Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Ghost Story (1981)

I'm in a book club with some of my best ladies. In this book club we fart, burp, drink, eat, swear, smoke, fall down, and read books. The whole neighborhood is fully aware of our book club meeting days. Best. Book. Club. Ever.

Coincidentally, October is my book club meeting month this year which means I got to pick the book to read.  And since October IS THE BEST for ghost stories and the like, naturally Peter Straub's Ghost Story was chosen. I'm on the last 5 pages right now! Which means I think it's okay to watch the movie now. I even talked my husband into joining me. This is big folks.

So let me get back to this book so I can get on watching this movie. See you after the show!

Update:

Oh folks, I'm sorry! As Halloween approaches I'm finding it more and more difficult to get to a movie on time and finish it before the witching hour. Good news, I should have plenty of time to catch up on these movie reviews, very shortly...

Update Update:

The book and the movie are doing their own things here. They share the same characters names but that's about it. If you start the film expecting it to be similar to the book then you will be disappointed, and vice versa.

The book was quite good, albeit a little bit overall of the place and far stranger than I expected. Whereas the movie was succinct and more self explanatory, or how shall I say - more of a routine ghost story.

I was asked by some book club ladies to inform them if this movie would be scary. My answer is yes, at parts. There is a brief but poignant image right at the end that shocked me so good I was pretty sure I was going to have nightmares. I ended up not sleep very well at all.

I appreciate this movie for what it is: a good ghost tale that is tied up nicely at the end. If that is what you are looking for then this will be a good one for you. Also, Fred Astaire is simply delightful. If you are looking for some explanations to help clarify the book, you will not find it here. This movie is it's own thing and should be appreciated as such.

Suggested pairing: brandy, with a roaring fire in the background.

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