Palaest recommended

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Coventry "Ghostkeeper" could be promoted as "The Shining for dummies", actually. For all those who didn't understand or didn't care for the psychological horror aspect of "The Shining", this is pretty much the exact same film, except that there's an actual monster in the basement of the remote snowy forest resort and you don't have to bother about any psychological mumbo-jumbo. I heard and read from several people, whose opinions are always highly valued, that "Ghostkeeper" was more or less a hidden gem of early 80's horror; a film with a reasonably solid plot and a continuously sinister atmosphere. It's one of the few times that I really don't agree with them, because all I saw was a dull, derivative, unmemorable, dark and even slightly pretentious film that nearly bored me to sleep. This Canadian low-budgeter shamelessly imitates the secluded setting and mysterious ambiance building of Stanley Kubrick's previous year's blockbuster, but attempts to interweave with the famous Indian myth of the Wendigo – a cannibalistic spirit constantly craving for flesh – and a sub plot about an estranged elderly woman living, with her sons, far away from civilization. A young couple and their luscious blond friend, three insufferably annoying people that clearly deserve painful deaths from as soon as they open their mouths to talk, are surprised by an upcoming winter storm during the snow-scooter trip on new year's eve. They seek shelter in a seemingly abandoned hotel, only to discover the place is inhabited by a crazy old woman, her maniacal son and a "thing" in the basement that turns out to be Wendigo in chains. The blond bimbo is the first to fall victim, which is logical after her extended monologue story about how she lured her 10th grade teacher into sex for money, but the hotel seems to have other plans for the quiet introvert girl Jenny. Seeing there are only three protagonists in this film, it takes an unbearably long time before something significant happens in "Ghostkeeper". The locations and scenery are very nice, and I definitely do appreciate a film that attempts to build up suspense, but this film is just plain boring. Apart from the insufferable characters (Jenny is exaggeratedly frigid and the other two are stereotypical horror lambs to the slaughter), the film completely lacks gore and excitement and it's often too damn dark to determine what's going on. The Wendigo myth is poorly elaborated. The soundtrack and atmosphere are okay, as said, but these minor positive aspects hardly make the film a hidden gem. The film is obscure enough for you to never come across it. Don't look for it, either.

Vomitron_G ***Only the 3rd & 4th paragraph contain spoilers***I had read up a little bit on "Ghostkeeper" before I decided to get me a copy and watch it. Since up until now I hadn't really seen a movie about the Wendigo legend that actually worked like it should, I was pretty interested in seeing another take on it. Furthermore, the comment-section for this film on here, is a bit peculiar, to say the least. Not too many people seem to have seen it, and in addition to that, there seems to be hardly any gray area. Some people praise it too high heaven, while others bash it to hell. I'd like to enter that gray area.While I'm not ignorant to the movie's flaws – because it does have its fair share of those – I would prefer to focus on its merits rather than to enlarge its shortcomings. I won't go too deep into the story and its characters, as enough of it can be read in schwarhol628's comment. Onto the things this movie has going for it. First off, the desolate, snowy Canadian mountain region provides a wonderful backdrop and adds to the bleak and hopeless tone of the film. Secondly, the musical score by Paul Zaza works wonders. Not only is it effectively eerie, it also helps to support a lot of scenes without dialogues (and there are quite a few of those). On more than one occasion you'll find yourself watching someone just walking through the dark corridors of the hotel with not much else happening. Take away the musical score, and indeed, you'll have a sequence with a whole lot of nothing going on. But the score brings a deep sense of dread and creepiness that fills up the hotel as if it was a dark, malevolent entity itself. This brings us, thirdly, by the hotel – or inn - which really feels like a forsaken place and it brings a similar presence to the film as the Overlook Hotel did for "The Shining". On a smaller scale, of course, yet also a darker one. Because this hotel, at times, really seems engulfed by darkness.Then we have what this film's story is actually about: The myth of the Wendigo. Now when it comes to that, I felt it had a distinctive ambiguity to it. Not noticeable on the surface at first, but it becomes more and more palpable as the events progress. I've seen the Wendigo depicted as a creature already in films, but here things are a little different, drawing more influences from the spiritual aspects of the myth. An over-powering evil dichotomously divided into the earthly and the supernatural. The hotel is inhabited by a mysterious old woman – undeniably Georgie Collins gives us the best and most enjoyable performance of the whole cast – who comes across as the caretaker of the hotel, but actually is the titular Ghostkeeper. Now the title of this film, confirms how this film handles the Wendigo myth. Partly, the Wendigo is portrayed as a "beast", more specifically a ghoul-like being with cannibalistic tendencies, living a locked-up life in the basement (nourished with human flesh provided by the old woman and her "other boy"). On the other part, the Wendigo seems more like a presence or a force, filling this isolated location with evil, driving everybody who draws near the place slowly to insanity. Now this last aspect, is also played out ambiguously. The old woman (as the Ghostkeeper under the influence of its evil) refers to Jenny as the strongest person of our trio, strong from the inside. While in reality, Jenny is the most feeble-minded of the bunch, which makes her the perfect victim for the Wendigo to get a hold of, to turn her into the new keeper. It's only gradually that the plot plays it out like this, as first everyone else either dies or slowly goes insane. Now as to the execution of this malevolent plot device, "Ghostkeeper" misses depth. And this is – aside from the obvious pacing problems – a major flaw. Instead of focusing more on the psychological downfall of the characters – admittedly, the cast of three would probably not have been able to handle this, as we're not dealing with stellar performers here – the script kills off Chrissy (the blond girl) soon enough, only to re-introduce the friendly old store-clerk from the opening scene, serving no other purpose than to also end up as food for the ghoul in the cellar. The only one left with hunger, is the viewer himself, as the script offers us little else to chew on.Looking at "Ghostkeeper" from a glass-half-full point of view, you might be able to put all the film's flaws aside and discover a chilling tale of supernatural mystery driven by an eerie atmosphere. If not, it might remain merely a strangely compelling void of nothingness. And worst case scenario: Perhaps it could put you to sleep. Such a shame.

