By Melissa Garza
My brother Geno had found a trailer for this film on youtube. Immediately, we both were dying to see it. We looked it up online to purchase it and the price was a little high. I was about to order it anyways when my husband came across a streaming channel that had well over 300 horror movies. I was sold. I signed up and low and behold, there was Ghostkeeper.
The film was made in the heyday of horror. The 70s and early 80s understood atmosphere and how to keep a chilling premise without the need to show too much. Nowadays, movies show everything in the first five minutes and their attempts of horror fall flat. Generally speaking, the audience is greeted with tons of gore, gray ghosts, zombies, or demons, an empty plot and unlikable characters that are all virtually the same.
No longer is the intensity of the unknown used. The eeriness of silence has been forgotten. Even worse a solid plot, great characters and frightening villains have disappeared. Thankfully, true horror fans can still seek out the great movies of the past. Streaming websites have definitely made the search easier though admittedly I miss going into the video store. I remember walking to the horror aisle and getting freaked out by the covers alone. I can still feel the shrink-wrapped cardboard cover in my hand. Nothing was better than anxiously awaiting the weekend, and using my allowance to choose a few horror movies on VHS.
I remember about 15 years ago; I could walk into a place called Video Station II and get 7 movies for 7 days for $7.00. It was always the covers to the movies that sold me. Long before you could type a movie into a search engine to see the trailer, it was the front picture and the short synopsis on the back that determined whether or not watching the film was worthwhile. For me, if there was a skeleton, it was being rented. Rarely, do you fail when skeletons are involved.
There’s a movie called Class Reunion Massacre (1978) that I saw years ago. I must’ve been 10 years old. I was always afraid of horror movies
but I was just so drawn to them. I just had to watch them.
I was sleeping over my cousin Traci’s house and we went to the video store. I fell in love with the cover. It was a skeleton in a black hood smiling. It scared the hell out of me. I had to have it. That movie still scares me. It is by far one of the least known and underrated movies out there. The ending is more than a little bizarre and an explanation for the conclusion would have definitely been appreciated. Still, the tension it built throughout the movie and the imagery it used to ensure the audience was genuinely freaked out is enough to earn it some serious kudos. It’s on DVD and fairly cheap so if you have the chance, I highly suggest it.
When I saw the cover for Ghostkeeper it had a very similar cover to Class Reunion Massacre. Even if I hadn’t seen the trailer, the coverart alone made me want to see it immediatley. the film opens with Jennie (Riva Spier), her dirtbag boyfriend Marty (Murray Ord) and her promiscuous friend Chrissy (Sheri McFadden) snowmobiling. They get stranded at a lodge and believe they are alone. Soon they meet the Ghostkeeper (Georgie Collins). The Ghostkeeper is an older woman who informs the trio that they are unable to stay there. As they have nowhere to go, they refuse to leave.
It soon becomes apparent that the old lady has many secrets within the home. Collins plays the role perfectly. She’s a ragged disturbed woman who finds pleasure and confidence in the oddest of traits. Her voice is nearly always a loud whisper which remains strangely monotone and shrill. It’s an effective choice which brought chills to me. When Jennie awakens at night and hears the woman talking to someone, she becomes frightened. At that moment, the viewer experiences the same fear the character does. Everything in that scene was perfect; The Ghostkeeper’s tone, Jennie’s reaction, the words that were spoken. All were able to ensure unease in those watching. It was wonderfully executed.
The entire movie represents what was great about horror in the early 80s. The scary scenes aren’t just thrown at the viewer. Instead, there’s a build of tension. As the atmosphere is created, slowly and methodically, the horror elements are put forth.
An interesting fact is that half way through the production money ran out. The director Jim Makichuk abandoned what was left of the script and made up the rest of the film as it went along. This is fascinating because the movie is overall very tight and without plot holes. Everything fits seamlessly and though the audience may be left with one or two questions pertaining to the last revelation, the ambiguity actually makes the film more frightening.
I can’t recommend the movie enough. The acting is fantastic. The dialogue is edgy, creative, and keeps the attention of the viewer. Jennie is a very sympathetic character that one can’t help but root for. Throughout the first half, she is verbally abused by her boyfriend who openly cheats on her. He uses the fact that he pays for the bills against her. Later, when she acts in self-defense when attacked by a psychopath, Marty chastises her and tries to save himself. To put it plainly, the man is just scum. There is such an inclination to hope Jennie finds a level of empowerment to separate herself from the jerk.
The twist at the end isn’t shocking but it doesn’t have to be as the build up to that point was so well executed.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
This title and many other greats is available through Creepster TV. Check them out at http://www.creepster.tv/
