TheRedDeath30 This is one of my wife's favorite 80s horror memories, but somehow the movie had escaped my notice for decades. While rifling through bootleg selections at a recent horror con, my wife was elated to find a copy and share this treasure with me. My immediate reaction, though, is maybe you have to have been there.Lucas Haas was all over 80s movies and this was the film that introduced him. The tale of a young Italian boy, living with his father, brother and grandparents after the loss of his mother. The movie definitely plays out the theme of loss in many different ways. The boy is trapped in a coat room as a prank and comes to find horrors, both spectral and real. He sets in motion a chain of events that will bring to attention a dozen murdered children, a family of ghostly women and a murder surrounding a molester.The things that I am going to hold most against this movie are not fair to hold against it. I admit that readily, yet cannot pretend that they don't skew my view of the movie towards the negative, mostly the budget, which brings a harsh light on the quality of the effects available at this time in cinema. I am not against indie horror, in any way. I love it, in fact, but when going back 30 years to watch a low budget horror, it does make the budget all the more noticeable. The movie feels blatantly 80s. While that should never be held against a movie, the best films feel timeless. Yes, Universal's monsters have bad effects that are signatures of their time, but they transcend those limitations to create movies that don't feel so much like products of their time. This movie, though, has many trappings of the 80s. This plays out a LOT in the effects used for the ghosts. They have that cheap, see-though quality that probably looked hokey at the time and looks downright terrible now. At one point I swear you see wires. Lovers of the film will shout that I am being a modernist here, but it removes the viewer from the picture too much to see a blatant look behind the curtains of the effects.The budget limitations also reflect on a lot of the other aspects of "film making" here, such as the score and the camera-work. They feel empty and do nothing to help heighten the tension or mood of the picture. On the other hand, though, the acting is pretty good for a movie of this caliber. The child actors are never cloying. The grandparents are funny and the adults in the movie, though never given that much to do, play their roles well.Many movies have the same limitations, though, some that I love and adore. One thing that can help a movie rise above those limitations, though, is a quality script and I think that's what this movie is missing more than anything. I don't feel that the movie ever quite knew what it wanted to be. There are plenty of tame, family-friendly horror films that don't need blood and gore and focus on child characters and end up being greatly successful at creating a good film. This movie, though, seems like it wanted to hide from that moniker of the child movie, creating some moments that are far too dark for the average kid-friendly spook and never hints at the pure magic that helps kids and adults alike love a movie of that tone. The movie never truly succeeds as a ghost story, either. It spends too much of its' time on a half-baked racial injustice angle and the mystery of the molester to ever give its' frights enough buildup and mood to be effective. Though the kids frequently tell tales of the Lady in White, we only ever get one real scene of an actual terror involving the specter and its' played almost more for laughs than scares.If you want a good ghost story, I can names dozens that are better. If you want a family-friendly frightener, I can name you plenty that are better. This movie isn't terrible by any stretch, but it's painfully average and really not worth your time.

