MovieChat Forums > Ghost Story (1981) Discussion > Clumsy

Clumsy

posted 13 years ago by Capn_Kirk
6 replies | jump to latest

I think 'clumsy' is the term that best describes this book adaptation. The story is intriguing enough to generate some interest, and there are some decent performances. Fed Astaire is a better actor that he's been given credit for, in my opinion, and he got to show it a bit after hanging up his dancing shoes. But the overall execution - writing, direction, musical score, and some of the technical work - is spotty at best, and it weakens the whole package. In particular, after the first 30 minutes of constant, overbearing ham-fisted musical cues, I wanted desperately to convert the musical director of this flick into a ghost. The director also needed a good beating at the very least; his inability to maintain the proper atmosphere for a horror film with any consistency was a real vibe-killer. At one point my wife said she could not decide if the film was supposed to be taken seriously, or as some kind of subversive comedy. I'm still not sure how to answer.

"What happens to us in the future? Do we become @ssholes or something?"
- Marty McFly

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] john-wheat 11 years ago

I agree. I think this movie was badly made. I would definitely say that this was an unintended comedy. I couldn't help but laugh at it at certain points. Particularly the naked guy falling out of the window, so badly done and unnecessary to the movie that it was funny. This movie was so badly made that it was unintentionally funny. If it suddenly appeared in the show "Mystery Science Theater 3000" I would have watched that episode.

[–] TheGuyWithTheFeet 10 years ago

I mean, it's got its good points. There are some genuinely scary moments in this film. And even when not compared to the book, it's not a great film.

[–] nashknight-1 10 years ago

Agreed 100% So clumsy it ruins the otherwise good story. 4/10

[–] liscarkat (18431) 4 years ago

I think the performances of the six main characters was very good, especially Krige, who was sexually eerie and mysterious. However, the writing and direction were a mess. The crazy leather-jacket guy and the kid went nowhere, and were completely unnecessary. The music score was lousy. The rotten corpse shots were overdone. The four actors who played the Chowder Club members as college boys were weak. Parts of the story made no sense, for example, why did the ghost wait half a century, until the four men were ancient and near death anyway, to seek vengeance?

[–] HarlemEagle42 (17770) 2 years ago

That's a fair assessment. It feels like a poor man's Stephen King movie.