Amazon.com: Upon its release in 1981, John Irvin's version of Peter Straub's bestselling horror novel was deemed one of the worst adaptations that the genre had ever produced. Now it's available on DVD, and for the first time in widescreen presentation, and not much has changed. It's still a nearly unwatchable dud. Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. play old friends, members of the self-created Chowder Society, who get together and tell ghost tales. The scariest story of all, however, is the one they never speak to each other. Fifty years ago, the four men accidentally killed a young woman, and now she's back (with much less meat on her bones) and seeking vengeance. Sound chilling? Well, in Straub's hands it was, and the novel remains the author's finest achievement. Irvin, however, distills Staub's rich characterizations, gradual tension, and creepy atmosphere, and replaces them with aging golden oldies (only Houseman appears to be having any fun) hamming it up and hokey special-effect shots of a rotting corpse. The film moves about as quickly as its ancient cast could during a relay race. The whole thing has arthritis. --Dave McCoy
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A great chiller!
This film is very well made,based on Peter Straub's classic novel.The movie is a little long but not boring and it has plently of scary moments.I recommend this highly to a fan of modern horror fan that's been lost in the trendy films that are made on the silver screen currently and are looking for a naturally scary horror film.Read the book as well,I read the book in high school and enjoyed it thoroughly:)
Rating: - Will You Forget the Book!!!
When I saw this movie in '81, a breath of fresh air. From the late '70s on,our basic horror choices were along the lines of Halloween or Friday the 13th. Becoming tired of slasher films this was done with good old fashion supernatural and psychological suspense with a great cast.
Having gone to movies and read books for over 48 years, this is the one case in which the movie is better than the book [not easy to say that folks]. If I had read the book first, I would never have seen the movie. The book meanders through too much time, nothing in it was scarey, and it wasn't really about ... Read More
Rating: - Any real horror fan can appreciate the old school scares of Ghost Story
Ghost Story was released in 1981, adapted from a novel of the same name. Sid has never read the book, admitedly, but we really can't imagine it being better than this great movie. The film stars Fred Astaire, John Houseman and others. Sid remembered seeing this flick one late night on tv. It scared the everliving out of this young elf then, so we decided to see if it held up today. So, we settled in with a little of the sacrament, and an inordinate ammount of food, sat back and watched a great horror flick. And if you were there, you'd have been like ahh sweet.
Rating: - Not as scary as the book
I read the book years ago and found it so scary that I would often have to put it down and take a break or hold off on a chapter if late at night. It scared me so much that I was jumping at slight noises and got shivers up my spine. The book was one of the best I've ever read. (I was heavily into King, Straub, Koontz, and Crichton at the time and thoroughly enjoyed spooky books. I still do.) Then I saw Ghost Story movie that I'd so looked forward to. The movie was enjoyable and occasionally intense but it lacked that total spooky character that I'd enjoyed so much while reading the book. I was disappointed. ... Read More
Rating: - "I will show you places you've never been and I will watch the life run out of you!"
For a movie made in 1981, this one still packs a whollop! For anyone not familiar with this little gem, this one is not for the faint of heart. In this day of SAW and HOSTEL, this movie still has the ability to scare the crap out of you! It isn't overly bloody or violent, but what it lacks in substance, it more than makes up
for it with it's suspenseful crawl through the ghostly heart of a woman's revenge. Based on the novel of the same name, four old men (Melvyn Douglas, John Houseman, Fred Astaire,and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in their last starring roles) spend their evenings in a New England town swapping ... Read More
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