Ghosts

100 Years of Horror: Ghosts (1996)

*** (out of 4)

Ghosts are the subject of this entry in the series. We start off taking a look at early films like THE UNINVITED and then jumping to stuff like Robert Wise's THE HAUNTING. Also on hand we discuss THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, THE GHOST as well as Roger Corman's THE TERROR. The Corman/Price/Poe films are also talked about at a great length before hitting the wonderfully charming HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL.

While watching this episode it really dawned on me how few ghosts stories there have been over the history of cinema. The genre certainly went into high gear during the 70s with stuff like BURNT OFFERINGS and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR but for the most part ghosts have never been that big on the screen. The highlight of this entry in Dick Miller talking about working on THE TERROR when he got beat up by not only a witch but also Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson. Ray Bradbury talks about death and we get other interviews with Roger Corman, Richard Denning, Beverly Garland, Richard Matheson and Robert Wise. There were a few silent films that could have been discussed but they're overlooked but that really doesn't take away anything from the film. Fans of the genre will enjoy the interviews and those new to horror films will find plenty of good recommendations.