“What is the good of living when all you love is gone?”
Directed by Frank LaLoggia
What kind of horror movie is it? Ghost story.
In the small town of Willowpoint Falls in the early 60s, 9-year-old Frankie Scarlatti is preparing for Halloween.
Two jerky classmates lock Frankie in the school cloak room as a practical joke, and he’s forced to spend the night. At ten o’clock, Frankie witnesses the ghost of a young girl reenacting her own murder. If that wasn’t scary enough, then a dark figure shows up looking for something, and chokes Frankie half to death.
We soon learn that a little girl was murdered in the cloak room ten years ago, and since then ten more children have been killed with the same M.O.
The ghost of the first murder victim continues to appear to Frankie, and wants him to help her find her mother, the mysterious “lady in white”.
This is an ambitious little film. It attempts to present a charmingly nostalgic ghost story while also dealing with child murders, and small town racism during the civil rights era. It doesn’t always succeed, but is still well worth your time.
Lukas Haas brings a non-annoying, wide eyed innocence to his portrayal of Frankie Scarlatti. He’s a likable, curious little kid, and he keeps the film light even when it gets scary.
And that’s the other thing: This movie is scary. It delivers the scares without gore (and sometimes despite the special effects) but often it manages to be quite creepy.
If atmospheric ghost stories do more for you then stalk and slash bloodbaths, then this might be just the movie for you.
Availability: Lady In White is easy to find on DVD
October 15th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
i remember watching this when i was small, and it was scary! wow, blast from the past.
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