So, you wanna talk about a few childhood nightmares being revisited? Take a chance with this little film about one fantastic, ghostly tale of childhood terror.
Lady in White goes back in time to 1962 where the candy shop is filled with candy corn and the kids Halloween pumpkins have all been carved. Little Frankie, wearing his Halloween mask and carrying a pumpkin on his bike, is riding around the town not shaken in the least bit at being sprayed with water from a garden hose, chased by dogs or even being dumped into wet cement by his older brother Geno (played by Jason Presson of Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Explorers).
Frankie and Geno live with their widowed father, Angelo (Alex Rocco from A Bug’s Life, That Thing You Do!, Get Shorty, etc.), and his immigrant Italian parents, his Grandma constantly scolding her husband for sneaking cigarettes. The parents have also had raised Angelo's friend Phil (Len Cariou from Executive Decision, Never Talk To Strangers) after his parents died so he is like another member of their family.
Frankie (played by Lukas Haas - you remember "I saw a crime", the young boy from Witness), is shy and creative. One day, while reading his monster story in class, he irritates two little red-haired hooligans. The boys set out to exact revenge on Frankie who they see as the "teacher's pet". Later on they persuade Frankie to go back to school to retrieve his cap, quickly locking him in the dark cloakroom, alone.
The frightened young Frankie finally falls into a nightmare-filled sleep with visions of his mother's funeral turning to visions of an ethereal young girl talking and jumping in the cloakroom while singing "Did you ever see a dream walking?" For an instant it even seems as if she is communicating with the frightened boy. But then Frankie is witness to an unseen person murdering the little girl, right before his eyes. She is carried off by the same unseen person who, soon after, returns and chokes Frankie.
When the boy is found and revived, police arrest the school's black janitor, who was drunk and had fallen asleep on the job. He seems like a perfect scapegoat to charge with the unsolved murders of several children, including the mysterious Melissa (the little girl Frankie had seen in the cloakroom … or was that simply his imagination?). It turns out that Melissa had been murdered in that that same cloakroom ten years earlier.
Young Frankie’s visions continue, often terrifying him, but just as often soothing him as well. Meanwhile, the rest of the community has decided that the drunk janitor is to blame for Frankie's assault as well as the murder of several children (including the one Frankie saw) which we find out had been plaguing the town for many years.
Lukas Haas and Jason Presson are child actors who are genuine and even natural in their parts and Frankie's Italian grandparents (played by Renata Vanni and Angelo Bertolini) are delightful and pure entertainment as we watch them fight as only a long married couple can.
With Lady in White the sense of terror is strongest felt based on the film simply suggesting that what Frankie is seeing exists solely in his own vivid imagination rather than in the special effects (which show children flying through the air and the lady in white floating over the cliffs where her daughter was killed). There is never anything scary or foreboding in the air … even though it is Halloween.
Truth be told, Lady in White is a terrific film, if you don't mind a leisurely story filled more with atmosphere and the time period rather than the traditional horror and suspense of a ghost story. In general, the film has a timely, even thoughtful quality, with the special effects taking a back seat to the story and it is these same qualities (not generally associated with the horror genre) that set it so far apart from your average horror film.
So no, don’t go into this one expecting a spine-tingling movie involving the supernatural because it just won’t happen. If you are looking for something along those lines go and rent The Changeling or even The Exorcist but, if you want a creepy little, stylish ghost story, make sure and check out the Lady in White.
The ghosts of the dead can t rest witout the help of the living in this terrifying horror film that s one of the most intelligent and riveting ghost s...More at Buy.com
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