blackcabprod Frank LaLoggia's ghostly coming-of-age classic "Lady In White" is finally available on Blu-ray and will certainly look lovely in high definition. The warm color-correction and Autumn, Halloween, and wintry set pieces should defrost the eyes and soul of the kid in all of us. Watching the film is like snuggling up in a toasty chair by the fire and reminiscing about a beautiful, yet terrifying, nightmare you had when you were younger. One that kept coming back again and again, night after night, and in adulthood has never quite been lost to time. Not unlike the "Lady In White" in the film itself.The movie was made in a pre-CGI world, and the practical and optical effects are now surreal and wonderful to watch––floating bodies, hovering ghosts, and apparitional, unsolved child murders. And this is where "Lady In White" brings the young Frankie Scarlatti (played by an adolescent Lucas Haas) into adulthood. These killings also bring the viewer into adulthood, making all of us voyeurs as guilty as any of the Willowpoint Falls townsfolk. The focus of this particular tale is on one murdered girl and the ever haunting "Lady In White" that have overshadowed Willowpoint Falls for a decade. Frankie inadvertently discovers the ghosts, is haunted by them, and is compelled to follow them––even begged to follow them––on their nightly journeys in efforts to reveal the secret, and motivations behind their untimely deaths. They want the real killer exposed at last. And Frankie does too; yet not only to bring the truth into the light, but because he has changed inside, which is stated poignantly in the film, when he says to himself one Christmas morning: "As for me, I'd grown up just a little bit more than I was supposed to, I think. Responsibility had become my constant companion. And I was no longer afraid of what I could not see." Soon enough his newfound maturity will bring him face-to-face with a much greater horror than any ghosts he's previously encountered––a horror all too close to home.For myself, "Lady In White" makes me think of some earlier films, like "The Goonies"––for it's autumnal, northern coastal American vibe––and films that invoke elements of paranormal fantasy, like Disney's "Escape To Witch Mountain". Although "Lady In White" is not an adventure film, it is nonetheless adventurous for young Frankie Scarlatti. To current generation viewers, "Lady In White" will remind them of a much newer horror film, "Mama", produced by Guillermo del Toro. "Mama" is more of an edgy terror with jump scares, but it clearly borrows from the the film "Lady In White" in story and theme––"A mother's love is forever."––as well as the fantastical ending of the ghostly, miserably lost "Mama" craving for the return of her child.The film score for "Lady In White" is also composed by director Frank LaLoggia and is quite lovely. Pay attention to the music when viewing the film and seek it out on CD.Overall, "Lady In White" is a wonderful diversion for a cold, stormy night and an armchair trip down memory lane. If you are looking for a movie that is brimming with old-school special effects, nostalgic set pieces, and the peculiar warmth that "growing up" can bring back to us now that we are adults ourselves.

Charles Edward Williams "Lady in White" is a beautiful, haunting ghost story. While those two adjectives are mutually exclusive for most genre films, director and writer Frank LaLoggia has succeeded in creating the perfect blend of nostalgia and thrills. As seen through the eyes of young Frankie Scarlatti, the mysterious "Lady in White" becomes the thread connecting the pursuit of a child killer with the appearance of a young girl's ghost. Set in the town of Willowpoint Falls, the movie begins with the return of a grown up Frankie, now a successful writer of supernatural fiction, as he recalls the childhood events which directed his career path. The portrayal of small town life in the 1960's provides the perfect background for LaLoggia's ghost story to unfold. Period detail is richly woven into the plot, and the scenes taking place on Halloween are especially effective in invoking time and place. A Halloween prank results in Frankie being locked in his school's cloakroom overnight, and the ethereal vision of a young victim and her attacker sets in motion a series of events which will ultimately reveal the shocking identity of the serial killer and the secret behind the legendary "Lady in White". A subplot centering around the turbulent struggle for civil rights in the Sixties is skillfully worked into the story, adding another layer of authenticity to the proceedings. Lukas Haas is perfectly cast as Frankie , and Alex Rocco, Len Cariou, Katherine Helmond, and James Presson provide strong support in pivotal roles. One of the strongest elements of the film is the depiction of the loving relationships in the Scarlatti family. Frankie's Italian grandparents bicker, complain, and ultimately provide a loving environment to help make up for the untimely death of Frankie's mother. The brilliant LaLoggia has also provided an amazing score which effectively underscores the film's major themes. "Lady in White" has become more than just a film for many viewers such as myself. It is an experience to be shared and treasured with friends and loved ones again and again...

Johan Louwet Yes I liked this 'ghost' story. It's pretty classic storyline. A young boy is locked up in the cloak room at school by two of his classmates. He witnesses a tragedy that happened 10 years ago. He almost gets killed by the child murderer himself. Seeing the ghost of the murdered little girl again begging him to reunite her with her mother he is dedicated to find out what happened and even more who the killer is. His quest is full of suspense, spooky at times with the legend of the lady in white making it even more mysterious. One of the minor issues I have with the movie is its duration with the pretty unnecessary sub plot of the accusation of the school janitor who happens to be black. Also the real motives of the killer for his killings are not quite clear, I would have loved to get some more light on that. But overall really enjoyable and interesting movie with a good story.