GHOST STORY (1981) (Blu-ray Review)

GHOST STORY (1981) 

Label: Scream Factory
Release Date: November 24th 2015 
Region Code: A
Duration: 110 Minutes
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: John Irvin
Cast: Alice Krige, Craig Wasson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal

Synopsis: In a peaceful New England town, the four lifelong friends who make up the Chowder Society come together each week to regale each other with tales of terror. But when one of the elderly gentlemen experiences a family tragedy, it becomes apparent that a buried secret from their youth has arisen to remind them of the sins of their past. Soon, they will learn they have never been forgiven… and a supernatural vengeance awaits them all. Craig Wasson, Patricia Neal, and Alice Krige also star in this chilling and atmospheric telling of one of horror's greatest stories.

At the start of this movie four old men gather around a fireplace sipping brandy and listening to a scary story as told by Sears James, played by venerable actor John Housman, whom you may recall also told a scary stories around a fire in John Carpenter's The Fog (1981) the very same year this one came to theatres. The old men belong to a group whom have dubbed themselves the Chowder Society, the three other men are Ricky Hawthorne (Fred Astaire),  Dr. John Jaffrey (Melvyin Douglas), Edward Charles Wanderley (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). The foursome are lifelong residents of the small New England town and all four not only share scary stories with each other, but harbor a dark secret from their past which has come back to haunt them, with each suffering from vivid nightmares. 

Wanderley receives word that his son David has been killed in a horrific accident, having fallen to his death after crashing through a plate glass window. There's more to the story and we see what ghoulish happening lead to David's tragic death, but I don't want to spoil it, this is worth watching cold. Wanderley sends for his son Don (Craig Wasson), an aspiring author and recently unemployed college professor, to return home for the funeral of his brother. Father and son argue over dinner that night, Don thinks there may be more to the story of his brothers death, but his father refuses to hear what he has to say on the matter. The next day Wanderley Sr. wanders out into the snow, following what he believes to be his deceased son David, he follows him onto a bridge where he is startled by a spectre and falls to his death onto the frozen river below, his death mirroring his son's demise. 

Afterward the survivors of the Chowder Society allow Don to join them, and the young Wanderly regales them with a spooky story about a former lover whom as it turns out is somehow linked to not just the death of his brother but to the four members of the Chowder society, and dark secret the elderly men have kept hidden away until now, but their secret has come back to haunt them and threatens to destroy them all. 

They just don't make atmospheric ghost stories like this one anymore, this classic is loaded with a rich atmosphere and sense of dread, the snowy New England setting superb through and through.  It's one of those rare movies that gives you the chills while you watch it, and so few movies can do that anymore. They don't achieve this with cheap jump-scares and shock-a-minute editing either, it's done through deliberate slow-burn storytelling, this is the good stuff, this is a timeless scary movie. Having four Hollywood legends playing the four frightened old men was inspired, these guys give their roles every last ounce they had, with three of the four actors dying before or shortly after the movie was released into the cinemas, though somehow the already ancient Houseman endured for a few more years, appearing in yet another winter-classic, Richard Donner's cult-classic Scrooged (1988). 

Actor Craig Wasson appears in the dual-role of the Wanderley twins David and Don, the guy gets crapped on a lot in my opinion but I've always liked him and he should have gone on to bigger and better things, but after Brian De Palma's Body Double the guy seemed to evaporate, though he did pop up in A Nightmare on Elm street 3: Dream Warriors. Alice Krige also plays two sides of a coin as the otherworldly ladies Eva and Alma, Krige has a mysterious and exotic air about her, she fits the role perfectly, coming across as both sensual and cold, sometimes in the same scene. You might remember here as the twisted incestuous mother from Sleepwalkers or maybe the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact.

Something this movie offers is a surprising amount of visceral gore with an array of awesome Dick Smith produced special effects. The spectre that is haunting the men appears from time to time as a spectral corpse, each time appearing slightly different from the last, and each one of them is awesome, particularly the last one. A door is opened and the corpse appears to move towards one of the men before falling to the ground with the decayed facial skin peeling away from the skull. You don't often get any sort of gore with a classic ghost stories, but as this was made during the peak of the '80s slasher-cycle I think the producers wanted to amp up the shock-value, and I think they made a wise decision, this stuff is great. 

