I needed a bit of a palate cleanser after the vile High Tension and the simultaneously charming and frightening film Lady in White fit the bill quite nicely. With a genuinely thrilling and creepy story, this film is a fantastic ghost story in the traditional sense. It's one I first saw as a kid and is a film I remembered enjoying a lot. It was recently released on Blu-Ray by Scream Factory and I relished the chance to revisit it.
Frankie Scarlatti (played by Lucas Haas) lives in the small coastal town of Willowpoint Falls with his Dad, Angelo (played by Alex Rocco), older brother Geno (played by Jason Presson) and his grandparents. After school on Halloween, Frankie is locked in the cloakroom by two of the school bullies, Donald (played by Jared Rushton) and Louie (played by Gregory Levinson). Unable to get out, Frankie decides to wait until someone finds him. No one comes though and soon night falls. While there, Frankie witnesses the incredible sight of the ghost of a girl roughly his age, Melissa Ann Montgomery (played by Joelle Jacobi), who is dancing around and talking to another unseen person. Soon, the scene turns dark as she is attacked and strangled by the same unseen person. The unseen person then picks up Melissa's body and walks out with it. Just after that, in present day, a man walks into the cloakroom and starts trying to unscrew the grate cover to the vent in the room when he notices Frankie in the corner. The man attacks Frankie, strangling him to unconsciousness. When he's revived by his father and recovers, he realizes he's just witnessed the murder of the first of several kids that have haunted their small town over the past ten years. Indeed, Frankie just may be able to piece together who actually is responsible, with some help from his brother Geno and the ghost of Melissa herself, as well as how Melissa connects to the legendary ghost, The Lady in White as well as the mysterious woman (played by Katherine Helmond) haunting the cottage by the cliffs.
There is a lot to really love about Lady in White. Writer and Director Frank LaLoggia crafted a unique and memorable ghost story with a mixture of thrills, chills, mystery, humor and even a little magic. There is also a liberal dose of nostalgia, given the film's period setting of 1962, but LaLoggia manages to balance it all nicely and creates the film that is alternately putting a smile on my face or scaring the crap out of me. It's a unique mix, but it works. LaLoggia does a great job creating scares and thrilling scenes with style and mood rather than gore and I appreciated that. It's not an easy thing to do but he manages to pull it off. Part of what makes it work so well is that outside of the ghost story elements, the film is firmly planted in the everyday reality of the time period the story is set. The film even manages to work in the civil rights movement and racism into the story in a strong and poignant way when the Black school janitor is wrongfully accused of the killings and attacking Frankie. The characters in the film are also well drawn, especially Frankie and his family. There is a genuine love portrayed between them that really helps sell the story and the relationships between Frankie, Geno, and their father Angelo. Also, I really love the score for the film, composed by director Frank LaLoggia, and in fact I was listening to it while writing this review. It's filled with memorable themes that really add some extra flavor to the film.
Revisiting this film after so many years was a joy. There were scenes I remembered so clearly in my mind and to see them play out again and seeing how well I remembered them was a treat. Scream Factory did a fantastic job on the Blu-ray with three different cuts of the film included (Theatrical, Director's Cut, and extended Director's Cut). Along with a commentary track and assorted other features, it's the best this film has been presented. This will no doubt become a Halloween staple in my house in the years to come as I enjoyed it just as much now, as an adult, as I did as a kid if not more so. If you're in the mood for a stylish and spooky ghost story, this would be a good one to check out.
No comments:
Post a Comment