Ghost Son

Now this, I really consider to be Lamberto Bava's international comeback-movie (instead of his previous lower budget effort, THE TORTURER, in 2005). You gotta hand it to the man: Coming back to the theatrical world of horror with an Italian/South African/Spanish/British co-production. And you know what? To my utmost surprise, it's even pretty decent (I saw this one before I saw THE TORTURER later this week, so you can imagine how unpleasant a surprise the latter was….). It's even hard to believe that GHOST SON and THE TORTURER were both directed by the very same director.

GHOST SON looks great! The cinematography looks astonishing. And Bava really took the time to direct this one. And he clearly had a very comfortable budget to work with (it always helps to have the money to afford a capable and talented crew). Almost every shot in this movie has movement (travel-shots, letting the camera slowly and stylishly turn around the actors, crane shots,….). It was a lust for the eye to see Bava finally being able to show his more technical directing skills again.

The story, on the other hand is a hit and miss deal again. I liked the fact that Bava is giving us a different take on your average ghost story. But while the movie manages to be effectively scary at some points, it also had quite some ridiculous, but highly entertaining events in it (a baby with a boner biting his mother's boobie????). Nevertheless, these events, to me, were extremely fun to watch (still too bad they damaged the over-all 'seriousness' of this movie a bit, though).

All-in-all, Ghost Son is a slow mover, but story-wise it did managed to keep my interest because I wanted to know to where it would all lead to, eventually (just don't expect any exciting twists or surprising conclusion to it because the denouement isn't exactly a spectacular climax). In a world filled with horror-movies containing derivative surprise-twists at the end, Ghost Son manages to simply avoid that trap. Rather rare these days, I'd say. But it was really the more than decent cinematography and Bava's skill-full directing that kept my going through this movie. Well, it even has more merits, of course. Like the good acting by Laura Harring and the adequate musical score. Not to forget Pete Postlethwaite's noticeable presence in this one.

I'm fully aware of the fact that a lot of people might not like this one as much as I did. Some people even might say THE TORTURER is a better movie. I say: Don't believe them, because it's not... but that's totally up to you, of course.

For fans in the know, it isn't exactly too much of a statement to say that Italian horror is far from where it used to be. Between the 60's and mid 90's, there was a plethora of excellent horrors and gialli coming regularly out of pasta land. Sadly, this situation has long ceased to be the case and we now simply have to make do with pretty slim pickings. The director of Ghost Son, Lamberto Bava, was very much an 80's man, delivering several very enjoyable movies in this decade, probably the best of which being the cult classic Demons (1985). But since those halcyon days, like many of his contemporaries, he seems to have got swallowed up by television productions and only rarely delivers any feature films. I guess his comeback movie in this area was The Torturer (2005), a film which I can't say I thought too much of. It did provide a few sleazy thrills but overall it could not escape its bargain basement origins. With Ghost Son, Bava is clearly operating with a much improved budget, allowing him to hire name actors like Laura Harring, John Hannah and Pete Postlethwaite, while also allowing for on location shooting in South Africa and a team behind the lens who have ensured that the movie does look good enough. Set in South Africa, a woman loses her husband in a car accident and then his ghost returns and impregnates her from beyond the grave. Once her son is born she is convinced he is convinced by a malevolent spirit.

While it was good to see Bava tackle something with a bit more to it that The Torturer, the main gripe with this one is that it is overall a bit dull. You have to think that a film involving ghosts and voodoo occult has the potential for a few interesting ideas and set-pieces, the truth is that the movie is very by-the-numbers. Nevertheless, it was good to see Harring - one of the stars of my favourite film ever, Mulholland Drive (2001) - get a starring role and it was also good to see Bava getting to helm something with a bit of money behind it. It was a bit so-so, however, and once more showcases the glaring gulf between Italian horror movies of the last twenty years compared to even the lesser ones they produced almost without thinking about it from the golden era.

"Ghost Son" takes place in South Africa.A married couple Stacey and Mark live on the farm with their black teenage maid.Mark and Stacey love each other deeply.Unfortunately Mark dies in a tragic truck accident.Stacey returns to the farm and decides to remain there since she feels close to Mark.She is also carrying Mark's baby.After delivering the baby Stacey quickly becomes sure that her infant son is possessed by Mark's spirit.The evil force tries to kill Stacey to bring her to Mark."Ghost Son" has the higher production values than Lamberto Bava's efforts.The production design is great and the cinematography is very lush.There are some dull moments and silly scenes,though.The climax is truly terrible.6 vomiting babies out of 10.

First of all, I personally adore Demons and Demons 2, I saw them although it was hard to find good horrors without good official movie distributing here in Russia when I was a kid, and that is an unchangeable part of my boyhood. Then I heard nothing about Mr Bava. Then I saw his Ghost Son. Well, it is certainly not a good coming back! Why was the leading character, whom we never really knew to at least like him, in accident in the middle of an empty road? Why do African servants say so dumb and stupid things about human soul? Why is the plot so primitive? Haven't we seen enough ghosts for 100 years of movie production? It is clear that Lamberto Bava has nothing to show us so far. It is a shame.

Stacey (Laura Harring) and Mark (John Hannah) have recently married and are deeply in love for each other, living in Mark's farm in Africa. When Mark has a fatal car accident, the widow Stacey misses him and decides to stay with their orphan teenager maid Thandi (Mosa Kaiser) in the farm. Later, her friend and doctor Doc (Peter Postlethwaite) finds that Stacey is pregnant of Mark. After a complicated delivery, Stacey notes that her baby in some moments seems to be possessed by the spirit of Mark, trying to kill her to bring her to spend the eternity with Mark.

Lamberto Bava is the son of the great Italian director of horror movies Mario Bava, and directed the cult "Demons" and "Demons 2". Based on these samples of his filmography, I bought "Ghost Son" expecting to see a scary and creepy horror movie. Unfortunately, my expectation was only satisfied in brief moments and I can list some reasons. First, there is no previous development of the key characters of Mark and Stacey and their love, inclusive for a better explanation of the motives of the ghost of Mark trying to bring Stacey to stay with him. The creepy and mysterious Thandi, who insists that lives with her mother that died when she was five years old, is simply wasted along the narrative. I expected to see her mother, but she is simply ignored and limited to be another lie of Thandi. The baby boy recalls "Chucky" in some moments, and Doc is completely stupid, at least not noticing that Stacey has had at least a nervous breakdown. In spite of the flaws in the screenplay, there are some creepy scenes along this film, which could be better and better based on the cast. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Mensagem do Além" ("Message From Beyond")