The Graveyard Story

Like the 1990 film 'Twin Peaks', beautiful burnt oranges and reds are the dominating colors of this supernatural tinged TV(?) film. A nice spooky aura elevates a rather pedestrian story of a man (THE INCREDIBLE John Ireland) and his unusual interest in the welfare of a dead girl. Upon 'adopting' this unearthly child (from a graveyard by the sea!!) the story starts to drift into standard detective fare. Other than Mr. Ireland, the supporting actors in this film are a bit wooden, quite likable but wooden and the story works well only if you have a strong cup o' Joe at hand. In a nutshell, not a bad film in the least just could've been a tad tighter in its storytelling. Also the film benefits from a great, atmospheric opening sequence which is bathed in ghostly blue hues AND the sturdy looking, quiet Canadian township (are there townships in Canada?) where this was committed to celluloid. On a final note: there is the chance that most people won't get to see this so I feel lucky that I procured 'Graveyard Story' way back in the early 1990s when Goodtimes put it on VHS and have on occasion enjoyed the ability to double feature this with 1981's 'Ghost Story' (two films at separate ends of the spectrum BUT equal on the atmosphere!). For obscure film buffs only..UPDATE: 'Graveyard Story' is on DVD as a single film or in a 3 pack called 'Thriller Vol. 3: Triple Movie Treat' (also in the set are the films 'Murder-In-Law' (with Joe Estevez) & 'Eye Of The Stranger' (with Martin Landau & Stella Stevens) for those interested.

I was expecting a horror movie with a ghosts but was somewhat disappointed but then I was curious to find what happened to Dolly, ignoring the stupidity of some characters.

From the infamous B-Movie disastermind that spawned cult 80s canuxploitation classic, 'Beyond The Seventh Door' comes the demonstratively tamer mystery, 'Graveyard Story', a contemplative, gentle, intermittently creepy yarn about wealthy retired doctor, McGregor (John Ireland) who, upon discovery of the dilapidated, neglected gravestone of, Dolly Cooper (Courtney Taylor) compulsively finds himself repeatedly drawn to the young girl's grave until his mounting curiosity gets the better of him. McGregor hires dogged ex-cop, Ron Hunt (Adrian Paul) to discover this mysterious girl's history, and the appropriately monikered Hunt's consummate sleuthing skills fatefully unearths far more than either of them could have positively imagined!

While this modestly budgeted feature has a TV movie of the week aesthetic, this melancholy tale unfolds with laudable efficiency, as director, Bozidar has competently authored a darkly twist-laden narrative that successfully maintains interest until the satisfyingly shuddersome conclusion! Performances are uniformly solid throughout with an especially earnest, heartfelt turn from veteran, John Ireland, and the amiable, Adrian Paul makes for an eminently capable, hard-nosed sleuth, and one who takes a singular pride in the getting the job done right! Overall, this is a decent melodrama, capably told, with no extraneous stylistic bells and whistles, just a stolid, reasonably wholesome, family friendly thriller, ideal fare to cosy up to on an especially inclement eve! 'Graveyard Story' is certainly a worthwhile watch for softly spooky mystery/thriller fans who actively prefer immersive story telling over gratuitous, forensic gore.

THE GRAVEYARD STORY is an odd, long-forgotten little horror/thriller from Canada. It stars the veteran long-time actor John Ireland as an old-timer who discovers the atmospheric grave of a dead girl and becomes obsessed with her story. Soon, he's being seemingly haunted by the little girl's spirit, to which end he employs the services of a private investigator to find out what happened to her.

Really, this is a film of two halves, and the first is definitely the better of the two. Ireland has always been a fine actor, although he's slightly underutilised here. There's a nicely spooky atmosphere which reminded me of the style of US TV movies of the 1970s, and the cinematography seems to use a blue filter to enhance the look and feel.

What a pity, then, that the second half is a betrayal of what's come previously. THE GRAVEYARD STORY turns into a standard kidnap thriller with some very bad acting from the supporting cast, particularly the woeful actors playing the gangsters. There are twists and turns right to the end, but it all becomes so unbelievable that I was laughing at what I saw.

This is a typical bad Canadian movie. There are no thrills, no chills and no spills. Despite the dialog and over-extended explanations the characters still have no motivation for their actions. The photography is limper than an episode of Eight is Enough.

Of course, due to its dullness, it was funded by the government who probably paid for at least 50% of the production cost and even more if the film-makers were creative with their accounting.

You should be thankful that this movie will only ever be seen in Canada, used to meet Canadian content requirements.

I'll be generous with 3/10 given no comic relief was attempted.