Resurrection Mary
R1 DVD
Starz/Anchor Bay 2008
One
of the quintessential urban legends or ghost stories (depending on your
attitude) is that of the phantom traveller or hitchhiker. The tale is usually based at a location where
there has been many car accidents and usually involves an isolated stretch of
road. At certain times of the year a lonely figure, sometimes dishevelled and
disoriented, usually distressed, is found wandering. In many cases they seem a
little “out of time” with out of date clothing, speech and quaint ways.
A
helpful driver picks up the stranger only to find that they either vanish when
they look away a short time later or when dropped off at a certain location
they look back and they have disappeared.
Chicago seems to have more than its fair share of such sightings and
there are records of these occurrences going back to its earliest days. The
most celebrated case if that of Resurrection Mary and it is considered one of
the best documented ghost stories of modern times. The story seems begins in
the 1930’s, the exact nature of the event that caused the haunting is still
unknown. Around that time drivers along
Archer Avenue started reporting strange encounters with a young woman in a
white dress. The focus of the case seem to be between the graveyard and the O
Henry Ballroom later renamed as the Willowbrook. One of the most compelling
reports was the 1939 report by Jerry Palus which involved him dancing with Mary
for many hours. There are a number of theories about Mary’s origins including
that of Mary Miskowski, who was killed crossing the street one night in October
1930 on her way to a costume party, however, many believe it is the ghost of
Mary Bregovy. Neither of these identifications seem to fit the haunting and
most historians of the legend still see this as a unsolved case.
Resurrection
Mary is a creative exploration of the Resurrection Mary story bringing together
various aspects of the historical haunting with general legends about phantom
travellers and hitchhikers. It is peppered with newspaper clippings and scenes
fading to comic book style format which help locate the film within the world
of haunting, legends, urban legends and “believe it or not” style comic books.
The
story centres on Jeff, a young man who has had his share of trouble since his
parents died in a horrible accident on Archer Street. His true love is Karen,
but she dumped him some years ago and she is now going out with Kevin, an
arrogant, heavy drinking party boy. Jeff
is unable to find a girl for the dance and has pretty well decided not to go.
This time of the year is difficult for him since it is the memorial of his
parent’s death and he decides to go for a quiet drive and when driving down
Archer Street nearly hits a beautiful girl dressed in a stunning white dress.
Her name is Mary. He drops her off near the cemetery as she says she wishes to
walk the rest of the way home and doesn’t think much else about it. The next
night, however, when he goes for a drive, she is there again, he invites her to
a local dance and she arrives as if out of nowhere. The night goes well and
Jeff is very pleased with himself, however, a fight erupts between him and a
drunk Kevin and things get very ugly. That night Kevin is found brutally
murdered.
Mary
is indeed mysterious and turns up unexpectedly and seems to be unwilling to
answer questions about her origins. However as the bodies pile up, including
four friends and policemen, Jeff needs to find some answers quick before he is
next on the list or charged with the murders.
As
a film Resurrection Mary is fascinating viewing, the plot has been created to
offer a very credible version of the legend and is interesting and intriguing.
The acting is very good, some characters are more believable than others,
however, I found the major characters such as Jeff, his Grandmother and friends
fairly convincing, even if the police were a bit stereotypical. (But Heh, so many of them are !!) Pamela Jean
as Mary should not be overlooked, she plays the role exceptionally well and
expresses both a subtle eroticism mixed with an ethereal quality which makes it
easy to believe she is of supernatural origin.
The
comic book presentation throughout the film is innovative and gives the film a
real “Ripley’s Believe it or not” feel and since this is where so many ghost
stories received so much exposure it works well. There is also a nice “cameo”
use of a section of the Unsolved Mysteries episode on Resurrection Mary.
The
special effects at the end are a little “eccentric” but in many ways add
another layer to the film; Resurrection Mary exists in a realm between
historical ghost story, urban legend and comic book ghost tales and this film
very effectively brings them together to create a very enjoyable and successful
experience.
Resurrection
Mary stars Kevin G Schmidt , Sally Kirkland and Pamela Jean.
Web: http://www.resurrectionmarythemovie.com/