I love a good scary story, and in spite of the large selection in both the film and book industry, good ones are very rare indeed.
This is not one of them. Like the adaptation of The Shining, Ghost story takes every bit of intrigue and plot that the book was overflowing with and tosses it out the window. Unlike The Shining however, Ghost story doesn't even manage to be a good scary movie on its own.
Whoever composed the musical score should be shot. It's overbearing and loud in scenes that call for a low key to enhance suspense, making all the "tense" scenes appear comical or inappropriate, like playing polka at a funeral. The acting is competent but since I'm not made to care about any of them the movie plays like a trailer instead of an actual film. The makeup and special effects were definitely the work of talent, but a lousy substitute for what it should have been. The only thing about it I really liked was Fred Astaire because I couldn't have picked a better Ricky Hawthorne myself.
Basically this movie replaced one of the most intriguing villains I've ever read about with a sloppy ghost woman, sacrificed suspense for an incoherent slap-together plot and some nudity. The scariest thing about this movie was Craig Wasson's full frontal nude scene less than ten minutes in, and Alice Krige's soggy boobies for the remainder of the film. The book isn't the greatest thing you'll ever read, but it is still a good book and didn't deserve this canker sore of a film. Why can't they remake stuff like this instead of the karate kid?
This is not one of them. Like the adaptation of The Shining, Ghost story takes every bit of intrigue and plot that the book was overflowing with and tosses it out the window. Unlike The Shining however, Ghost story doesn't even manage to be a good scary movie on its own.
Whoever composed the musical score should be shot. It's overbearing and loud in scenes that call for a low key to enhance suspense, making all the "tense" scenes appear comical or inappropriate, like playing polka at a funeral. The acting is competent but since I'm not made to care about any of them the movie plays like a trailer instead of an actual film. The makeup and special effects were definitely the work of talent, but a lousy substitute for what it should have been. The only thing about it I really liked was Fred Astaire because I couldn't have picked a better Ricky Hawthorne myself.
Basically this movie replaced one of the most intriguing villains I've ever read about with a sloppy ghost woman, sacrificed suspense for an incoherent slap-together plot and some nudity. The scariest thing about this movie was Craig Wasson's full frontal nude scene less than ten minutes in, and Alice Krige's soggy boobies for the remainder of the film. The book isn't the greatest thing you'll ever read, but it is still a good book and didn't deserve this canker sore of a film. Why can't they remake stuff like this instead of the karate kid?