gwnightscream 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.

vincentlynch-moonoi There are many sub-genres in horror films, and I do admire a number of old-fashioned ghost stories. Of that sub-genre, this is pretty much my favorite.That's not to say it's perfect. It has the 1970's excesses -- one penis shot and some rather grotesque sex (and yes, I know it came out in 1981...but it's so 70's). And the acting -- which I'll get to in a minute -- is uneven. But still, it's a darned good story, and it's what introduced me to Peter Straub, the author.It's a good and classic story -- 4 college men are a little full of themselves and they all hit on a young woman. In a pivotal scene, she falls and hits her head...seemingly dead. The young men put her in a car and drive it into a lake, and just before it sinks they see she is not dead, but it is too late, the car sinks and she drowns. 50 years later the 4 old men are still close and like to tell each other ghost stories. But suddenly, they're not just stories as the drowned girl comes back for her revenge against them and their families.Fred Astaire is the lead actor here, and at age 82 he still had something special; this was his last film. Melvyn Douglas was 79 years old here, and this was filmed not long before his death; another classic actor. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. had the least star power (and is therefore the first to die), but his brief performance here at age 72 was his last film. John Houseman had gained pop status later in life, and here he was 79. These 4 old actors are what makes this film special. Patricia Neal is along as one of the wives, but her role is not major. I very much enjoyed Jacqueline Brookes as one of the other wives.On the younger side -- and that is a strength of the film...two stories, one of some old men, the other of some young people -- Craig Wasson was satisfactory as twins, and the sons of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Alice Krige is the evil younger woman here, and I can't say I care for her as an actress...although she's appropriately creepy here. Miguel Fernandes is the creepy Gregory Bate here; it's a good performance. Of the younger versions of the old men, most noteworthy is Ken Olin.The special effects here are about par for the era; not fancy, but they get the job done.The Blu Ray version of this film is quite a good transfer, though I have seen better.A classic ghost story nicely told with some very fine older actors carrying the day. I really like it, and it's on my DVD/BluRay shelf.

A_Different_Drummer Let's put aside for another review the broader issue of how successful Hollywood has been adapting Straub's work, generally. Because in case of this work, specifically, they pretty much knocked it out of the park. This film is genuinely creepy and this reviewer can list on the fingers of one hand (maybe two) the number of times a so-called "horror" film had got under my skin (the original Exorcist, the original Living Dead, the original Hill House, come to mind). This film made that list. Next is the casting. I am going to give credit to John Irvin for (presumably) saying, this is a film about a bunch of old guys but I don't want to get just any old guys, let's get the best-known bunch of old guys money can buy... Wow -- Fred Astair, Douglas Fairbanks, I mean, does it get any better than this? Finally, this is the film that introduced the mass audiences to Alice Krige, a very capable actress whose work has been keeping us glued to our seats for decades since (Borg Queen, anyone?). The IMDb rating, as always, is much too low. A true classic, bringing together many unusual features in one production.

Scott LeBrun A condensing of Peter Straubs' more complex, more intriguing novel, the film adaptation is no great shakes but it's certainly not bad at all either. It does have the appeal of a spooky yarn one might spin by a fireplace in the dead of winter. The simplified story deals with four elderly New England gentlemen who get together and tell horror stories, but who in fact share a tragedy from their long-ago past. Now a revenge-minded spirit is out to make their lives miserable - and strike out at the two sons of one of them, to boot. The film does speak of quality - Jack Cardiff did the cinematography, Albert Whitlock and his team supply some beautiful matte shots, Philippe Sarde composed the stirring music score, and Dick Smith creates the plentiful hideous apparition effects - but the powerful main attraction is the assemblage of talent in the four main roles - Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and John Houseman - who are a delight, although Fairbanks exits the story much too soon. Craig Wasson plays the twin sons, and is likable as usual and manages to hold his own opposite his legendary co-stars. Patricia Neal is utterly wasted as Astaires' wife, but making up for that is the showcase given to the beautiful South African actress Alice Krige, who's extremely alluring and enigmatic as the mystery woman to whom both sons become attracted. There's a real sexual charge in her scenes with Wasson. This is one element that may concern some viewers, when they think about Astaire, Douglas, Fairbanks, and Houseman acting in a film that has violence and nudity (male as well as female), but for other horror fans a sufficient amount of atmosphere is built up and there are definitely some memorable scenes. Things are sometimes told in a flashback style, as first Wasson tells of his association with the not-so-subtly creepy Krige, or Astaire and Houseman finally break down and tell Wasson their whole sordid story. Overall, it's just compelling enough to work, and it does have some mighty fine moments, especially an iconic one involving a lake and a sinking car. It manages to be pretty eerie on a fairly consistent basis if never very scary. It marked the final feature film appearance for Astaire, Fairbanks, and Douglas. Seven out of 10.