My remaining recommendations this week are all comedies, the first two of which are new to Blu-ray and the third of which has been reissued with a new commentary track that’s a must listen. It’s one of several excellent new horror releases from the label I also heartily recommend Imprint’s pressings of David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone, the Charlton Heston mummy flick The Awakening, and their generously appointed Hammer boxed set, all of which boast pristine transfers and abundant supplementary features. Haunted’s relative obscurity in the annals of horror cinema is a crime, but hopefully one to be rectified now that Imprint has released a superb Blu-ray edition of the film stacked with great supplements, from vintage EPK interviews to new insights from Pierce-Roberts, Wiseman, and others, it’s vital for any serious enthusiast of supernatural suspense. Neither the music nor the imagery ever forces the scares – there are no gimmicks here, just earned terror that grows organically out of character and theme.
Quinn plays a psychologist and professional skeptic devoted to debunking supernatural phenomena who gets more than he bargained for when he takes a trip to an estate that seems plagued by unexplainable psychic disturbances as the secrets of the house and its inhabitants are revealed, Haunted unfolds into a riveting ghost story that’s impeccably staged by Gilbert and accompanied by an all-time great score from composer Debbie Wiseman.
Executive produced by Francis Coppola and photographed by Merchant-Ivory stalwart Tony Pierce-Roberts, it’s an exquisitely mounted period piece with serious intentions and top-notch acting (the cast includes Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, John Gielgud and Peeping Tom alumnus Anna Massey), but the tastefulness does nothing to undercut the genuine dread that infuses the proceedings to the contrary, Gilbert’s restrained approach makes the film’s disturbing twists all the more striking and effective. Though his later career was devoted mostly to character-driven dramedies like Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine, Gilbert’s penultimate effort Haunted (1995) is one of the smartest and eeriest horror flicks of its era. British director Lewis Gilbert is largely forgotten today, but in his heyday he helmed a number of classic films ranging from comedy (the 1966 Alfie, which made Michael Caine a star) and war films ( Sink the Bismarck!) to franchise action (three James Bond movies including one of the series’ finest, The Spy Who Loved Me).
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