Sadly Over-hyped

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This 1981 horror film is based on the novel which tells of a group of men who share ghost stories with each other, but a ghost from their past decides to give it's own story when exacting murderous revenge on them. Craig Wasson (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3), Alice Krige (Sleepwalkers), The late, John Houseman (The Fog) and Fred Astaire (The Towering Inferno) are featured. This isn't bad, it has some dramatic and suspenseful moments, the cast is decent as well as the score and some great make-up effects by the late, Dick Smith. I'd still give this a view if you're into spooky stories.

"Ghost Story" charts two generations of men who find themselves being stalked by a mysterious woman with sinister intentions, her presence originating between four elderly New England plutocrats who share a fifty year-old secret. When one of the men's sons returns to town after his brother's mysterious death together, they unravel the story behind her.Based on Peter Straub's wildly successful novel, "Ghost Story" came about during the peak of the slasher film and is one of the few remembered supernatural horror films of the eighties. Straub's source novel is probably one of the greatest American ghost novels ever written, and some people have found the adaptation unforgivable, as it does excise a great deal from the book; I personally am able to get past this.What "Ghost Story" really is is a dark drama with a splash of horror, and this also has been a point of contention for genre fans. The film moves at a leisurely pace, and the scares are few and far between, but what director John Irvin does supply the audience is a profound atmosphere and general weirdness that is unforgettable. The wintry upstate New York landscape, the stuffy drawing rooms of the old men, and the abandoned mansion on the hill all provide a somber and pastoral backdrop that lend to the film's classic feel, and comparisons to "The Woman in Black" are well-earned.The cast is one of the major selling points here; Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, John Houseman, and Patricia Neal round out a roster of classic Hollywood stars in their old age (for many, this was their last film). Craig Wasson plays two roles of the second generation, with Alice Krige as the haunting woman that runs between them. The acting is good overall, though some of the older cast feel a bit underused; I think that may have to do with some wonky editing in the film, which is one of its few downfalls. It also feels dated at times, though not to its detriment.Overall, "Ghost Story" is a well-made film with a classic, ghastly edge to it. It is a slow film in many ways, but the subtlety employed here combined with the bleak and picturesque New England winterland really made this an enjoyable experience. There are some phenomenal Gothic images throughout, and the story itself has a certain timelessness to it in spite of the film's more dated qualities. Memorable and atmospheric for a variety of reasons. 8/10.

If you think because this features some classic movie stars (Melvyn Douglas, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) that it's going to be a classy affair, think again. It's tawdry, exploitative, and not at all scary. The mystery is predictable and uninvolving. The music is overbearing and kills any chance of building suspense. People with eyes beware: Craig Wasson has a full-frontal nude scene in this. Don't say you weren't warned. The opening scene with John Houseman appears to have been done just to rip-off the similar opening Houseman did the year prior in The Fog. I haven't read Peter Straub's novel but I'd be surprised if it wasn't better than this. Just awful.

It is surprising that you can include Fred Astaire and horror in a sentence about a movie. Astaire was one of the great musical icons of the 1930s and 1940s. However, late in his life he made a little horror movie that is worth reviewing. Any horror movie is worth revisiting during the month of October. What is Halloween without a scary movie. Although the movie Ghost Story is not a movie that will keep you up after you watch it, it is pretty good and has some twists and turns. Ghost Story is a 1981 American horror film directed by John Irvin and based on the book of the same name by Peter Straub. It stars Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman and Craig Wasson (in a dual role). It was the last film to feature Astaire, Fairbanks, and Douglas, and the first film to feature Michael O'Neill. The film was shot in Woodstock, VT, Saratoga Springs, NY and at Stetson University in Deland, FL. In a small New England town, four elderly friends form what they call the Chowder Society, an informal club where they regale each other with scary stories. Membership in the club, in fact, requires that one present such a story. The four friends are Ricky Hawthorne, a business owner, Sears James, a Lawyer, along with Dr. John Jaffrey and Edward Charles Wanderley, the Mayor. When Edward's son, David, living in New York, falls from a window after the girl he's sleeping with turns suddenly into a demon, Edward grieves. His other son, Don, a college professor who's fallen on hard times, shows up in town, not getting a great reception from Edward, who always preferred the other, more ambitious son. But now the four elderly gentlemen are unsettled and have nightmares. Clearly, something is bothering them.Edward becomes so distraught that he wanders across a bridge in the snow. When he sees the same female apparition that caused his son to fall to his death, Edward, too, falls to his death from the bridge. Although his death is ruled a suicide, his son Don and Edward's three remaining elderly friends doubt it. Don approaches the remaining three friends, requests membership in their group and offers up a bizarre "ghost" story of his own.It is great to see movie icons like Fred Astaire, Melvin Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr at least one more time on the screen. The movie for me sort of drags in the end and loses steam, but the ending is gratifying enough. Throughout the year I like to watch Astaire movies like Follow The Fleet, The Bandwagon, and Silk Stockings, but I reserve the month of October to watch him in Ghost Story. It's a movie that won't really disappoint...