Ghost Story is an Old Fashioned Ghost Story
Written by BHM Contributor Ronnie Angel
June 5, 2007
Release: 1981
Directed by: John Irvin
Written by: Lawrence D. Cohen and Peter Straub (novel)
Starring:
Fred Astaire as Ricky Hawthorne
Melvyn Douglas as Dr. John Jaffrey
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Edward Charles Wanderley
John Houseman as Sears James
Craig Wasson as Don/David Wanderley
Alice Krige as Eva Galli/Alma Mobley
Usually when I write a review it is about a movie that I watched for the first time many years ago and have seen many times since. Ghost Story is one horror movie that I did not watch when it came out in 1981. I thought about watching it several times but never got around to it until now. Boy, am I glad I did.
This spectral tale affected me in a way that a horror movie hasn’t in quite a while. When I popped it in my player I wasn’t expecting much – Hell, I even thought of turning it off after the first few moments. Even though this horror film seems pretty hokey at first it is worth while to stick with it and let the story unfold.
Ghost Story centers around four old men (John Houseman, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks and Melvyn Douglas-all great actors) who call themselves The Chowder Society, and is set in New England during a very harsh winter. Don, the son of one of the Chowder Society members (Craig Wasson), returns to his hometown after his brother falls to his death from a high rise in New York following a spectral visit.
The spirit’s name is Eva (Alice Krige), and she begins appearing more and more to seek revenge on those she believes wronged her when she was living. The Chowder Society is somehow involved.
All of the members of the Chowder Society have had run-ins with the spirit Eva, and there may just be a good reason why she is stalking and killing the men and their families one by one – the Chowder Society has been keeping a very dark secret for years.
It is up to Don to piece together the great mystery as to why Eva has returned from the grave and find a way to stop her murderous revenge streak.
Ghost Story is a very well written, well acted, old fashioned and suspenseful mystery. The setting is particularly unsettling due to both the cold winter visuals and the small New England town that just seems like a place where a vicious ghost could surface.
The back-story regarding Eva’s connection to the other characters is very well done and creepy. The special effects of Eva (conceived by make-up artist Dick Smith who also did make-up for The Exorcist) are very gruesome even though the film is generally quite mild by modern horror standards. In her normal form, though, Eva looks pretty damn good I must say.
This film made me think, even after I was done watching it. The secrets and hidden truths brought to mind a story that I heard when I was a kid about the childhood sweethearts who grew up together, got married and had a life together, but the whole time the girl had her secret...the scarf she never takes off her neck. Then one day in her old age, she asks her husband to finally remove the scarf and her head falls off!
Ghost Story is very old fashioned and is as much a mystery as it is a story about ghosts. If you give this one a chance I promise you will not be disappointed. I wasn't. Questions or comments about Ghost Story? Contact us!
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