Tikkin Ghostkeeper is not as good as others would have you believe. It does have a beautiful and creepy setting, and the film itself is rather creepy, but in a rather fake way. This is achieved mainly through the use of music, and whilst this is effective for the first 30 minutes or so, you get a bit sick of hearing the same music over and over.I think this film could have been a whole lot better. You can see the potential whilst watching it, and within the first 30 minutes I had figured out several ways it could have been better. The plot is where everything falls apart. It's really about nothing much at all. The ending is a bit of a surprise, but is so shallow that you think "jeez, that's what this film has been building up to?" Despite the excellent setting, I can't really recommend Ghostkeeper. It's like a very poor mans version of The Shining. If slow pace, creepy atmosphere yet lack of plot is your thing, you may enjoy this, but otherwise I would skip it.

anxietyresister I must have missed something in this flick, because half the time you don't know what the hells going on. We have a young couple on holiday in some snowy mountain region of Canada, accompanied by a sluttish friend of theirs who has the hots for the man. One day they are out on their jet-skis when suddenly their machines pack out!! Oh no!! Luckily for them, there's a long abandoned old hotel nearby, presided over by a mad old bat with two sons.. one a creepy David-Blaine look-alike, the other a flesh eating monster. Despite the place being creepier than the Bates motel, they end up spending the night there and the blood really starts to ooze.. at least that's what the back of the video says because I can't for the life of me figure out where the ugly chap as depicted on the front cover is supposed to be, the so-called terrifying freak in this is a rubbish actor who walks with a stoop and is only ever sighted in total darkness so to hide the poor make-up job. And as for the promise of gore, don't make me laugh!! There is less than half-a-dozen killings in the film, all achieved with the minimum of exposure and some you don't see at all. The acting is universally diabolical, But special mention must go to the old witch whose crackly voice is so over-the-top and irritating you'll be reaching for the mute button in minutes. On a side note, I know in a film this bad some geek-boys will be after a bit of nudity to liven things up, and there is one bath scene that seems initially promising. But when our heroine leans back in the tub (After supposedly stripping totally naked) there is a large white strip of material covering her front!! Doh!! Not only is this a total let-down, but also a glaring continuity error. So put it together, and what have we got? No thrills, spills or indeed chills of any description, an awful screenplay, laughable performances and a copious lack of flesh = a sorry piece of trash that should be avoided at all costs. Don't expect this one to get a DVD release anytime soon. Oh and one last thing.. The ending is one giant UH?!