On top of the creepy corpse designs you have a great Eastern setting in rural New England, a place covered in snow, an idyllic setting that would not be out of place in a traditional Christmas story, but instead of the ghost of Christmas past we have the ghost of wronged-lovers past, and this ones back from the grave with a vengeance. The winter-setting is pitch perfect and is helped in no small way by the expertly crafted matte painting of Albert Whitlock who so perfectly captured and enhanced the snowy ghost story with his artistry. More movie need to have a winter setting, there's something so eerie about the winter, maybe its the chill in the air, or the bare branches, but its an underused environment in my opinion. 

I had remembered only bits and pieces of this movie from TV viewings as a kid, I remember it scared me bad in my youth and I was only able to watch it through my hand covered-eyes, so it was a true joy to watch it now in full and enjoy it for the haunting non-linear story that it is. Honestly I put this is right up there with The Changeling and Robert Wise's The Haunting as ghost stories go, this is a top five classic of all time in my opinion. 

Audio/Video: Ghost Story arrives on Blu-ay for the first time from Scream Factory and looking very good in HD, with an organically grainy appearance offering some decent fine detail in a few of the close-ups, especially with the gruesome Dick Smith ghost-corpses, very creepy stuff, check out the still shots in this review. The color scheme is cold and autumnal with the browns being the most dominant. The DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 audio is crisp and clean with the evocative Philippe Sarde score coming through with some immediacy, a very atmospheric score. 

While Scream Factory did not make this a collector's edition Blu-ray I think they should have, just so I could have a cool slipcase for this one. There's quite a bit of good supplemental material beginning with an audio commentary from Director John Irvin, which I have not had a chance to view yet. I did watch all the other extras, there's a great 40-minute interview with author Peter Straub who speaks at length about his process and writing this particular story, how he researched Eastern small town life, and he also reads from several passages in the book. 

There's a 29-minute feature about adapting the source material for the cinema with screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen, and movie producer Burt Weissbourd, who speak about what sacrifices and challenges presented themselves during the process of adapting the lengthy story,  capturing the essence of a story in a screenplay and how that differs from the source material. Actress Alice Krige appears in a 29-minute interview speaking about her unexpected path towards acting, her early career and how she came to be in the movie. she also speaks about her take on the character and what it was like appearing nude on film, plus working with such a great cast of legendary actors and what she learned from the experience

The last of the interviews is with Matte Photographer Bill Taylor who focuses on the visual effects of Albert Whitlock and the many visual and matte effects used in the film, speaking about the process and how certain shots in the movie were achieved. He also goes into how a shortage of snow that winter which proved challenging, commenting to some degree on Dick Smith's excellent work on the movie as well. Bonus features are finished-up with an assortment of trailers, TV and radio spots, an image gallery of promotional shots and a sleeve of reversible artwork. 

Special Features
- NEW Audio Commentary By Director John Irvin
- NEW Ghost Story Genesis - Interview With Author Peter Straub (40 Mins) HD 
- NEW Alice Krige: Being Alma and Eva (29 Mins) HD 
- NEW Ghost Story Development - Interviews With Screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen and Producer Burt Weissbourd (29 Mins) HD 
- NEW Albert Whitlock Visual Effects With Matte Photographer Bill Taylor (29 Mins) HD 
- Vintage Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) 
- TV Spots (1 Mins)  
- Radio Spots (1 Mins) HD 
- Photo Gallery (9 Mins) HD 

Ghost Story is a great old fashioned haunter with some serious atmosphere and a surprising amount of horrific special effects work peppered throughout. It also stars a cast of Hollywood veterans whom might have been at the end of their careers and turning in memorable performances with some depth, and they're backed up by a solid turn from the underrated Craig Wasson and an otherworldly performance from Alice Krige, this is a classic ghost story. The Blu-ray from Scream Factory is top-notch with a pleasing A/V presentation and with over two-hours of new interviews with cast and crew this is a very highly recommended release. 4.5/5

Blu-ray Review: THE FOG (1980)

THE FOG (1980)

Collector's Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Scream Factory / Shout! Factory 

Region Code: A 

Rating: R

Duration: 90 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curttis, Tom Atkins, John Houseman, Janel Leigh, George "Buck" Flowers 

Tagline: What You Can't See Won't urt You... It'll Kill You!

