eighties. Straub's source novel is probably one of the greatest American ghost novels ever written, and some people have found the adaptation unforgivable, as it does excise a great deal from the book; I personally am able to get past this.What "Ghost Story" really is is a dark drama with a splash of horror, and this also has been a point of contention for genre fans. The film moves at a leisurely pace, and the scares are few and far between, but what director John Irvin does supply the audience is a profound atmosphere and general weirdness that is unforgettable. The wintry upstate New York landscape, the stuffy drawing rooms of the old men, and the abandoned mansion on the hill all provide a somber and pastoral backdrop that lend to the film's classic feel, and comparisons to "The Woman in Black" are well-earned.The cast is one of the major selling points here; Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, John Houseman, and Patricia Neal round out a roster of classic Hollywood stars in their old age (for many, this was their last film). Craig Wasson plays two roles of the second generation, with Alice Krige as the haunting woman that runs between them. The acting is good overall, though some of the older cast feel a bit underused; I think that may have to do with some wonky editing in the film, which is one of its few downfalls. It also feels dated at times, though not to its detriment.Overall, "Ghost Story" is a well-made film with a classic, ghastly edge to it. It is a slow film in many ways, but the subtlety employed here combined with the bleak and picturesque New England winterland really made this an enjoyable experience. There are some phenomenal Gothic images throughout, and the story itself has a certain timelessness to it in spite of the film's more dated qualities. Memorable and atmospheric for a variety of reasons. 8/10.

Let's put aside for another review the broader issue of how successful Hollywood has been adapting Straub's work, generally. Because in case of this work, specifically, they pretty much knocked it out of the park. This film is genuinely creepy and this reviewer can list on the fingers of one hand (maybe two) the number of times a so-called "horror" film had got under my skin (the original Exorcist, the original Living Dead, the original Hill House, come to mind). This film made that list. Next is the casting. I am going to give credit to John Irvin for (presumably) saying, this is a film about a bunch of old guys but I don't want to get just any old guys, let's get the best-known bunch of old guys money can buy... Wow -- Fred Astair, Douglas Fairbanks, I mean, does it get any better than this? Finally, this is the film that introduced the mass audiences to Alice Krige, a very capable actress whose work has been keeping us glued to our seats for decades since (Borg Queen, anyone?). The IMDb rating, as always, is much too low. A true classic, bringing together many unusual features in one production.

A condensing of Peter Straubs' more complex, more intriguing novel, the film adaptation is no great shakes but it's certainly not bad at all either. It does have the appeal of a spooky yarn one might spin by a fireplace in the dead of winter. The simplified story deals with four elderly New England gentlemen who get together and tell horror stories, but who in fact share a tragedy from their long-ago past. Now a revenge-minded spirit is out to make their lives miserable - and strike out at the two sons of one of them, to boot. The film does speak of quality - Jack Cardiff did the cinematography, Albert Whitlock and his team supply some beautiful matte shots, Philippe Sarde composed the stirring music score, and Dick Smith creates the plentiful hideous apparition effects - but the powerful main attraction is the assemblage of talent in the four main roles - Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and John Houseman - who are a delight, although Fairbanks exits the story much too soon. Craig Wasson plays the twin sons, and is likable as usual and manages to hold his own opposite his legendary co-stars. Patricia Neal is utterly wasted as Astaires' wife, but making up for that is the showcase given to the beautiful South African actress Alice Krige, who's extremely alluring and enigmatic as the mystery woman to whom both sons become attracted. There's a real sexual charge in her scenes with Wasson. This is one element that may concern some viewers, when they think about Astaire, Douglas, Fairbanks, and Houseman acting in a film that has violence and nudity (male as well as female), but for other horror fans a sufficient amount of atmosphere is built up and there are definitely some memorable scenes. Things are sometimes told in a flashback style, as first Wasson tells of his association with the not-so-subtly creepy Krige, or Astaire and Houseman finally break down and tell Wasson their whole sordid story. Overall, it's just compelling enough to work, and it does have some mighty fine moments, especially an iconic one involving a lake and a sinking car. It manages to be pretty eerie on a fairly consistent basis if never very scary. It marked the final feature film appearance for Astaire, Fairbanks, and Douglas. Seven out of 10.

It seems that 50 years ago, four young men became involved in something gruesome. Now, it's time for them to pay, and they do, in "Ghost Story". They've gone from some handsome preppy young actors to film legends Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Of the young actors, only the young man playing the young Astaire looks anything like him, and in an ironic twist, proclaims he can't dance. But Astaire has one of those faces that only ages with time, not changes. That's not the point of course, just an interesting side note.It appears that some kind of evil spirit is haunting these four old men and their families, and it is tied into the young men's past, which we learn through a mysterious photo of them and a young women, obviously taken in the 1930's. When one of the men's sons is brutally killed in a freak accident, it's clear something evil has stepped out of the past for revenge. It's also obvious that the mysterious Alice Krige has something to do with this spirit, and the brother (Craig Wasson) of the accident victim encounters this mysterious beauty that seems to be colder than ice to him. This is where the film really falls from its potential greatness to a sexual thriller (much like DePalma's "Dressed to Kill") and looses focus for about 20 minutes or so. When the legendary leading men of Hollywood are off, the interest begins to lag, and all credibility disappears. But when the men are on, it's wonderful, and there are some definitely chilling moments.It is towards the end when the denouncement of all that happened in the past is revealed that the film gets more and more exciting. The revelation is simply jaw dropping, filled with a plot twist so vile and unexpected that it makes up for the weak 20 minutes involving Wasson and Krige. In addition to the legendary men, Oscar Winning Patricia Neal is present in a cameo as Astaire's wife, sadly wasted. Soap and stage actress Jacqueline Brookes ("Another World", "Ryan's Hope") has a really good supporting turn as Douglas's companion. His nightmare sequence is equally as frightening as the denouncement. The horror is not grotesque, but the ghostly presence of a disintegrating face is close to the recently released Gothic horror classic "The Fog".Like other recent horror films of the time ("The Changeling", "Burnt Offerings". "The Amytiville Horror"), "Ghost Story" involves a spooky looking house that is extremely unfriendly looking. The best performances of the men are Astaire and Douglas, whose characters are extremely well developed. The film's sympathy therefore, lies with them. This was a nice little swansong for both of them, and unlike some other veteran actors in horror films, they come out with their dignity intact.