Lev821

Not being a fan of love stories, and running away from anything schmaltzy, I knew what to expect when I watched this. In what is probably all of the main actor's defining roles, they produce a film that is quite good. It's the best love story film that I have seen, but admittedly, I haven't seen many. Its strong point is its central theme of Patrick Swayze as a ghost, trying to save his lover from danger, involving murder, theft and betrayal. Being a ghost, he has to try and help out without being able to touch anything, and be invisible except to other ghosts. As plots go, this isn't bad. However, as a spirit, he can conveniently interact with things in the real world. He can walk on floors and sit in chairs, and initially has a problem in going 'through' doors. Then he learns how to knock things over, and finds out that he can be heard through a medium. I expect that when this was initially being written, they probably reluctantly had to make him do these things in order for the story to work. I'm still not sure about the door thing though. The effects are pretty mediocre. Even at the time it was made, I'm sure they could have been better, especially when a 'baddie' dies. Cartoony wraiths come out of the ground and drag them away. It's all very unconvincing. It's not just a straight love story. There are elements of other genres as well, and they work. All in all, a rather good film.

I thought this would just be another average horror film, going for scares rather than story, and was pleasantly surprised as the story itself was the main strength of the film, and didn't need to resort to shock tactics. Without a credible plot, this would have collapsed, and even though the story is rather unrealistic and, I suppose, far-out, it is after all, fiction, and is allowed to be. This is one of the most enjoyable horror films I've seen in a long time. It wasn't too gory, and the performances were decent, and more importantly, it was kept fairly simple. There's no convoluted plot lines to fathom. These films are rare these days, although that's not for the want of trying, it's just that a lot of them are just average, basically, trying for scares rather than plot. Saw goes for story, and is much better for it. Certainly recommended.