Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

TheRedDeath30 This is one of my wife's favorite 80s horror memories, but somehow the movie had escaped my notice for decades. While rifling through bootleg selections at a recent horror con, my wife was elated to find a copy and share this treasure with me. My immediate reaction, though, is maybe you have to have been there.Lucas Haas was all over 80s movies and this was the film that introduced him. The tale of a young Italian boy, living with his father, brother and grandparents after the loss of his mother. The movie definitely plays out the theme of loss in many different ways. The boy is trapped in a coat room as a prank and comes to find horrors, both spectral and real. He sets in motion a chain of events that will bring to attention a dozen murdered children, a family of ghostly women and a murder surrounding a molester.The things that I am going to hold most against this movie are not fair to hold against it. I admit that readily, yet cannot pretend that they don't skew my view of the movie towards the negative, mostly the budget, which brings a harsh light on the quality of the effects available at this time in cinema. I am not against indie horror, in any way. I love it, in fact, but when going back 30 years to watch a low budget horror, it does make the budget all the more noticeable. The movie feels blatantly 80s. While that should never be held against a movie, the best films feel timeless. Yes, Universal's monsters have bad effects that are signatures of their time, but they transcend those limitations to create movies that don't feel so much like products of their time. This movie, though, has many trappings of the 80s. This plays out a LOT in the effects used for the ghosts. They have that cheap, see-though quality that probably looked hokey at the time and looks downright terrible now. At one point I swear you see wires. Lovers of the film will shout that I am being a modernist here, but it removes the viewer from the picture too much to see a blatant look behind the curtains of the effects.The budget limitations also reflect on a lot of the other aspects of "film making" here, such as the score and the camera-work. They feel empty and do nothing to help heighten the tension or mood of the picture. On the other hand, though, the acting is pretty good for a movie of this caliber. The child actors are never cloying. The grandparents are funny and the adults in the movie, though never given that much to do, play their roles well.Many movies have the same limitations, though, some that I love and adore. One thing that can help a movie rise above those limitations, though, is a quality script and I think that's what this movie is missing more than anything. I don't feel that the movie ever quite knew what it wanted to be. There are plenty of tame, family-friendly horror films that don't need blood and gore and focus on child characters and end up being greatly successful at creating a good film. This movie, though, seems like it wanted to hide from that moniker of the child movie, creating some moments that are far too dark for the average kid-friendly spook and never hints at the pure magic that helps kids and adults alike love a movie of that tone. The movie never truly succeeds as a ghost story, either. It spends too much of its' time on a half-baked racial injustice angle and the mystery of the molester to ever give its' frights enough buildup and mood to be effective. Though the kids frequently tell tales of the Lady in White, we only ever get one real scene of an actual terror involving the specter and its' played almost more for laughs than scares.If you want a good ghost story, I can names dozens that are better. If you want a family-friendly frightener, I can name you plenty that are better. This movie isn't terrible by any stretch, but it's painfully average and really not worth your time.

