Search - Stage Ghost on DVD

A majorly weird experience!

Monty Moonlight | TX | 08/31/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Yowza! It's been, what, 20 years since Dana Barron played the very first Audrey in the original National Lampoon's Vacation flick? I can't believe she still looks sooooooo hot! And I normally DO NOT go for women who are older than me. Sadly, the gorgeous, and apparently unaging Dana is nearly the only thing this movie has going for it. Well, it's really not all THAT terrible. Actually, it's kinda fun to watch, but part of the fun comes from seeing all the things wrong with this film.
The first shock you'll get from watching Stage Ghost, is realizing it has nothing to do with the video box. Stage Ghost really has nothing at all to do with the gruesome skeleton creature on the cover, and I'm not sure I recall any real ghosts in the film at all. The basic story goes like this: In the old west, a marshal enters an eating establishment in the middle of nowhere, dragging a handcuffed prisoner along with him. Within the restaurant they meet various travelers, including a pretty, young teacher (Dana Barron), who takes a fancy to the young man in handcuffs. Not long after, a mysterious stagecoach arrives outside with absolutely no one on it, not even a driver. The coach is stained with blood, and attacks on the customers and proprietors of the little restaurant quickly follow. The survivors of these attacks begin to form a close bond as they try to figure out what to do. Their attackers come in the form of Indians firing arrows, AND men in green-glowing costumes firing bullets. The only clue the victims have to what might be going on is the recurring message they find on notes tied to arrows, reading, "Give it back!" As their numbers begin to dwindle, they decide it's time to make a run for it, and they all load up on the stagecoach that first kicked off the grim situation. The problem with their plan is that their mysterious attackers are following them all the way.
As a previous reviewer mentioned, Stage Ghost does have the fun feeling of watching one of those old-time Saturday Matinees. But it's got a lot of the same problems too. The film suffers from a VERY low budget, flimsy script, bad editing, and bad acting. Luckily, there's some really good acting too, and this is part of what saves the film from being horrible, and allows it to just be a fun, LOW budget flick. Sure, horses disappear and reappear from the stagecoach team, the music is entirely laughable, and the characters are western cutouts, just like the story, but it's all good fun if you have nothing better to watch on a Saturday night. And hey, you could also just watch it to take in the beauty of Dana Barron. It's as good a reason as any."

Jumping to conclusions

sybucket | new england | 07/01/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As the writer/executive producer of STAGEGHOST,I feel justified in objecting to some of the comments directed at the picture. I do not quarrel with someone disliking the picture, thats the viewers privliage. However, one of these reviews suggests that there are trucks in the background. This is NOT TRUE. I have gone over this picture frame by frame and there are no trucks, cars, RV's or any other conviance but a stage coach in this picture.

As to the cover/box art being deceptive, I agree it is. This is the fault of the distribuitor who insisted on a name change. The original title of the picture was ADOBIE STATION. It was ment to be a straight western homage to some of the saturday afternoon serials from the 1930's.

For the very low budget I had, I think we have an outstanding cast. Most low budget film are lucky to have two name actors. STAGEGHOST has 5. I felt privliged to have the great John Vernon in one of his last films,Edward Albert, Chris Atkins, the marvelous William Sanderson and the very talanted Dana Barron. And should I have the budget for future films you may expect to see Chris and Dana and Bill Sanderson again. Oh, and we also had Terry Moore, Acadamy award nommine for COME BACK LITTLE SHEBIA, opposite Burt Lancaster.

Someone critized the editing. The editor won the Canadian Oscar for editing so I must assume he knows his business.

It is easy to critizise a picture. But no one sets out to make a bad film. I know we didn't. Could it have been better? Sure it could. I might have written a better script. I have since. But all in all, I am proud of STAGEGHOST, and I am especieally proud of the cast. There are some good things in this picture and the credit for that goes to them."

Not bad

sybucket | 08/08/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this picture in DVD and I enjoyed it. It harkened back to the Saturday Matinee days. It was an interesting plot and I thought the acting was pretty good, especieally Christopher Atkins and Dana Barron. Edward Albert was good as the square jawed Sheriff. It is an old fashioned western, the kind they don't make anymore, a bit slow but well worth the effort."