Review of Ghost Story (1981) by Daryl G — 10 Jun 2007

Yes, it is deeply flawed; it promises something with the effect of an authentic well-told ghost story, and it does not quite deliver. But the performance of Alice Krige completely delivers. Here she shows her full potential as a great screen beauty as well as an exceptionally talented actress.

Her embodiment of the haunting seduces even as it chills. It's perhaps my favorite performance ever. The cinematography by the great Jack Cardiff is tops as well. The cold, dark landscapes and the warm interiors are all bathed in the eerie glow of the haunt.

Now if only they could have avoided those cheap shock moments with the rotting corpses and gone for a more deeply haunting image instead, this might have been a great film. It's still effective, though, and the tour-de-force that is Krige's very presence raises it to a level of something special.