Lady in White

I think Lady in White is one of those cases where a strong story, likable performances, and strong characterizations can take precedence over piss-poor special effects. I'm not about to waste my time trying to make excuses for the film in regards to its special effects. They're just not good. When special effects of ghosts flying about, Haas in flight overlooking his town and countryside, and people standing at the end of the cliffs overlooking rushing tides below fail to weave their spell because they look so blatantly green-screen (blue screen,whatever) and fake, it oftentimes sinks a film. I have to hand to Haas, he was one of the finest young performers of his generation. He has range, and his character goes through a hell of a lot. The film covers a lot of topical themes, too.
In the 80s, there were a lot of those films that had young adults or middle age men reliving the past for us, narrating a bit of their childhood. This time a successful writer returns to his home town, Willowbrook Falls, visits the grave of his family, and thinks back to a vital, dangerous time when he was a kid growing up in 1962 as a 10 year old.

A strangler of children, tossing their bodies over a cliff near a cottage, returns to find a class ring he lost while killing a little red-headed girl named Melissa Anne Montgomery (Joelle Jacobi), not knowing Haas' Frankie Scarlotti was inside the cloakroom due to two asshole students in his class having locked him in there. This strangler eventually sees Frankie and nearly chokes Frankie to death. Luckily, Frankie's father, Angelo (Alex Rocco, in a fine performance), who runs a gate-making business (he is the one who even makes architectural designs for the gates such as one for the Willowbrook Falls cemetery) revives him in time, but not before Frankie speaks with Melissa Anne who tells him she wants to reunite with her mom. You see, Melissa's restless spirit has remained to repeat the events prior to (and reliving) her death, and Frankie sees it while trapped in the cloakroom (he doesn't see who killed her as his presence is not shown).

The rest of the film has an innocent black man (the janitor of the school), caught drunk and napping in a room within the school during the night Frankie was nearly strangled, on trial for the murders of the other children (and assault on Frankie), while the real serial killer is in town somewhere, his presence certain to be a threat to our young hero. Really, Lady in White is very similar to a lot of the Japanese ghost girl films and American ghost horrors of the past and present (and future; this is a genre that seems to have endurance...). A spirit wanting a living person to help her find peace which will result in the killer responsible punished and/or caught for his crime(s). The killer of this film, also typical of the genre, is a wolf in sheep's clothing who the characters trust, hiding behind a long-term bond with those who do not consider him a danger. The film also allows us to spend time with Frankie's family, including Angelo's very Italian Catholic mother and father (a running joke has the mother always at odds with the father over his cigarette smoking)...who seem to help keep matters at home under control as the job demands much of Angelo's time (that, and his wife, and Frankie's mother, died prematurely).

This film is quite a showcase for Len Cariou, as Phil, Angelo's best friend, who he considers a brother since the two grew up together in the same house (Phil's parents died when he was a kid). Jason Presson many will know (like me who grew up with the movie) from the Spielbergian Joe Dante children's adventure, Explorers, is Haas' mischievous older brother who comes through for Frankie in the end when the kid needs him the most. Katherine Helmond of Who's The Boss fame is the scary-looking "boogey-woman" whose rickety mansion draws the attention of the kids who bike past, spinning yarns about her legend. Helmond's role is important in how she is associated with the lady in white of the film's title. Her fate, at the hands of the killer, is rather horrifying.

The finale (which involves Helmond's fate) and the killer's evil behavior (trying to catch and kill Haas) deprive the film from being family-friendly. And, the terrible situation with the black janitor (this is during the Civil Rights era of our country's history), ends tragically, not for the kids to see, to tell you the truth. This may have a child protagonist, but it is more of an adult film overall. It does a swell job of evoking a Ray Bradbury-esque small town that seems to be the most pleasant place to drop anchor and lay down roots, but under the surface is the sinister and malicious.