One can't expect a film adaptation of a novel to be an exact copy of the book. It just doesn't happen. What can be sold on the page can't always be effectively translated to the big screen. It'd be nice, but it's just not always possible.
That being said, one can still appreciate the film adaptation for what it is, and enjoy it as such.
Then there's movies like Ghost Story...
John Irvin's spin on Peter Straub's 1979 novel of the same name retains nothing but the bare bones of a complex and compelling story that's a slow-burn exercise in effective horror. As a result, the movie is a great big snooze fest. Yes, a snooze fest!
The scares are few and far between, and most of Straub's narrative jettisoned to accommodate what becomes a rather standard haunting story. You see, Straub's novel isn't really about ghosts. The ghosts in his book are metaphorical, and the actual villains something else entirely, which made it frightening. Irvin's film has traditional ghosts, which makes it less interesting.
It was great seeing Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and John Houseman in the same movie together. And Alice Krige is great as -- spoiler alert -- the spirit who comes back to haunt them. But the film is boring, and I hate boring. As a result, I have to give Ghost Story a Bad.
That being said, one can still appreciate the film adaptation for what it is, and enjoy it as such.
Then there's movies like Ghost Story...
John Irvin's spin on Peter Straub's 1979 novel of the same name retains nothing but the bare bones of a complex and compelling story that's a slow-burn exercise in effective horror. As a result, the movie is a great big snooze fest. Yes, a snooze fest!
The scares are few and far between, and most of Straub's narrative jettisoned to accommodate what becomes a rather standard haunting story. You see, Straub's novel isn't really about ghosts. The ghosts in his book are metaphorical, and the actual villains something else entirely, which made it frightening. Irvin's film has traditional ghosts, which makes it less interesting.
It was great seeing Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and John Houseman in the same movie together. And Alice Krige is great as -- spoiler alert -- the spirit who comes back to haunt them. But the film is boring, and I hate boring. As a result, I have to give Ghost Story a Bad.
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