Ghostkeeper Review from Code Red DVD!
Ghostkeeper is a wonderful winter horror canuxploitation gem that could have been so much more. It was shot in the beautiful winter wonderland of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. Ghostkeeper is a film that holds a nostalgic value for me. I remember watching it when I was a young boy on a local television station out of the maritime region in Atlantic Canada in the ‘80s called ASN. Being young, the film absolutely creeped me the fuck out. Some of the imagery stuck with me and it was cool revisiting it.
Ghostkeeper opens with a blurb explaining a mythical figure known as a wendigo which feeds on human blood. The film occurs on New Year’s Eve. Three people venture on snowmobile from their posh getaway lodge foolishly looking for adventure and to explore their surroundings. They stop into a local general store where they meet the storekeeper played by the late Les Kimber (producer for such films as Superman and TV shows such as Airwolf). The storekeeper warns the three individuals to not go wandering off the beaten path plus he tells them a storm is rolling in. Predictably they don’t listen as Marty played by Murray Ord (who went on to become a location scout for such recent Hollywood films as Ghostbusters: Afterlife) is a cocky lawyer from the city who thinks the storekeeper is a foolish old coot. Marty’s girlfriend Jenny played by the beautiful Riva Spier (Rabid) is the only sensible one and Chrissy played by the late Sherri McFadden is the promiscuous friend looking for adventure and tempting Marty away from Jenny.
Despite the warnings the three embark on a journey deep into the desolate yet tranquil snowed in back country not noticing an old rickety sign posted on a tree reading ‘keep out, private property.’ They stumble upon Deer Lodge, an ominous snowed in structure reminiscent of The Overlook Lodge in The Shining. It’s actually been said Ghostkeeper is a poor man’s The Shining, but honestly, I don’t see the comparison.
At first it seems the lodge is abandoned but it’s noticed the inside of the dwelling is warm indicating there are inhabitants. Soon, we are introduced to a creepy black-eyed figure watching the three in the form of an old lady played by the late Georgie Collins (Rad). Collins’ character is credited in the film as The Ghostkeeper. The old woman although quite bizarre welcomes the three travellers.
They become stuck at the lodge due to the storm they were previously warned about. Marty is tempted by Chrissy but while taking a bath an unknown assailant abducts her and we learn it isn’t only the old lady Ghostkeeper who is residing in the lodge. Jenny feels herself distancing from Marty, she senses there is something strange going on with the lodge and the old lady. The old lady senses a strong will and survival instinct in Jenny which will be proven as the movie progresses.
Chrissy has disappeared. Jenny hears the old lady talking to someone and Marty realizes their snowmobiles have been sabotaged so they aren’t going anywhere. Jenny is drugged but she retaliates against the perpetrators. We learn the Ghostkeeper has a son named Billy played by Bill Grove (The High Country) who carries out her bidding in a couple scenes. We also learn there is a living mutated being stored in a freezer type room below the lodge who is the wendigo played by John MacMillan. The Storekeeper at the beginning of the film comes looking for the three city goers at the lodge by following snow mobile tracks. This makes no sense because you would think the tracks would have been covered by the snow during the storm much like their snowmobiles were as we see in the film. Marty goes off the deep end barely grasping at the straws of sanity as he wanders aimlessly through the snow babbling while Jenny tries to talk sense into him. Jenny is left to her own devices to face the murderous old lady.
Ghostkeeper could have been such a better film because it had great potential. The second half just doesn’t function as well as it should have and the main reason is the production ran out of money during filming, so it feels rushed, unexplained, and disjointed. The legend of the wendigo is never touched on much and doesn’t play a big part in the story. I’m assuming it’s the deformed mutant in the basement we get a glance at a couple times, but the opportunity never presents itself to utilize this idea in a fulfilling or satisfying manner for viewers.
The eerie score by Paul Zaza is highly effective in working with the desolate and haunting snowy landscapes and desolate lodge. There isn’t much gore wise. There are a couple of kills, including a slit throat and an impaling on a fence, a chainsaw is used in one scene as a would be weapon but never materializes. Ghostkeeper has an engrossing atmosphere so it’s a shame with its unfortunate shortcomings. Even so, it’s still a satisfying watch. Ghostkeeper is a memorable slow-burn of absolute atmospheric terror and helpless isolation.
AKA: Ghost Keeper, La garde du fantôme, Windigo – Die Nacht des Grauens, Ghostkeeper – Die Nacht des Grauens, House of Devil – Nacht des Grauens, Хранитель призрака, Windigo, Cuvarica duhova
Directed by: Jim Makichuk
Written by: Jim Makichuk, Doug MacLeod
Produced by: Harold J. Cole, Jim Makichu
Cinematography by: John Holbrook
Editing by: Stan Cole
Music by: Paul Zaza
Special Effects by: Mel Merrells
Cast: Riva Spier, Murray Ord, Sheri McFadden, Georgie Collins, Les Kimber, Bill Grove, John MacMillan
Year: 1981
Country: Canada
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 29min
Studio: Badland Pictures
Distributor: Code Red DVD