MidiHorrorReviews This film only came on my radar about a month ago and is an emotional experience, from the beginning. The narration at the start is like a comforting blanket wrapped around us and telling us all will be okay, but the story we are about to hear may be tumultuous. We hear the soothing soft voice of an older Frankie (Frank LaLoggia narrates this himself), as he explains how his innocent childhood (tragic but loved) is changed in an instant by one night in a cloakroom. Lukas Haas (Witness,Inception, The Tripper) was the child Frankie - and he has come a long way since. He is sweet, kind, sometimes niave and just a normal kid coming to terms with his mothers death and bullies (who he thinks of as friends). With his big doe eyes and easy appeal, Haas has us convinced on screen with each breath. Whether the scene is comedic, serious, sad or scary , we are engrossed with his every movement. Frankie's family is a close and , although insane (like all families), loving bunch of eccentric characters. There is Geno (Frankie's brother played by Jason Presson from films like Gremlins 2 and Explorers), his dad 'Al' / Angelo (played by Alex Rocco from Batman:Year One,The Entity),his grandmother 'Mama' (played by Renata Vanni from A Patch of Blue, and many television roles) and 'Papa' (played by Angelo Bertolini from Wrong is Right and Homer and Eddie). This collection of vintage and newer actors at the time, meshed so well together you felt like one of this crazed but affectionate migrant family. Watching Mama and Papa bicker over simple things , breaks the icy plot with some well rounded cheeky humour -and this ultimately helps the film avoid becoming depressing or overly darkened. We are also introduced to uncle Phil (a friend of Al's played by Len Cariou -from most recently the TV show Blue Bloods ,as well as Spotlight, 1408, Secret Window, About Schmidt) and uncle Tony (played by Jack Andreozzi from Hit List, Mother and numerous TV roles). Both men have the kindness and tenderness for their roles. They comfort Al in his time of need, joking round and acting as most blokes would. They care for Al's sons like real blood related uncles. However one harbours a dark secret. When Len Cariou releases his characters crazed frantic side in one particular scene, I admit, I was a tad shaken. He is manic, frothingly aggressive and executes one of the most scary moments in a film (in my opinion) ever. I was chilled and could feel the hairs on my arms as they stood up! The trio at the forefront of this film is Melissa and Anne Montgomery and the infamous LADY IN WHITE. Melissa is played by Joelle Jacobi (known primarily for this role and has seemingly left the limelight in 1990- a few searches proved fruitless to yield further information) and gives a convincing and ,at times, harrowing portrayal of Melissa's demise. Her mother Anne is played by Karen Powell (like Joelle she seemingly did quite little prior to Lady in White and has only one credit since). Of course it is soon revealed that many believe that it is Anne's soul they see mysteriously venturing around the cliff side and the cottage nearby, but we realize it is in fact Amanda (Anne's sister, who is alive) haunting around the area , wanting answers for the losses of her beloved sister and niece. Katherine Helmond (best known on TV as Mona in Who's the Boss -for a chunk of my childhood- and as Jessica Tate in Soap, she also had roles in films like The Legend of Lizzie Borden, The Hindenburg, Family Plot, Brazil, and even voiced Lizzie in Disney's Cars / Cars 2). Helmond delivers perhaps one of the most endearing , but even at times creepiest, performances on screen. At first we fear Amanda when we see her in the cottage, but when she rescues Frankie and emotionally delivers her tale of woe and heart break, we love her. Her fragile, cracking, tear choked voice as she delivered the words "What is the good of living, when all that you love is gone?" nearly made me cry (having lost my mother nearly 2 years ago, it resonated harshly with me) proving the power behind her performance. Frank LaLoggia assembled the finest actors for each role, each delivering the right dash of humour, sorrow, innocence, aggression, and whatever else is needed throughout the film. His writing is well constructed and encourages our minds to feverishly observe all of the characters within the film. We are constantly guessing who is genuine or perhaps who is merely a lie? The racial undertones that some (as I have read) find overkill, is actually spot on. In 1962 the USA was gripped with the racial divide and Willowpoint Falls (granted fictional) was to be no different. The scenes with Mr and Mrs Williams , whether in the church or courthouse , are as valid as any other and to quote the Sheriff in the film "He's the perfect scapegoat, he's black!" Sadly this sentiment was wide spread in that time. LaLoggia taps into the era and provides us visual stimulation in its simplicity - be it in road signs, clothing, toys (all great reflections on the prop dressers and set designers). Our ears are given a sensation of their own with the haunting, jovial and even at times whimsical scoring of this film (Frank LaLoggia again leads the way with this aspect of the film). We are whirled through the emotional roller coaster of frightening undertones of the film. It is very easy to see why the cast(Lukas even won one), and Frank LaLoggia all gathered award nominations in 1989, despite a low box office return (which I cannot understand) and how this film gathered places in many peoples hearts. I just wish it had been a staple of my childhood.

Joe Citro My affection for Frank LaLoggia's modern classic is easy to explain: the film's world is similar to the world I grew up in: small town, Italian grandparents, loving blue collar parents, and cronies fascinated with monsters and ghosts. Where the film departs from my life experience is that it plays out against a background of racial tension and horrifying adult crime. Writer-director LaLoggia so perfectly recreates the 1960s childhood experience that one totally identifies with young Frankie Scarlatti (Lukas Haas) as he's caught up with murder, ghosts, a benevolent madwoman, and a precious family friend with a dark secret. Strong stuff, but executed with intelligence, sensitivity, wit, and an appealing gentleness of spirit (none of which lessens the razor-edged Hitchcockian suspense). I have probably watched this film and recommended it more than any other.

Johan Louwet Yes I liked this 'ghost' story. It's pretty classic storyline. A young boy is locked up in the cloak room at school by two of his classmates. He witnesses a tragedy that happened 10 years ago. He almost gets killed by the child murderer himself. Seeing the ghost of the murdered little girl again begging him to reunite her with her mother he is dedicated to find out what happened and even more who the killer is. His quest is full of suspense, spooky at times with the legend of the lady in white making it even more mysterious. One of the minor issues I have with the movie is its duration with the pretty unnecessary sub plot of the accusation of the school janitor who happens to be black. Also the real motives of the killer for his killings are not quite clear, I would have loved to get some more light on that. But overall really enjoyable and interesting movie with a good story.