The Lady in White
by Frank LaLoggia
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DVD details
Actor: Len Cariou, Lukas HaasDirector: Frank LaLoggia
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Italian (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The Lady in White
DVD Review: "I really liked your story, Frankie. I wish I was as weird as you,"
Summary: 4 Stars
During the introduction, Frank LaLoggia, the writer and director of the film The Lady in White (1988), states this Columbia Tristar Home Video release marks the 20th anniversary of his film...which left me scratching my head as it seems like he's three years premature, if his film was originally released in 1988...maybe it was the 20th anniversary of when he actually started production of the movie. I guess it doesn't matter one way or the other as I thought this was a damn good picture, especially when compared to his previous, debut project titled Fear No Evil (1981). I don't know what happened in the seven years in between, but I'm glad I decided to give this one a try despite that earlier work. As I mentioned, The Lady in White was written and directed by Frank LaLoggia, and stars Lukas Haas (Solarbabies, Mars Attacks!), Alex Rocco (Detroit 9000, Freebie and the Bean), Len Cariou (About Schmidt), Katherine Helmond ("Soap", Brazil). Also appearing is Jason Presson (Explorers), Renata Vanni (Fatso), Angelo Bertolini (Homer & Eddie), Jared Rushton (Big, Pet Sematary II), Lucy Lee Flippin ("Little House on the Prairie"), and Tom Bower (River's Edge, Die Hard 2), who will soon appear in a remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes, written and directed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension), scheduled to be released in 2006.
As the story, told primarily in flashback, begins proper, we learn the year is 1962 and it's Halloween in the small, coastal town of Willowpoint Falls, where we meet a young boy named Frankie Scarlatti (Haas), his older brother Geno (Presson), and their father Angelo (Rocco). The boys head off to school, resulting in a series of funny sequences. Frankie's an imaginative boy, presenting one of his stories to the class, which results in, later on, two bullies from his class playing a prank on him by locking him in the cloakroom after everyone else has left...almost everyone. During the night, Frankie witnesses a disturbing vision involving the apparition of a little girl, followed by a very real attack on himself by someone he can't see. When he next awakens, the attacker is gone, his father and the sheriff (Bower) are standing over him, and the drunken, passed out African American janitor gets fingered for the assault, along with a series of brutal, unsolved child murders in the area that have baffled the police going on some ten years (turns out the girl in Frankie's vision was one of the victims). As time passes, Frankie is visited a few times by the little ghost girl, the local legend of The Lady in White is revealed, along with an important clue as to the identity of the real killer, all of whom seem to share some sort of relationship. There's definitely an evil, predatory presence lurking about the town of Willowpoint Falls, and its focus now appears to be on Frankie...
It's difficult to talk about a movie like this because I want to relate much, but don't want to give away too much for someone who has yet to see the film. It seems like it's been so long since I last saw a really good, old fashion ghost story as the one presented here. Was it scary? Perhaps not (to me, at least), but it was thoroughly spooky and well worth my time. The story does get a little convoluted, but director LaLoggia keeps things moving along very well along keeping the confusion at a minimum. The film is a bit lengthy, running nearly a full two hours, and I thought some of this running time could have been shaved off by removing part, if not all, of the accused janitor subplot which really didn't serve much purpose other than to provide an obvious scapegoat, allowing the stumped authorities to stop their investigation of a case opened for some ten odd years. The conclusion of the subplot included the most grisly scene of the film, one that didn't necessarily fit with the rest of the movie. I've noticed some comments about special effects, specifically towards their `amateurish' look, but I think it's important to keep in mind this was a low budget, independently produced film. Some of these effects did look comparatively hokey in relation to other films released at the time, but I found this very easy to overlook given the strengths of the film, and the very simple fact the filmmaker didn't try to use said effects to cover up inadequacies in other areas, as is often the case. For me, the strengths (the story, the characters, etc.) more than made up for anything lacking in this area. I thought the characters were finely detailed, and the performances exceptional, especially that of Haas, whose expressionistic features really helped enhance specific moods throughout the movie, assisted immensely by a strong, supporting cast, including Alex Rocco, Len Cariou, Katherine Helmond, and Jason Presson. One interesting aspect for me was I figured out the identity of the killer early on, well before it was revealed (which happens about an hour and half in). I don't think I was able to discern this because I'm all that intuitive, so perhaps something within the story tipped its hand, a predictability of sorts, I'm unsure, but knowing this critical bit of information before the actual reveal didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story at all. It provided a little twist my knowing something the main characters didn't, and heightened the tension in a few scenes. I think one of my favorite scenes in the movie was while Frankie was reading a story he wrote to his class on Halloween, and we see one child, in a bunny costume, completely mesmerized by the tale, displaying a slack-jawed expression on his face. I also loved the reply from the little girl who was Frankie's classmate after he finished reading his story, of which I used for the title of my review. There are quite a few of these comedic touches throughout, many including Frankie's live-in grandparents played by Renata Vanni and Angelo Bertolini, which all play off nicely against the spookier elements. All in all I thought this was a wonderful film, one that I'm glad I now own.
The picture on this Columbia Tristar Home Video release, presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), look very sharp and clean, and the Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 audio comes through very well. There had been a previous DVD release of this film by Anchor Bay Entertainment, but that version, while presented in widescreen, was not in anamorphic format. There's a slew of special features including an audio commentary track by director LaLoggia, along with an intro to the film, a whole mess of deleted scenes, also with an intro by LaLoggia (with optional director's commentary), a behind the scenes photo montage, an extended photo gallery, and an original theatrical trailer.
Cookieman108
Description of The Lady in White
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