Joseph Brando The wintery Canadian mountains which provide the desolate setting are only slightly snowier than the plot, which finds withdrawn, teetering-on-the-edge-of-crazy Jenny, her rotten boyfriend and their slutty blonde chic friend stranded at a shuttered snowbound inn. Seemingly abandoned, it isn't long before they realize they aren't the only ones there. "Ghostkeeper" is a textbook example of how much a movie can be made or broken by its soundtrack. Many long, inactive treks through this abandoned ski lodge would be unbearable if not for the sinister score - which will ring familiar to most horror-nerds as nearly identical to the one from fellow 1981 Canadian horror film, Prom Night - both done by the same guy. If you need a movie with a cohesive plot, you certainly should look elsewhere. But if you can enjoy a spooky, hazy film which is heavy on dreadful atmosphere and creepy music while remaining non-existent on gore and nudity - you've met your match. It certainly is an odd duck, especially for the time period in which it was made. It's reputation as a hidden gem is well-deserved and it will come as a nice surprise to jaded horror fans who think they've seen it all.

Mr_Ectoplasma "Ghostkeeper" revolves around a group of friends— two women, Jenny and Chrissy, and a man, Marty— who are spending their New Year's Eve in the snowy Canadian Rockies. After stopping into a secluded store, they decide to head off for some snowmobiling before it gets dark, but as they climb up the icy mountain slopes, Chrissy crashes her snowmobile and it stops running. A snowstorm begins, and the gang decides to spend the night in a seemingly abandoned lodge, but discover a disheveled old woman who resides there with her son, and something... else.Remarkably eerie and atmospheric, "Ghostkeeper" is yet another undiscovered horror gem that is hardly known of at all, even by the most hardened of horror fans. With some elements unabashedly cribbed from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," "Ghostkeeper" still manages to weave an unsettling yarn that, while a bit hackneyed at times, is no less engaging. The film opens with a title about the "windigo," a cannibalistic spirit told through Indian legend to reside in the mountains. This caption ties in with the ghost-like creature/entity that is being kept in the abandoned lodge, and is the crux of the proceedings.The atmosphere in this film is wonderful. Shot in the beautiful snow-covered mountains of Alberta, this is an excellent setting for the story to unfold, and the bleak but beautiful scenery provides a few chills all on its own. The old lodge is sufficiently spooky, inside and out, and earns its comparisons to Kubrick's "The Shining," although it's markedly darker and dingier. The feeling of seclusion and foreboding is cranked to the maximum, and as the film progresses, things begin to get stranger and stranger for the three main characters. There isn't a lot of gore in this film, so those expecting a splatter fest will be disappointed— in fact, there is hardly any violence in the film at all, but the aim here is more of an exercise in dread and unease than anything else.The performers are mostly unknown Canadian actors, and the acting isn't anything award-worthy, but it's passable. The best performance in the film is from Georgie Collins, who plays the mysterious old woman. The score here is also a nice addition, by Paul Zaza, who did work on slasher classics such as "Prom Night" and "My Bloody Valentine," and is very eerie and unsettling. The film ends in an unexpected way that is very bleak but strangely satisfying despite the general weirdness of the downbeat final act.Overall, "Ghostkeeper" is another one of many unknown horror gems that are hard to come by, but rewarding when discovered. Recommended for fans of subtle and severely atmospheric horror films, although I'm not sure this film is for everybody. There is something remarkably eerie about it, and its uncanny sense of dread is perhaps its greatest achievement. If abandoned lodges, snowstorms, and clandestine wendigos are your thing, seek this shoestring Canadian thriller out. 8/10.

Coventry "Ghostkeeper" could be promoted as "The Shining for dummies", actually. For all those who didn't understand or didn't care for the psychological horror aspect of "The Shining", this is pretty much the exact same film, except that there's an actual monster in the basement of the remote snowy forest resort and you don't have to bother about any psychological mumbo-jumbo. I heard and read from several people, whose opinions are always highly valued, that "Ghostkeeper" was more or less a hidden gem of early 80's horror; a film with a reasonably solid plot and a continuously sinister atmosphere. It's one of the few times that I really don't agree with them, because all I saw was a dull, derivative, unmemorable, dark and even slightly pretentious film that nearly bored me to sleep. This Canadian low-budgeter shamelessly imitates the secluded setting and mysterious ambiance building of Stanley Kubrick's previous year's blockbuster, but attempts to interweave with the famous Indian myth of the Wendigo – a cannibalistic spirit constantly craving for flesh – and a sub plot about an estranged elderly woman living, with her sons, far away from civilization. A young couple and their luscious blond friend, three insufferably annoying people that clearly deserve painful deaths from as soon as they open their mouths to talk, are surprised by an upcoming winter storm during the snow-scooter trip on new year's eve. They seek shelter in a seemingly abandoned hotel, only to discover the place is inhabited by a crazy old woman, her maniacal son and a "thing" in the basement that turns out to be Wendigo in chains. The blond bimbo is the first to fall victim, which is logical after her extended monologue story about how she lured her 10th grade teacher into sex for money, but the hotel seems to have other plans for the quiet introvert girl Jenny. Seeing there are only three protagonists in this film, it takes an unbearably long time before something significant happens in "Ghostkeeper". The locations and scenery are very nice, and I definitely do appreciate a film that attempts to build up suspense, but this film is just plain boring. Apart from the insufferable characters (Jenny is exaggeratedly frigid and the other two are stereotypical horror lambs to the slaughter), the film completely lacks gore and excitement and it's often too damn dark to determine what's going on. The Wendigo myth is poorly elaborated. The soundtrack and atmosphere are okay, as said, but these minor positive aspects hardly make the film a hidden gem. The film is obscure enough for you to never come across it. Don't look for it, either.

corpvault Ghostkeeper probably has one of the best horror movie settings ever, in my opinion. It takes place in an isolated old lodge (Deer Lodge, an actual functioning resort)amid the snowy Canadian Rockies, surrounded by huge snow-covered mountains and towering evergreen trees. The outdoor scenes alone make the film worth seeing. Once we get inside the lodge, we start running into some lighting issues. In some cases, the overly dark scenes are effective, especially when all you can really see are the character's piercing eyes. Also effective are the shots of the wendigo's basement enclosure, which is made out of blocks of ice, emitting an eerie blue light. Very cool. I also thought Paul Zaza's score worked well for the film. In particular, there is a strange synthesizer part that sounds like distorted wind or maybe a train...whatever it is, it's spooky as hell. The acting, unfortunately, is mediocre with the notable exception of Georgie Collins, who plays the "ghostkeeper". Her performance, especially in her last scene, is really disturbing and frightening. I recommend Ghostkeeper to any serious horror fan who likes creepy, atmospheric films.