Ghostkeeper, Back To Haunt You

Code Red has rapidly been re-releasing their DVD catalog onto blu (and I really hope they don't stop before they get to The Carrier!), the latest of which is the atmospheric Canadian horror Ghostkeeper.  And just to amuse myself, I decide to change the format of this review a little bit as a throwback to my coverage of Redeemer, my very first DVD/ Blu-ray comparison on this site, which was another unusual Code Red quasi-slasher.

Update 8/24/17 - 1/24/26: Ghost Keeper is back on the market, this time courtesy of Canadian International Pictures, one of those Vinegar Syndrome partner labels.  It's a new 4k scan, but they only saw fit to release it as a 1080p BD, presumably because the source is still just a 35mm print.  So let's see how much it improves upon the previous blu.

1981's Ghostkeeper is, in a lot of ways, a low budget version of The Shining.  Three characters get snowed in at a giant, closed down lodge, only to suspect that they may be sharing the space with some unearthly staffers.  And like The Shining, it's a question right up to the end of how much of the menace is supernatural, and how much of it is their mental health and them being a danger to themselves.  But it's not only akin to Kubrick's film in terms of premise.  Like The Shining, Jim Makichuk's film is a slow burn, getting a lot of mileage out of a terrific location and surrounding snowy landscapes.  And as with that film, the bulk of the weight is placed on the dramatic performances rather than effects or shocks.  Not that this cast is quite on par with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duval, but they're pretty strong for virtual unknowns; and the film veers far enough away that this film manages to stand on its shadow as something different and more than just a Shining knock-off.

1) 2012 Code Red DVD; 2) 2017 Code Red BD; 3) 2026 CPI BD.

Despite the back of the Code Red blu-ray case claiming 1.85:1, both of their versions are 1.78:1.  But there's more going on here than just the same master being upgraded to blu.  The original 2012 30th Anniversary DVD gave us a "brand new master from the only surviving 35mm print," and the new blu describes itself as a "2016 HD Scan of the only surviving vault element."  Looking at the framing, you can tell it's a new scan because it has slightly altered framing (the blu is pulled out just a smidge further).  That "vault element," though, appears to be the same print as the DVD, as it shares a lot of the same print damage.  But then again, a bunch of the print damage has been cleaned up; and as you can see in the second set of shots, a few bits of damage are unique to the blu-ray transfer.  In short, though, Code Red blu-ray is a lot cleaner with substantially less chemical marks, dirt, scratches and pops in the soundtrack than their DVD had.  And their HD naturally sharpens some softness and clarifies edges (grain is natural here), though there isn't a whole lot of new detail pulled out of this fresh scan.  The biggest difference you'll notice between the two versions is actually the color timing..

1) 2012 Code Red DVD; 2) 2017 Code Red BD; 3) 2026 CPI BD.

The DVD has a definite greener push that the initial blu-ray corrects.  Hey, just like with Redeemer!  The green push wasn't quite as bad on the Ghostkeeper DVD, but it's still a pretty pronounced difference comparing the two formats.  The white of the snow makes it pretty obvious and easy to spot the difference, but actually it plays an even more important role in the dark scenes, of which there are many.

Then, even more noticeably, this movie has some issues with the black levels.  In the regular daytime scenes, it's not such a critical difference, but the interior nighttime scenes are a problem. To be fair, this is an issue with the aged print, not Code Red's home video transfers.  Except on the DVD, they often looked downright yellow.  So the blu's color timing makes the film look better in these scenes, despite still not being able to bring out much more detail in the image.  In the most extreme cases, like the shot below, you can barely tell what you're supposed to be looking at.  But at least it doesn't look like it was filmed deep within a cesspool.

1) 2012 Code Red DVD; 2) 2017 Code Red BD; 3) 2026 CPI BD.

