Ghost Town

Late 80's western horror which has a police officer following up a missing person on a desert highway ending up way off the beaten path. While walking a corpse of a sheriff pops out of the ground telling him that he is their only hope before crumbling into dust. This sets things in motion as he figures out he's not in Kansas anymore. A time warp takes place as he is suddenly doing battle with a demon cowboy at a small town in the late 1800's.

The special effects in this one were pretty good. The demon bad guys rotting flesh was decent. At times this was boring but would compensate with some action. Nothing too heavy in this one.

Deputy Langley (Franc Luz) picks up the trail of Kate (Catherine Hickland), a runaway bride. Soon, he finds out that she has been abducted by otherworldly forces. He ends up in strange territory, in a century old town that has been cursed for a long, long time. Langley, a fairly unflappable man who adjusts rather well to bizarre circumstances, realizes that he will have to be the one who frees this town of its curse. To do this, he will avenge the long ago sheriff, Harper (Blake Conway), by taking on psychotic, undead outlaw Devlin (Jimmie F. Skaggs) and his minions.

"Ghost Town" bucks the odds to rank as above average for Empire Films product. While some movies from this company are really no more than goofy fun, this one can be taken quite seriously. It benefits a lot from a script (by Duke Sandefur, based on a story by original director David Schmoeller) that is actually not overly predictable from scene to scene. The scenario may test the patience of some, with extended footage devoted to Langley stumbling through his surroundings and taking his bearings, but those who stick it out are rewarded with the perennially strange atmosphere of "Ghost Town". The visual effects are actually nicely done, with a juicy amount of gore as well and some effective makeup on Devlin. The extremely prolific Mac Ahlberg was the cinematographer, and Harvey Cohen composed the eerie score.

Luz is a personable lead, and he's well supported by lovely ladies Hickland, Penelope Windust as barmaid Grace, and Laura Schaefer as the young Etta, as well as an enigmatic Bruce Glover as the "dealer", Zitto Kazann as the blacksmith, and Michael Alldredge as Sheriff Bubba. The standout performance is by Skaggs, who appears to be having a good time as the creepy nemesis.

If you're a fan of '80s genre movies, this is a modestly enjoyable sleeper worthy of discovery.

Seven out of 10.

i saw this movie when i was a kid, and it is way cool. it kinda reminds me of movies made in that time like the gate, and the pit. cool late 80s movies ruled. this movie had some cool special effects for the time too. it seems like now, its just forgotten. i wonder if anyone else has seen it who remembers it for being cool. i think it would totally rule to get this out on DVD. it wasn't until recently that garbage pail kids came out officially. we need the monster squad too. does anyone else have any ideas for cool movies that are similar that need to come out on DVD? all of those movies rule. it brings me back to a time when movies were good, these days movies just seem to suck.

My review was written in October 1988 after watching the film on New World video cassette.

The supernatural thriller "Ghost Town" is a better-than-usual fright pic from Empire Pictures, earning a theatrical release this month from TWE ahead of home video availability via New World.

Atmospheric lensing by Empire stalwart Mac Ahlberg on Tucson locations offers a pleasant relief from recent sudiobound (in Rome) product from the late fantasy outfit.

Odd variation on familiar suspense format has pretty blonde Catherine Hickland driving her Mercedes on a remote road out West when she has a flat tire and is suddenly whisked away by a phantom rider coming out of a dust cloud.

Deputy sheriff Franc Luz investigates and finds a liberal ghost town whose inhabitants are undead, condemned to remain same by a dying sheriff's curse. Luz is given the old sheriff's badge and appointed to end the curse by destroying the lead baddie Devlin (Jimmie F. Skaggs) and saving Hickland from the villains' clutches.

Convincing makeup effects by John Buechler enhance Richard Governor's tight direction, which wisely grounds the fantasy in verisimilitude. Stunt director Kane Hodder later played Jason for Buechler in the most recent "Friday the 13th" feature.

Possibly the most overlooked and under-rated horror movie of all time. An original idea, well put together, should deserve more respect than the 'getting dusty on a video store shelf' this film received. Good movie. 8/10.