Horror movie released in 1981. Directed by
John Irvin, the movie
starred
Fred Astaire,
Melvyn Douglas,
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.,
John Houseman,
Craig Wasson, and
Alice Krige.
The movie is based on a book by Peter Straub and tells the tale
of four old men who live in a New England town. The four calling
themselves the Chowder Society shared a gruesome secret for many
years which comes back to haunt both them and their sons. For those who have read Straub's story, the movie does take
liberties with the original work, not including the manatou aspect
that he includes, but is still a fine adaptation of the original
novel.
The four lead actors are all veterans of film and the movie is a joy
to see just for their presence in the film. Ghost Story ended
up being the last film for Fred Astaire who passed away soon after
it was shot. Craig Wasson does a fine job in the dual roles of
Don and David Wanderly, twin sons of Fairbanks'
character. This was the first film in which I saw Alice Krige and
after her other roles in Sleepwalkers (based on a Stephen King short
story) and as the Borg Queen in Star Trek VIII: First Contact, my
original impression of Krige still holds: this woman is one freaky
individual.
One of the best aspects of the story is how inescapable the plight of
the characters is. In many stories, escape is available by either
getting out of the house or running away from the killer. In Ghost
Story, half of the tension comes from the fact that there is no place
to run from what stalks the heroes.