Ultratumba

Holy moly, was this hard to get through. I have to confess to watching it in two parts and, by the time I'd got round to watching the second half, I'd pretty much forgotten what had gone on before. I decided to start again from the beginning until I realised that nothing much of any interest had happened and I could just skip back to the midway point where I'd originally left off.

It feels like one of those 'made-for-TV' movies based off a Stephen King story that seemed to be very popular in the eighties. Those weren't very good - and yet they were head and shoulders over this offering. It's about a woman who's troubled by a ghost and, seeing as the 'Ghostbusters' were obviously way too busy to help out, she enlists the help of a college professor with an interest in the paranormal.

And, er, that's about it for the most part. Almost nothing happens until about ten minutes before the end. The characters are ugly (meow!) and they do quite dumb things. It looks like the film-makers put everything into one make-up scene a few almost passable special effects right at the end. But that was way too little too late to make this worth sitting through.

This is an unknown gem of a movie that has some real chills. Like much of it's genre it shows too much at the end and falls apart while fumbling for an (unsatisfying) explanation of the events. Overall, definitely recommended over the "Scream" rip-offs or "Exorcist" rip-offs of the late 70s and early 80s. If it were released today it would probably be a modest box office success.

Look for some conceptually innovative supernatural activity!

There are three writers credited with the script. None of them seem to know how a normal human being would react in any given situation and the director doesn't seem to care. At least one of them wanted this to be a comedy.

The actors aren't bad ones, but their performances are so forced that it's painful to watch. Then again, they are playing unrealistic, idiotic characters speaking ridiculous dialogue, so it's difficult to blame them.

You'll want to strangle each one of them personally while watching this. David Warner's part in this is small, so be warned if you're hoping to see a lot of him. You won't.

If it hadn't been for the general premise, the camera work and lighting, the passable effects, and a half-decent score, I would not have kept watching. I don't know how many times I said, "Oh dumb," and "This doesn't make any sense!"

If you make it to the end, you'll be shaking your head in disbelief, wondering how something like this got made, and potentially laughing your ass off at the ridiculousness of it. I can't recommend this mess to anyone.

This movie begins with a woman named "Iris Norwood" (Renee Soutendijk) driving a car with an older man sitting beside her and he is apparently in some pain. He suddenly attacks her and she escapes by leaping out of the fast-moving car just before it crashes into a large tree. Three months later a college professor by the name of "David Shaw" (Paul Le Mat) is lecturing his students about a paranormal experience with a spirit of the dead when he notices a visitor leaving his class at the very end. The visitor just happens to be Iris. Eventually, David and Iris meet and she tells him that the bed & breakfast that she owns is haunted. What then transpires is a ghost story which starts off slow but builds in intensity until the very end. Unfortunately, the last 10 minutes or so of the film has too many details thrown in without enough detail for the audience to assimilate. Now, this movie definitely has some good horror mixed with a little comedy here and there but again the ending could have been handled better. Slightly below average.

A woman tormented by ghostly apparitions and a professor of psychic phenomena (Paul LeMat) investigate other-worldly disturbances and unlock the secret of a malevolent force reaching out for vengeance from beyond the grave.

Oh, Paul LeMat, how the almost mighty have fallen. You went from being a star in "American Graffiti" to doing this film and "Puppet Master". You could have been a contender! Now, I am not trying to be rude, Paul. You are a fine actor and have a strong screen presence. How did you start getting these offers rather than blockbusters? Why did Harrison Ford get to be Han Solo instead of you?

The story and effects here are not bad, sort of like a toned down "Ghost Busters" (and not nearly as funny). Except here you sort of have to coax ghosts out rather than capture them. (In "Ghost Busters" they seem to be eternal and can only be stored. Here they "cross over" if wrongs have been put right.)

I cannot say this is the best film about a haunting. Not by far. But it is not bad, either. Watch this only if you have already seen "Changeling" -- that is a far superior film.