For fans in the know, it isn't exactly too much of a statement to say that Italian horror is far from where it used to be. Between the 60's and mid 90's, there was a plethora of excellent horrors and gialli coming regularly out of pasta land. Sadly, this situation has long ceased to be the case and we now simply have to make do with pretty slim pickings. The director of Ghost Son, Lamberto Bava, was very much an 80's man, delivering several very enjoyable movies in this decade, probably the best of which being the cult classic Demons (1985). But since those halcyon days, like many of his contemporaries, he seems to have got swallowed up by television productions and only rarely delivers any feature films. I guess his comeback movie in this area was The Torturer (2005), a film which I can't say I thought too much of. It did provide a few sleazy thrills but overall it could not escape its bargain basement origins. With Ghost Son, Bava is clearly operating with a much improved budget, allowing him to hire name actors like Laura Harring, John Hannah and Pete Postlethwaite, while also allowing for on location shooting in South Africa and a team behind the lens who have ensured that the movie does look good enough. Set in South Africa, a woman loses her husband in a car accident and then his ghost returns and impregnates her from beyond the grave. Once her son is born she is convinced he is convinced by a malevolent spirit.
While it was good to see Bava tackle something with a bit more to it that The Torturer, the main gripe with this one is that it is overall a bit dull. You have to think that a film involving ghosts and voodoo occult has the potential for a few interesting ideas and set-pieces, the truth is that the movie is very by-the-numbers. Nevertheless, it was good to see Harring - one of the stars of my favourite film ever, Mulholland Drive (2001) - get a starring role and it was also good to see Bava getting to helm something with a bit of money behind it. It was a bit so-so, however, and once more showcases the glaring gulf between Italian horror movies of the last twenty years compared to even the lesser ones they produced almost without thinking about it from the golden era.
While it was good to see Bava tackle something with a bit more to it that The Torturer, the main gripe with this one is that it is overall a bit dull. You have to think that a film involving ghosts and voodoo occult has the potential for a few interesting ideas and set-pieces, the truth is that the movie is very by-the-numbers. Nevertheless, it was good to see Harring - one of the stars of my favourite film ever, Mulholland Drive (2001) - get a starring role and it was also good to see Bava getting to helm something with a bit of money behind it. It was a bit so-so, however, and once more showcases the glaring gulf between Italian horror movies of the last twenty years compared to even the lesser ones they produced almost without thinking about it from the golden era.