John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) opens with a great campfire tale on the eve of Antonio Bay's 100th anniversary. Actor John Houseman begins with the phrase "11:55, almost midnight, enough time for one more story..." before he relays a tale of  vengeful sailors returning from their watery graves to a group of children, it's pitch perfect and sets the tone for entire film, it's a traditional and inspired piece of cinema. 

 After the tale at the stroke of midnight strange things begins to happen in Antonio Bay as an unearthly and unseen presence sweeps through the sleepy village causing a rash of supernatural phenomena, horns blare and sirens wail. A local fisherman named Nick Castle (Tom Atkins, Night of the Creeps) drives down a windy scenic nighttime road as we hear the seductive sounds of DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau, Swamp Thing) broadcasting from her  lighthouse studio. Castle picks up a perky hitcher named Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis, Terror Train) when suddenly the windows of the truck shatters violently, the incident apparently so damn frightening that it seems to have scared the clothes right of Elizabeth as the next scene features the pair in a post-coital glow nestled in Castle's bed, ha ha. That Tom Atkins is a chic magnet, thrill me baby. 

At the local Church the drunken Father Malone (Hal Holbrook, Creepshow) sips wine when a sudden rumbling of the Earth loosens a stone in the wall of his rectory revealing a small relief. Inside is the century old diary of one of Antonio Bay's celebrated founding father, Malone's grandfather. The writings in the book implicate Malone and five other conspirators  whom deliberately shipwrecked the clipper ship Elizabeth Dane and it's crew of lepers just off the coast to plunder their riches. 

This same night at sea the fishing trawler the Seagrass and it's crew are overcome by a eerie supernatural fog bank that's arrives from out of nowhere. A century old clipper ship pulls up alongside them and they are boarded by sword wielding, crusty sailors sheathed in fog. It's quite an eerie sight and the men are slaughtered, gutted by hooks and run-through by swords. The next day the bodies are discovered and Antonio Bay might never be the same again, at the stroke of midnight the seaside village is inundated by glowing fog and the arrival of vengeful specters, there's definitely something in the mist! 

The Fog (1980) is an effective little chiller, and while it may not regarded as well as John Carpenter's slasher classic Halloween (1978) but I think it's pretty a fantastic watch, it remains one of my most cherished ghost stories of all time. Antonio Bay is the perfect setting for Carpenter's ghostly revenge thriller, too. It's views are both scenically gorgeous and eerie, particularly when the fog rolls in with the salty lepers in it's midst ready to gut those unfortunate enough to be overcome by the incandescent mist.

And what a cast! We have Jamie Lee Curtis (Terror Train) at her scream queen prime and Tom Atkins who a this point was not just yet a genre staple in great supporting roles. Plus Hal Holbrook, (Ritual) who effortlessly classes up every joint, is pretty great as the drunken priest. The star of the show is the sultry Adrienne Barbeau (Swamp Thing) as the velvet-tongued late night DJ who's sexing up the airwaves on the bay from her remote lighthouse studio. She's truly the star of the film, sort of at the center of everything and the first two put the pieces together, when she's left alone to face off against vengeful spirits in the lighthouse it's great stuff, a real nail biter. Also spicing up the cast are George "Buck" Flowers (They Live) and Janet Leigh (Psycho) in smaller roles, there's just not a bad apple in the bunch. John Carpenter even shows up in a brief cameo at the top of the film. 

It's  super-creepy, from the very start with the pitch prefect campfire tale The Fog (1980) is a spooky haunted attraction, in an age of pre-digital effects we get are some creative old school ingenuity, the fog effects are fantastic and put to shame the soulless 2005 remake. To this day  I cannot see a fog bank and not imagine salty sword-wielding sailor with glowing red eyes emerging to reap their awful revenge. The crusty sailors effects created by Rob Bottin are great and we see quite a bit more of them here with this hi-def presentation that we've ever gleaned before, while it's certainly not a bloodbath film it's grisly in it's own gritty little way, the deaths stick with you. Check out the gruesome death of the poor horny weatherman, a hook right through the throat!

The film is more or less a traditional tale of spectral vengeance but it can get a bit schlocky from time to time and if you know anything about me you can appreciate  that I do love a fair amount of schlock. A few weird jump scares are peppered  throughout that seem slightly incongruous to the scenes wrapped round 'em and here's why... Carpenter administered numerous re-shoots and re-edits following his displeasure with the first cut of the film feeling it lacked shock and awe so he ramped up the violence and gore, and I think it's a better film for it. Another observation is that the sea-faring ghosts seems more like soggy zombies than unearthly specters, which is actually more menacing. Maybe not a perfect film but a spectral classic just the same, this is essential chiller cinema.  

