Ghost Story, 1981.
Directed by John Irvin
Starring Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman, Craig Wasson, Patricia Neal and Alice Krige
SYNOPSIS:
Two generations of men find themselves haunted by the presence of a spectral woman.
We all love a good ghost story. Gathering around the fireplace late at night and telling tales of spirits, ghouls and curses. However, what if those spooky tales served to bind together a group of people hiding a dark secret? This brings me to today’s entry, the supernatural chiller appropriately entitled Ghost Story, a tale of how the ghosts of these nightly stories can come back to seek murderous revenge.
Based on the novel by Peter Straub (who sadly died last month), Ghost Story follows a group of elderly gentlemen, The Chowder Society, as they gather for regular nights of brandy and scaring each other to death with ghost stories. The film begins with one such tale, that of a man buried alive. The pitch-perfect delivery of John Houseman, the tale’s details, such as a man whispering “still alive” in his grave, and the dark fireside atmosphere make for an opening that perfectly sets the mood, even if we only hear the end of the story.
The film itself plays out, as the title suggests, like one of these stories, filled with creepy details of mysterious deaths and of being haunted by the past. The central mystery of a spectral woman who seems to be haunting the men of the Chowder Society is decent and well-suited to the film’s ghostly stylings. The build-up is effective, withholding information in a teasing manner to slowly draw us in, with the repeated use of extended flashbacks only serving to raise more questions that draw us in even further. While the final reveal is predictable, the build-up and creepy atmosphere are strong enough to keep us guessing until the end.
Ghost Story’s cinematography is aided by the setting, with much of the film taking place in a small town amid a bitterly cold winter, the snow-strewn streets and icy rivers perfectly complimenting the creeping sense of dread that permeates every scene to the point that you can almost feel yourself shivering.
The visuals, while offering nothing hugely spectacular, boast more than a few creative and creepily shot sequences. I especially liked an eerie shot of Alice Krige illuminated by the light of a portable radiator, its red glow bouncing off her rain-soaked hair and face. The final sequence of a ghostly bride slowly walking through the dark, dusty halls of an old house is also brilliantly staged, the camera slowly tracking behind her as she moves through the halls, almost silently. The image of her white, almost translucent wedding gown makes for a suitably spooky sight that calls to mind Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.
The cast, especially the quartet of classic Hollywood stars Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Melvyn Douglas and John Houseman, are excellent, imbuing their characters with a sense of melancholy as they confront the past they tried to bury and how, as they near death, it has finally returned to haunt them. The scenes of the men waking up screaming and weeping are especially eye-catching, their physical frailty and vulnerability managing to make you feel a degree of sympathy for men who, as we eventually find out, are far from deserving of it.
Almost stealing the film is Alice Krige in a highly entertaining dual performance as Eva and Alma, two women from different time periods who might also be the same person. Krige cuts a suitably enigmatic figure, her charming personality making for an immediately captivating screen presence that leaves you eager to know more. While I won’t reveal too much (although it’s pretty obvious where her story leads), Krige dominates her every scene, creating a fascinating and surprisingly sympathetic antagonist.
While it has a lot going for it with a decent story, style and performances, Ghost Story is not without some severe flaws. The pacing, while adopting a suitably slow-burning approach, does drag in the middle. An extended flashback about Craig Wasson’s Don (the son of Fairbanks’ character) runs on far longer than necessary, dragging the film down with a sequence that mainly consists of sexual escapades and an excuse to repeatedly show nudity. You have no idea how weird you feel when you realise you just watched a Fred Astaire film with nudity.
The story, while decent for the most part, does drop the ball at the climax with a highly predictable ending that, especially after such an effective build-up, feels like a damp squib. And, while I admit this is an unfair nitpick, the film does have a scene of a naked man falling to his death that, thanks to some very dated rear projection (pun accidentality intended?), is rendered unintentionally hilarious.
The worst offender, though, is the musical score. While it occasionally works, the score mostly feels out of place, adopting an often jackhammer-like approach that favours bombast over subtlety that all too often ruins any kind of atmosphere or tension a scene might have built up. That and in many sequences, the score sounds like something you’d hear in a zany comedy, further undermining the potential scariness of scenes and the film as a whole.
While it has many severe flaws (like that annoying sledgehammer of a musical score), the mostly engaging story, strong acting performances and some creative imagery ensure that Ghost Story stands as a decent, if occasionally dull, supernatural chiller that is ideal for those quiet nights by the fireside.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Graeme Robertson
