Cuento de fantasmas

I read Peter Straub's book and was quite pleased with the result of the movie. First of all, like many, I loved the cast. They are all great men of the world cinema and the pull off the story with great aplomb. The movie is about something someone does in his or her youth and then must live with forever. In a good ghost story, the characters get no points for being once youthful and reckless. The fact that they meet and share their stories means that they never seem to intend closure. They never allow themselves to face the music and, hence, the revenge of the spirit is acceptable in the world where they find themselves. I just thought that a society devoted to the telling of ghost stories was a great idea. Anyway, while the plot does wander around a bit and it takes time to get to the point, it still works great. It was nice to see that Fred Astaire could still act (because he was such a great dancer we forget that he had a great comic talent and, in this case, a dramatic talent). The others are equally formidable. There are also some pretty slimy, putrid visions that appear and make for a pretty good rank on the jump scale. The actually scene that explains everything (I won't spoil it) is both sad and revealing. While not the greatest movie, it works very well and I would recommend it.

I will take you places you've never been. I will show you things that you have never seen and I will see the life run out of you. ~ Eva, in the film Ghost Story

The movie centers on a group of elderly men who have formed an exclusive story-telling group called The Chowder Society. The men meet regularly, sit around a fire in a dark room and share their best ghost stories. Under the surface, however, lies a ghastly secret they all share - a real life, true ghost story of their own that they dare not speak of.

When one of The Chowder Society member's twin sons dies in a very strange and inexplicable accident, the other twin returns home to mourn with his father. That is when a series of horrifying events begin to unfold, forcing the men of the Chowder Society to come to terms with the shocking and dreadful event that has haunted them for the past 50 years.

I personally love these types of stories. They do not feature masked- maniacs hunting down unsuspecting teenagers and hacking them to death. (Although there are a few good ones in that category!) What this story does provide is a genuine chill-running-down-your-spine sensation that brings you to a terrifying place without ever forcing you to close your eyes.

A star-studded cast includes Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., John Houseman and Patricia Neal, Jacqueline Brookes, Craig Wasson and Alice Krige. Having a cast with such experienced and talented actors creates a believable and authentic film making it a worthwhile, scary little gem of a movie.

If you like genuine ghost stories, watch this movie. Based on the novel by the gifted Peter Straub and skillfully directed by John Irvin, this film is a top pick for me.

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.

I initially wanted to rate "Ghost Story" a fine 7/10, but I figured since I (voluntarily) had to endure watching such heavy rubbish earlier this week, I'd just chip in an extra point. I feel no shame about this, as the film is actually very good. At the start of the '80s, the horror landscape was changing. Films got a lot crazier, partly due to many great sfx artists rising to the scene and otherwise because of the mindset of that era (fashion, trends, etc). Often filmmakers cared less about telling a coherent story and more about making their films go over-the-top in any way they'd see fit. So in a way "Ghost Story" really feels like if it was one of the last 'classic' horror movies at the time. From the orchestrated soundtrack over the slow pace of the film, relying more on mood, tension and atmosphere to the splendid performances of our veteran foursome Fred Astaire, Melvin Douglas, John Houseman and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The film is ingeniously structured, with various stories within the main story, nightmarish dream sequences and a great flashback story to the 1930's era. The settings provide some classic horror elements too, like the isolated snowy town, grisly frozen lakes and an old ramshackle haunted mansion. Sporadically, the film is also injected with some amusing scares provided by ghostly rotting appearances and the special visual effects by master matte artist Albert Whitlock are outstanding. Gorgeous actress Alice Krige has that icy cold mysteriousness over her that is fitting for her role. On top of that, she has more scenes with her clothes off then on. There are a couple subplots that could have been altered to make it an even better movie, but these are only minor problems. If you want a decent scary movie double bill with a classy feel to it for a dark & stormy night, I think teaming up John Irvin's "Ghost Story" (1981) with Peter Medak's "The Changeling" (1980) might work wonders.

... with a fantastic cast of veterans - Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, and Patricia Neal. Unfortunately, the film always keeps getting in the way, leaving the veterans with scant onscreen attention.

The tale concerns a group of men, haunted by a death they were all accidentally responsible for in the early 1930s, and what happens when the ghost of that victim (Alice Krige) returns for vengeance, resulting in a lot of men shocked to death and abrupt shock cuts that show a rotting corpse in place of Krige's face. Unfortunately, maybe because of studio interference, the majority of screentime goes to Craig Wasson as a pair of Fairbanks' identical twin sons, one ill-fated very early on, the other more successful in surviving. Frankly put, although he isn't bad in the film, it feels like false advertising. (Wasson also has to have one of the tackiest death scenes in cinema history as the ill-fated brother who, terrified by Krige's skeletal look after a night of sex, plunges backwards stark naked from a high-rise window, as the film shows him against a badly processed back projection flailing his arms about, while his private parts flutters every which way like a Planters peanut caught in a strong wind). There's a reason Krige goes after the next generation in the case of Fairbanks' sons, but you'll have to watch and find out what that reason is.

So, Astaire and all the others I came to see are left with mere onscreen scraps, and are left with unformed characterizations. That feels like a grave betrayal for this classic film fan, especially in the light that it was the final film for Astaire, Douglas, and Fairbanks.

There were some particularly well-done parts though. For one Alice Krige was perfect for her part because her porcelain doll looks make her appear to be somebody out of an earlier time. Winter in the New England town the veteran actors live in has the look of a place that's haunted - it's very atmospheric. And finally, the film points out how having a crisis at 20 rather than 30 makes all the difference in the world as to the calmness and wisdom with which that crisis is handled.