Written and directed by John Shiban
April 30, 2009
Verdict: 3 of 5
Rest Stop, 2006 horror movie
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Tag Archives: ghost
Hell’s Gate, 2004 horror movie
Directed by Michael Bafaro
watched April 26, 2009
The Orphanage, 2007 ghost movie
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
April 24, 2009
Verdict: 5 of 5
Reviews of The Orphanage
Interesting Fansite References
The Innocents, 1961 psychological horror
Country: Britain
Director: Jack Clayton
Verdict: 85/100… Excellent, chilling horror classic
Until now, I’d found it rather unlikely that I could be creeped out by a so-called horror movie as old as 1961… Not that I think that pre-70s horror always fails to be frightful; I was scared half to death on more than one occasion by Twilight Zone episodes and the like. But now, at age 42, I am a bona-fide horror movie junkie – I have a real addiction to movies featuring those things that go bump in the night – and as such, sometimes I feel a bit jaded. Well, suffice to say that 1961′s The Innocents
The Innocents, 1961 horror: Scariest scene (2:46, YouTube)
Plot summary of The Innocents
In late 19th century England, Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) becomes governess of Flora, a young, orphaned girl living in a lonely stately gothic mansion inhabited only by the child, the housekeeper, Ms. Grose (Megs Jenkins), along with a small contingent of servants. Her initial misgivings allayed by the child’s angelic nature, her anxieties are once more aroused when the girl’s brother, Miles – equally captivating, but oddly clever and flirtatious for such a young boy – is sent home from boarding school for serious misbehavior of an unknown sort.
Eerie apparitions and inexplicable behavior on the children’s part cause her to wonder about the house’s history, especially about the fate of the previous governess, Miss Jessel and the former valet, Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde). She fears for the children’s souls and for her own sanity. Miss Giddens comes to believe that the spirits of Jessel and Quint are possessing the children. Convinced that there is an unnatural force at work, perverting the innocence of her charges, she sets out to secure the children’s salvation by wresting them from its power. Though her struggle reaches a resolution of sorts, the real nature and outcome the the clash ultimately remains ambiguous, as intended by the film’s director.
The Innocents, 1961 horror: Scary scenes (9:36, YouTube)
Miles’ poem from The Innocents
This was the poem recited by Miles, the young boy in the psychological horror film The Innocents
At first, the governess is smiling, impressed at the cute little boy reciting this poem; however, by poem’s end, she’s no longer smiling. . .
What shall I sing to my lord from my window?
What shall I sing, for my lord will not stay?
What shall I sing, for my lord will not listen?
Where shall I go, for my lord is away?Whom shall I love when the moon is arisen?
Gone is my lord, and the grave is his prison.
What shall I say when my lord comes a-calling?
What shall I say when he knocks on my door?What shall I say when his feet enter softly,
Leaving the marks of his grave on my floor?
Enter my lord, come from your prison.
Come from your grave, for the moon is arisen.[Whispers]: Welcome, my lord…
The Innocents, 1961: Miles recites creepy poem (1:13, YouTube)
Psychological horror, supernatural horror – or both?
It’s my take that The Innocents is both psychological horror and supernatural horror – that is, I believe the 1961 film does include a legitimate haunting, that the ghosts were there – not just in the mind of the governess. However, I think it is important to note that the film was designed to require the viewer to make his or her own interpretation on this.
Resources: The Innocents, 1961 gothic supernatural horror film
- The Innocents, 1961 horror movie – IMDb (Rating: 79), Amazon
- The Innocents
- Miles recites the creepy poem (YouTube video)
- The Innocents (1961) – Scariest scenes (YouTube video)
- Movie review of The Innocents – Classic Horror
- Movie review of The Innocents – Cinefantastique Online
- Movie review of The Innocents – Horror Movie a Day
Originally written Monday, March 16, 2009
Ghost Game, 2004 horror movie
Director: Joe Knee
Verdict: Lame
This Ghost Game
Product Description, Self-Promotion: Plot of Ghost Game
At a weekend retreat in the mountains, three young couples discover much more than they bargained for when they stumble upon a mysterious game in the cellar… a Ghost Game. Once the ancient box is opened, the restless spirits of three murdered witches are released, and all hell breaks loose. After two brutal slayings, the survivors must discover the game’s hidden secrets before the bloodthirsty fiends claim their lives. Filled with suspense and shocks, this atmospheric shocker will make you think twice next time you throw the dice!
In this low-budget horror film a group of young people travel to a remote cabin and, to relieve their boredom, begin to play a haunted board game that summons the spirits of three girls who died in a pagan ritual.
Watching Ghost Game
Ghost Games failed to hook my attention the first couple of times I tried to watch it, but that isn’t always the fault of the movie. (ADHD – can anyone else out there relate?) The third time I actually watched Ghost Games all the way through. I was moderately entertained for the first third of the movie. For a low-budget horror flick, there were not too many “this is ridiculously stupid” moments for me as a viewer. Not at first, anyway. The second third of the movie, I was still on board and hopeful.
The precise point at which I realized there was literally no chance for Ghost Game
to redeem itself was when the three ghost witches began to fight amongst themselves. Five minutes after that, the credits were rolling.
At one point, the dwindling group is collecting items for the supernatural scavenger hunt they are being forced to play, and they are looking for fire in particular. Walking through the dark woods with a lantern, they approach a burning wooden cross. Yet at no time did either mention how odd it is to find something burning on a deserted island. However, given my overall reaction to Ghost Game
, this criticism was a waste of typing and I shan’t comment further!
Thoughts about Ghost Game
I feel confident in saying that if you are determined to see Ghost Game
, you’ll get more chills and thrills from the 2006 Thai movie of the same name than you will from this one.
For a couple of reasons, I expected very little out of this movie. Most of the movie was actually better than I’d hoped, but I still agree with “Alien Redrum,” a movie reviewer at Horror Talk, when he says Ghost Game is worth a weeknight rental at the very most. Until I had seen the movie in its entirety, I was going to bump that up to weekend rental if, but only if you are a dyed-in-da-wool horror movie fan; however, I am not inclined to recommend this movie to anyone. And I don’t like to say that unless I have to.
It was a challenge to locate any reviews of this movie online; virtually every review of a horror movie called Ghost Game on the web refers to the Thai movie of the same name.
Movie Reviews – Ghost Game (2004)
- Movie review – Ghost Game – Horror Talk
- GHOST GAME – DVD Review – a German reviewer
- Review of Ghost Game – Celluloid Dreams
Resources: Ghost Game, 2004 American horror movie
- Ghost Game (2004) – IMDb, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes
- Ghost Game