High Spirits

Dir: Neil Jordan

1988

****

There is something rather topsy-turvey about Neil Jordan's family-friendly horror High Spirits, and if it were any other film I'd probably be quite critical about it, but there is a certain charm about it, a unique quirk, that I find rather irresistible. Peter O'Toole is fantastic as Peter Plunkett, a hard-drinking descendant of a wealthy and illustrious family and now owner of the family's castle. In the heart of rural Ireland, the castle is in disrepair and with no money to speak of, Plunkett considers ending it all. That us until, after a hilarious conversation with his Mother (the brilliant Liz Smith), he realizes that opening the castle as a haunted hotel would probably attract the attention of wealthy (and rather gullible) Americans. He and his staff set about creating various ghostly special effects to trigger once the guest have arrived, all of which end with hilarious results. The American guests and an eclectic mix of actors including Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D'Angelo as his wife, Jennifer Tilly as a sex kitten on holiday, Peter Gallagher as a priest visiting the holy land and is brought to temptation by Tilly, Martin Ferrero (the guy who gets eaten on the toilet in Jurassic Park) and his wife Connie Booth of Fawlty Towers fame. The fake haunting is soon discovered by the disgruntled guests, however, the castle's real ghost soon appear and spooky high jinks follow suit. The acting is okay, Steve Guttenberg is the same as he is in everything he's ever been in, Beverly D'Angelo is a great actress but is given very little to play with and I'm pretty sure Peter O'Toole just played himself and was actually drunk in all the scenes his character was required to be drunk in. I quite liked Jennifer Tilly and Peter Gallagher's relationship but it very much took second seat to the main story. The film does get a little odd towards the end when Steve Guttenberg falls in love with the ghost of 'Toole's great, great, great, great, great, great grand cousin (played by Daryl Hannah) and Beverly D'Angelo falls in love with the ghost of her murderous husband (played by Liam Neeson). Somehow, D'Angelo dies (is murdered) and Hannah manages to come back to life in her place and essentially the two men swap wives and it is meant to be a happy ending. Guttenberg is pretty over the top and much of the comedy is forced by the American cast, while the Irish cast keep it quite subtle and therefore more effective. It is a madcap mess in all honesty but in the most wonderful of ways. There is nothing worse than a light-hearted family horror that tries to take itself too seriously and the main strength that makes the film so appealing is that it is consistently fun. Unlike any other film by Neil Jordan but just as good in my opinion, but for completely different reasons.