Blu-ray: The Fog (1980) gets a brand new 1080p widescreen (2.35:1) transfer supervised by cinematographer Dean Cundey and it's a marked improvement over the standard-def DVD.Colors appear natural and vibrant while the black levels are deep, this is a very dark film and we're seeing things here in 1080p that we've never seen before,with some very nice fine detail and a nice intact grain structure.

Audio options include English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and a 2.0.  Both are nicely balanced and quite strong with a definite edge going to the 5.1 for the atmospheric use of the surrounds, adding more depth to the proceedings. John Carpenters score still sends shivers down my spine, it's definitely one of those Carpenter films where the visuals and audio elements come together perfectly, it completely ramps up the tension. Optional English subtitles are included on the disc. 

Reversible Artwork

Onto the special features we get all of the extras from MGM's 2005 DVD including the fantastic commentary with writer/director john Carpenter and writer/producer Debra Hill. Always have been a fan of the Carpenter commentaries and this is a great one with an unvarnished recounting of shooting the film and the re shoots and edits done after a disastrous first screening. We also get the two retrospective featurette with input from John Carpenter, Deborah Hill, Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Dean Cundey and Tommy Lee Wallace, a reel of outtakes, storyboards, TV spots and trailers, plus some neat special effects test footage.These were great extras and it's great to see them carried over for Scream Factory's Blu-ray. 

Scream Factory offer a few brand new features beginning with an audio commentary with  Actress Adrienne Barbeau, Actor Tom Atkins and Production Designer Tommy Lee Wallace and it's  warm and friendly one filled with great anecdotes, it's a fun listen and you can tell the trio quite enjoy each others company.  

My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis (27:54) features the former scream queen in a really talkative mood, this is great stuff. As she sits down for the interview she comments on the fog rolling in just outside the window, noting that it bodes well for the interview and it surely does. Curtis talks about her time on the film and is very honest about how she felt about the film, apparently it's just not her thing, go figure. Lucky for we slasher fans the scream queen speaks about her work on 80's slasher classics Terror Train (1980), Prom Night (1980) and the ozploitation thriller Road Games (1981) with Stacey Keach, probably my favorite of the new extras.

Dean of Darkness (18:40) features cinematographer Dean Cundey speaking of his collaborations with John Carpenter including Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and the first two sequels to Halloween. It's a great listen as he talks about the style and lighting of each film, noting in particular the great atmosphere of this particular chiller. 

Of course Sean Clark returns with another edition of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations (20:22), always a fun romp and you gotta love Clark's corny sense of humor. Finishing off the new features is an Easter egg hidden away on one of the menus, spoiler alert, it's am ABC Sunday Night Movie promo for The Fog (1980). The set also includes a slip case featuring a great illustration by Justin Osbourne, plus a sleeve of reversible artwork, thinking this is the best artwork so far! 

New Scream Factory™ Special Features:
- New HD transfer of the film supervised by Director of Photography Dean Cundey
- My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis - Exclusive interview with Actress Jamie Lee Curtis discussing The Fog and covering her legendary early 80s “Scream Queen” career.
- Audio commentary featuring Actress Adrienne Barbeau, Actor Tom Atkins and Production Designer Tommy Lee Wallace
- Dean of Darkness - Retrospective interview with Director of Photography Dean Cundey about his many legendary collaborations with John Carpenter (18:40)
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations with host Sean Clark (20:22)
- Easter Egg (1:02)

Extras from the MGM™ DVD Edition:
- Tales From The Mist: Inside The Fog Featurette (27:58)
- Fear On Film: Inside The Fog Featurette (7:42)
- The Fog: Storyboard To Film Comparison (1:25)
- Outtakes (4:10)
- Theatrical Trailers (4:34)
- TV Spots (3:05)
- Special Effects Tests (2:39)
- Photo Gallery (8:02)
- Storyboards (2:18)
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director John Carpenter And Writer/Producer Debra Hill

Verdict: Thirty plus years later John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) is still an effective chiller with some great atmosphere and an fantastic cast. When I think of a well-crafted tales of terror with a healthy dose of grue this classic immediately comes to mind, an essential purchase. Scream Factory keep doing it right, another outstanding Blu-ray edition  4 Outta 5