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GHOST DANCE (1980)
Directed by Peter F. Buffa
Trans World Entertainment VHS
Reviewed 01.06.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
I don’t care what anyone says.
The life of a college professor
will never make for endearing entertainment.
Even if said prof does
look like Angela from Who’s
The Boss.
Wouoka? N’ Halla? A multi-named
vengeful Injun that turns into a
dog, psychically forces women to
stare at windows, and spikes his
bloody kills with choruses of Marc
Bolan’s T. Rex backing vocalists?
Hot damn! That sounds really unexciting!
In the case of Ghost Dance,
a shot in Arizona, direct to video
obscurity from one time director
Pete Buffa, that assumption is entirely
correct. When anthropology Professor
Kay Foster removes the dork glasses
and sets her sights on an ancient
Indian burial ground, you’ll
set yours on an unexpected wrist
slashing. That, or a copy of Scalps.
I’m desperate, so whatever’s
within reach will suffice.
“Kay -- it’s just a
crazy legend!” But Kay doesn’t
listen. When a looter steals an
old medicine bag on the site of
her dig, he unleashes the spirit
of Wouoka. Wouoka possesses the
body of a tall Indian in a most
fantastic duotone cave transformation.
From there, random people die at
the hands of the Indian (nagging
wife, a couple doing it in a museum)
and there’s a mummy autopsy.
Kay talks a lot about “The
Ghost Dance” religion and
everyone forgets about the murders.
For the entire runtime, I had no
idea what was going on; this was
partly due to some pitch black photography,
but mostly the fault of the ridiculously
choppy script. I fell asleep once
and then Kay was holding a knife.
She looked pissed. Imagine how her
class felt the next day.
Ghost Dance features a
couple of gory murders, serviceable
acting, and mounds of talk, mostly
referring to assumptions the audience
doesn’t know (or care) about.
The characters throb with anti-charisma
and there’s nothing to laugh
at. A lead balloon on all levels.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Psst: This is a copy of the ultra
rare VHS release from our pals at
Trans World. The film itself was
overly dark for about 3/4 of the
runtime, but the print was in good
shape. The mono sound lapsed out
of sync early on, then got back
on track. Sometimes, it looked like
I was watching through transparent
mini-blinds, but that probably had
something to do with the dub.
EXTRAS
Immediately following the feature,
a static screen announces, “If
you like action you will love THE
JUNKMAN available now on videocassette.”
Yes, that’s one sentence.
We’re then treated to a trailer
for The Junkman (“Witness
the destruction of over 150 vehicles!”)
and one for the DePatie-Freleng
TV cartoon show The Houndcats.
Weird.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Chances are slim that you’ll
ever come across a copy of the middling
Ghost Dance. Don’t
lose any sleep over it.
Thanks to Joseph N. Frezza for
providing a copy of this film! |
Samantha? Jonathan?
Mouse trap snap
Sinister sunlight
Ghost Dance'd
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