DVD Review: Ghost Story (1974)
Some years ago, as a small child, I had an unhealthy habit of staying up and watching the late night horror flicks, usually a 30s Hollywood-made Dracula film or some old Hammer re-run, neither of which were particularly frightening even for someone of my tender years. But on one occasion, Stephen Weeks' Ghost Story was the weekend's midnight movie. I didn't sleep for days and the images from it stuck in my mind from that day until...well, until now.
For years, I didn't even know what the movie was called, I just recalled a movie set in the 1920s with a 'scary doll' and an asylum, which happened to be enough to dig it out of Google. Sadly, at the time, the response was pretty much 'not in print', 'lost gem', 'misunderstood' and 'maybe someone should reissue this. Well, someone has - Nucleus Films - as a rather tasty two-disc set that finally does justice to this mid-70s gem.
A 70s British horror, but miles away from the norm. No heaving bosoms, buckets of ketchup or Peter Cushing here. Instead, we get the big-screen equivalent of an M.R. James chiller, which means less gore, but much more suspense and tension than Hammer or Amicus could ever conjure up in 90 minutes of screen time.
Set in 1920s England (although it was actually filmed in 1970s India for some old school authenticity), Ghost Story is the tale of three school 'friends', Mc Faydon (Murray Melvin), Duller (Vivian Mackerell - the real ife 'Withnail' would you believe) and Talbot (Larry Dann), who plan to spend time in a country pile that's been left to Mc Faydon. Although nothing is said initially, Mc Faydon is wary of the place, horrific family folklore has made him suspicious of what might be there. Duller (the toff with a keen interest in ghosts) and Talbot (quite obviously the class 'oik') are the perfect companions. If they don't see anything, there's quite simply nothing there.
But there is something there. A fairly unassuming vintage doll that's discovered found by Talbot. Or did the doll find him? Either way, the doll is a gateway to another world, to the Victorian era and the world of a young girl (played by Marianne Faithfull) and her domineering brother. Talbot is dragged into their past, seeing how the brother, after what we presume was some kind of illicit affair, has her consigned to a nearby asylum. Later visitis show how her condition deteriorates and eventually, how the girl is 'rescued' from the asylum by one of the household's staff (Penelope Keith in an early role). But once the doors are open, horrific consequences follow.
As I said earlier, this isn't your average 70s horror. As the title says, this is a 'Ghost Story', slowly building both tension and plot before unleashing quite a powerful (and unexpected) finale. The three male leads are superb as individuals thrown together, the supporting cast equally so, not least Anthony Bate as corrupt Asylum owner Dr Borden and horror regular Barbara Shelley as his assistant and matron. The asylum inmates are something to behold too - according to the documentary that accompanies the movie, all were pulled from a nearby hippy commune! A top-notch soundtrack doesn't do it any harm either, courtesy of Pink Floyd collaborator Ron Geesin.
Like all the best suspense flicks, Ghost Story also leaves as many questions unanswered as answered. What becomes of all the main characters? Why are some of the faces from the past living in the present? What happens to the doll? And will the scenario presented in the film repeat itself forever? That's all for your own mind to play out in the hours and days after.
I've been looking forward to seeing this movie again for years and thankfully, I'm not disappointed. Nucleus has done a superb job with its two-disc collector's edition, offering up a restored copy of the movie, an all-new documentary that revisits the director and surviving cast members, an audio commentary, seven previously unseen shorts from the director (including the previously unseen, Tigon-produced 1917), PDF files and...well you'll just have to buy it to get the full lowdown. And in my view, that's exactly what any fan of British suspense or horror should do right now.
Great film, great package, well worth seeking out.
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