So what about the CPI blu now?  Well, they're the first to really present this film to 1.85:1 for a start.  And they do it by adding a little more to the sides rather than matting down the 1.78 framing.  Grain was already surprisingly well rendered on the Code Red blu, so that's not much of an improvement; and since we're still using "the only known 35mm print" (to quote the back of this case), the fact that it's a 4k scan isn't yielding much more detail or clarity.  It may even be harder to see what's going on in that third set of shots now than it was before.  But the colors still aren't yellow, possibly finding an ideal median, in fact, between the two Code Reds.  And they've cleaned up the print damage even more - look at the second set of shots for a good example of that.  So in brief, it's the best version so far, but the two blus are hardly worlds apart.

Code Red's just presents the original mono track in Dolby Digital 2.0 with no subtitle options.  It has some hiss and pops, but nothing too distracting.  Their blu bumps up the same track to DTS-HD, still without any subtitles.  CPI takes another pass at the same mono track, still in DTS-HD, and finally adds optional English subtitles.

Unlike Redeemer, Code Red's DVD of Ghostkeeper had some terrific extras, and thankfully they've all been carried over.  There's an excellent audio commentary with the writer/ director and the two main protagonists, Riva Spier and Murray Ord.  Then both versions list a "featurette" on the case, but really give us two separate interviews, one with co-star Georgie Collins (the ghostkeeper herself), and an audio-only one that plays as a sort of mini-audio commentary over select footage by the DP, John Holbrook.  Both versions also include a couple bonus Code Red trailers (including Cut & Run on the blu).  But the blu-ray adds something new to the mix, too.  An opening scene (above) that was tacked onto the home video release of this film, depicting an unrelated character getting chased and killed, presumably by the Windigo, outside the lodge.  It's clearly just taken from a video source, full-frame and interlaced; and the director never wanted this scene added to his film.  But it's very cool to get to see it as a special feature.

Now, CPI's new special edition has almost everything from the Code Red disc.  They're missing one key feature: the audio commentary.  But they've made up for it with a bunch of new extras, including two new audio commentaries.  The first brings back Riva Spier and Ord, and could be seen as a replacement for the Code Red commentary, but they lose a critical voice: Jim Makichuk.  They replace him with associate producer and co-writer Doug MacLeod, who is a welcome addition. But losing the commentary is a loss you really feel.  The second commentary is a far more disposable one by the Hysteria Continues guys and film expert Amanda Reyes.  And speaking of podcasts, they include an episode of a podcast called The New World Pictures about, Ghostkeeper, which plays over the film like a third commentary.

But the best is yet to come.  We get new interviews with participants Paul Zaza, the composer, and Dave Makichuk (yes, related, of course) who acted as a story consultant.  Then there's a Q&A recorded at a 2024 screening by Ord, MacLeod and Dave Makichuk.  And we get a couple nice vintage inclusions, specifically a (very) short student film by Jim Makichuk (1971's Night School, above, which looks like it was shot in 8mm, framed at 1.32:1 and ripped from a non-anamorphic 240p source), and the 2013 video pitch he made for Ghostkeeper 2 on Kickstarter.  and if you still want more outsider commentary, we get a video interview with horror expert Chris Alexander, and another with Canadian filmmakers Paul Lynch (Prom Night, Humongous) and David Winning (lots of Hallmark Christmas movies).  This blu comes in reversible artwork, and if you ordered the limited edition, a slipcover.  It also includes a 32-page booklet with essays by Eric Volmers & Yasmina Ketita, plus a vintage interview with Jim Makichuk.  CIP definitely didn't cheap out on this release.

So the initial blu-ray was a nice upgrade of an already pretty solid DVD.  And this new blu is an... incremental step forward.  The PQ upgrade isn't huge, but about as good as we're going to get if all we have is the same old print as a source.  And we've got some nice, additional extras, despite the previous releases already having a fairly satisfying package, and we do lose one of the best parts with the director's commentary.  Each release improved upon the previous one, and so yes, this latest one is the best yet.  A die-hard fan might feel they need both blus, though; and a casual one will probably be equally satisfied with either one.