Ten Days of Terror!: Ghost Story

Film: Ghost Story
Format: DVD from Sycamore Public Library on laptop.

I vaguely remember when Ghost Story was released in theaters. I remember it only because at the time one of my sisters was reading a good amount of horror novels and had read Peter Straub’s book. It was maybe half a year before I became a real horror fan, so Ghost Story is one from just before the days when I learned to love the genre. While it’s relatively well thought of, it’s not considered a classic, which explains why I’m just getting to it now.

Before I get into my typical plot rundown, I want to specifically look at the four men whose names top the cast list. Probably the biggest sell of Ghost Story isn’t the fact that it comes from a Peter Straub novel, but that it stars one man whose film career began in the silent (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.), two whose careers started in the early talkies (Melvyn Douglas and Fred Astaire), and one whose career in front of the camera started late, but who became a legendary supporting player almost immediately (John Houseman). If nothing else, it’s a real treat to see these four men on camera at the same time. It’s also the final cinematic screen credit of all of them except Houseman.

Picks from Chip: Widows' Peak

Film: Widows’ Peak
Format: DVD from NetFlix on laptop.

This is the third in a series of twelve movies selected by Chip Lary at Tips from Chip.

With Widows’ Peak, Chip has offered me something of a poser. I like to focus on narrative with these reviews. Widows’ Peak has a clear narrative; in fact, it could be argued that it’s close to all story. However, discussing too much of that narrative spoils the entire film. This starts as a bit of social dealing, moves into petty rivalry, and quickly devolves into full blown mystery.

So let’s start with the basics. In the 1920s, the Irish town of Kilshannon gets into a bit of a tizzy thanks to the arrival of Edwina Broome (Natasha Richardson), a young woman widowed in the war. The only place for her in Kilshannon is what the locals refer to as Widows’ Peak, an area of the town on which virtually all of the residents are widows. Edwina does cause a stir for several reasons. First, she is British, and not all of Ireland views the Brits very favorably. Second, she’s still quite young, and unlike the other women of the Peak, she doesn’t dress in mourning black. Third, because she was raised as the daughter of an ambassador, she speaks with an American accent.