When talking about vintage Canadian horror, people naturally bring up the likes of Black Christmas, Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine. These movies were all part of the Great White North’s (in)famous “tax shelter” era, and many of them are now deemed cult classics. But mention Ghostkeeper and chances of recognition are slim to none. James Makichuk’s debut isn’t the kind of movie someone typically goes out of their way to watch, much less track down. And despite it being sold as a slasher, Ghostkeeper strays far off the well beaten path formed by its contemporaries. In place of the standard masked killer with a predilection for young victims is a threat that can barely be considered human.
Shot in Banff National Park in late 1980, Ghostkeeper mainly occurs at a single location. The normally picturesque Deer Lodge is transformed into a harsh hideaway where signs of life are hard to find, and blankets of pure white snow hide something ugly. Makichuk and director of photography John Holbrook (Shadow of the Hawk) don’t have to do too much to create their winter nightmare setting other than turn the camera on and start shooting. Snow-clad mountaintops and landscapes are in fact the result of using extensive B-roll footage to pad an otherwise short movie, but these continuous shots help reinforce the cold and dismal atmosphere.
Once Jenny, Marty and Chrissy (Riva Spier, Murray Ord, Sheri McFadden) get the standard greeting in these kinds of movies — a shopkeeper (Les Kimber) tells the tourists “there are worse things out there than getting lost” — they end up at an abandoned motel in the Rocky Mountains. The three characters have fulfilled a cardinal rule of horror movies by entering territory clearly marked with a “keep out” sign. As to be expected, they’re not as alone as they originally thought. Welcoming these unexpected visitors is the hotel’s one employee, a nameless old woman and the movie’s namesake (Georgie Collins).
Despite the controlled environment of a one-location shoot, Ghostkeeper slowly but surely starts to feel feverish and out of hand. On this fateful New Year’s Eve, the fine crack in Jenny and Marty’s relationship becomes a chasm as the perky and blonde Chrissy entices her one male listener with a lurid anecdote from her childhood. Jenny’s growing umbrage is at first unnoticed by her jerk of a boyfriend, but the old woman is visibly intrigued. Drawn to the woman whose trigger button is her late mother, the hotel’s caretaker sees something in Spier’s disgruntled character — maybe herself. She then starts to prey on Jenny’s cast of mind while the movie’s physical threat reveals itself in small increments.
By the time Ghostkeeper reached home video in 1986, it was evident that distributors didn’t know how to market the movie, especially since slashers had begun to lose their drawing power. Some were upfront about the actual plot, whereas others exaggerated the movie’s monster in a bid to attract a wider audience. Ghostkeeper is in no way a conventional slasher, but it’s even less of a creature feature. Makichuk isn’t vague about what’s living in the hotel’s basement; the Windigo (Wendigo) legend is brought up in the movie’s textual prologue as well as a book Jenny finds. Regrettably, the Windigo here looks downright underwhelming, all thanks to mediocre and insufficient makeup. And with the director literally making things up as he shot the movie over a span of two weeks, very little of this First Nations myth is inserted into the story.
Ghostkeeper’s budget was roughly under $700,000 USD, but once his funds were depleted, Makichuk opted to press onward rather than suspend the entire production. Continuing the shoot, though, meant making sacrifices in the story. No longer could the director afford the movie’s original ending. In its place is now a reduced conclusion where, above all, one character’s temporary refuge, from both the storm outside and the one brewing inside of her, ultimately becomes a permanent home. This inferred outcome robs the movie of a climactic finish and without a doubt leaves audiences wanting something more. Nevertheless, there’s a shuddery quality to this other ending.
It’s nearly impossible not to think of The Shining when watching this movie. Learning it was made only six months after Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation was released makes the likeness even more obvious. An isolated and empty hotel found in the midst of a bitter winter, the gradual maddening of an already strained couple, and a supernatural force working in the background — Makichuk’s greatest inspiration is barefaced. Another potential muse, based on how Ghostkeeper ends, is Jeffrey Konvitz’s novel-turned-movie The Sentinel.
Ghostkeeper is a cheapo, but it’s also a creepy curio that greatly benefits from location and mood. The happy accidents seen all throughout make this visit to Deer Lodge worth a look. While it would have been interesting to see what the movie could have been like had it been able to afford its bigger ideas and set pieces, parts of the finished product are surprisingly chilling.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
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