(1988)
Directed by Frank LaLoggia
Starring Lucas Haas, Alex Rocco, Katherine Helmond, Jason Presson, Len Cariou, Renata Vanni

The very first horror convention that I attended was the Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, out in California, in April of 1988. One of the guests there was Frank LaLoggia promoting his new film, Lady in White. I remember seeing the trailer there, and it looked like a cool little ghost story. I went to see it in the theater after it came out, and to this day, it still remains as one of my favorite ghost films of all time.

The film starts out with an adult Frank Scarlatti (played in an uncredited cameo by director LaLoggia), now known for his popular horror novels, returning to his small hometown in upstate NY. On the way there, he visits a local cemetery and remembers back to his childhood when he first met the little girl whose tombstone he is standing by, and how he came to learn about the legend of the Lady in White! The film then moves back to the early ‘60s, with a young Frankie on his way to school on Halloween day. After getting tricked and locked in the cloakroom at school, during the evening, he witnesses the ghost of a young girl coming into the room and is then murdered, as if this moment in time is replaying itself. Except that the ghost girl notices Frankie there in the cloakroom. But then Frankie is almost murdered as well by an unknown assailant who arrives a little later. Frankie knows now that he must unravel the mystery behind the little girl even though nobody believes him.

I can’t think of a better film to introduce a younger audience to a ghost story film. This is funny, cute, and endearing, really showing what family values were back then. Yet, it is also creepy, scary, and filled with more than a few darker and real-life horrors in the world back then, that still raises its ugly head to this day. The film really is timeless, whether you watched it when it first came out, as I did, or 30 years later, it still gives the same nostalgic feeling of a time long ago.

It shows a talented filmmaker that can not only come up with an enduring tale that lasts a lifetime, but also one that is just filled with so many incredible and highly memorable shots. From that of Frankie on the upper shelf in the cloakroom, to that of the old woman coming down the stairs behind Frankie, is some damn good filmmaking and one that makes me applaud each and every time I watch it.

The cast is just perfect as we relate to this little boy who happens to like monsters but is just yet coming of age. Young 12-year-old Lucas Haas, in his first starring role, plays young Frankie and does an exceptional job of playing this strange kid with such an innocence about him. As he becomes aware about the number of deaths that has plagued the city over the last decade, something a little kid might not have known or been told about, he continues to see this ghostly girl who sees him as well, and even asks for his help in finding her mother.

Alex Rocco, who plays Frankie’s father, is known usually for playing either tough guys or one of authority. But here, he plays his kind and gentle father, a real family man, even though he’s recently lost his wife. Living with his Italian parents and his two sons, near the welding shop he owns and operates, he really develops the character into something special. Len Cariou, who was very well known as a stage actor, plays Rocco’s childhood buddy and somewhat adopted brother. Another very caring portrait of a man. Angelo Bertolini & Renata Vanni play Frankie’s Italian grandparents, which is where a lot of the humor comes from. These two characters were based on director LaLoggia’s own family history, and again, bring a sense of family to the film.

Katherine Helmond, most notably from TV shows like Soap or Who’s the Boss?, not only appears here but she was helpful in getting funding for it by appearing in a short version, or teaser trailer for LaLoggia to hopefully draw in attention from a film studio, which it did. This is not a comedic role that Helmond was known for but shows that she can make the audience’s heart ache with her performance.

Helping to give the film that feeling of a time decades past is the score, which was actually composed by director LaLoggia himself. It really gives an audible feeling of what we’re seeing on screen and helps envelope the viewer. His previous film, Fear No Evil (1981), is about a young man who comes to realize he’s the Anti-Christ reborn. It’s a shame that LaLoggia didn’t make more films since he really showed how fantastic of a filmmaker and storyteller he was.

I’ve always been a sucker for a good ghost story, where a mystery has to be solved, that the audience is learning as the main protagonist figures it out as well. And LaLoggia’s Lady in White fits that perfectly. Highly recommended.