|
GHOSTKEEPER (1981)
Directed by Jim Makichuk
New World Home Video VHS
Reviewed 02.22.07
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Everybody loves snow, but nobody
wants to shovel.
When you're bold enough to lay bare
with a literal cast of seven, a
lifetime's worth of snow (not the
kind you snort), and not much else,
the message is clear. Ghostkeeper
is a rebel, 'cause it never ever
does what it should. As any seventeen
year old knows, that kind of thinking
may or may not lead to trouble.
Ghostkeeper is a puzzled-yet-determined
slasher that drops somewhere between
Satan's Blade and The
Shining. It's not quite wonderful
garbage, but it'll never be invited
for lunch at the behest of Kubrick's
estate. The snow is beginning to
fall.
Forget the champagne. Chrissie,
Jen, and Marty are celebrating the
New Year by riding around on snowmobiles
in the middle of nowhere. The snowy
woodlands are marvelous; the sparse
cellos are fierce. Ignoring an Old
Geezer's Warning, our trio decrees
"Since when do we play by the
rules?!" and proceed to inspect
the brooding Deer Lodge after a
snowmobile mishap. Deer Lodge ("Private
property! Keep out!") appears
abandoned. It's instantly inviting,
yet impossibly menacing. Exploration
turns to lusty small talk. Lusty
small talk turns to relationship
woes. Marty stumbles onto a secret.
Deer Lodge, it seems, is not so
abandoned after all. Beware the
indoor igloo.
So far, so good. Rather than focusing
exclusively on exploitation, the
Alberta, Canada filmed Ghostkeeper
pushes for booming atmosphere. In
that respect, it wins. Like Warlock
Moon, the overwhelming
locations allow for endless appeal
and unique opportunities: sinister
whispers, long stretches of incidental
silence, and unexpected surprises
within all that wonderful snow.
It's as if the filmmakers had free
reign for a weekend and enacted
every apropos idea as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, unchecked haste can
lead to an inner storm. Especially
when you're not careful. Time to
grab that shovel.
Despite all of the mystery, melancholy
chills, and extreme isolation, Ghostkeeper
can't escape its own carelessness.
That’s the jinx. Walking and
talking numbness. Pitch black photography.
The failure to deliver on the promise
of a "Windigo" (sorry,
but an igloo-dwelling fat guy who
looks like Buddy from Slaughterhouse
doesn't cut it). Normally, these
flubs would only enhance a cheapo
experience, but this isn't Iced.
Ghostkeeper had a good
shot at rising above the confines
of comfortable slasher-trash, but
boundaries were never set. The script
grew disenchanted. By the end, the
film’s lack of procedure equals
both good fortune and calamity,
burdening us with the responsibility
of plowing through it all.
Time to invest in a snowblower.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Bass in yer face! The mono sound
was bass-boosted to the extreme.
When a snowmobile blew up, I thought
my house fell over. Other than that,
it's business as usual for an old
tape. The film itself is extremely
dark, dreary, and nearly colorless,
but the print looks fine.
EXTRAS
A quick trailer for Larry Cohen's
The Stuff precedes the
feature. Big mouth alert.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It keeps coming down. The very rare
Ghostkeeper is a masterpiece
of low budget, atmospheric location,
but the rest of the film can’t
keep pace. However, individuality
always shines through. Repeated
viewings may lead to repeated enjoyment.
I’ll get back to you next
winter.
Thanks to Eric Robitaille for
providing a copy of this film! |
Ode to the lodge
No rules
Jen-napped
Fresh out of Windigo
|
