There is something about autumn that lends itself extremely well to suspense films: the chill in the air, decaying leaves swirling in the wind, the days shortening and darkness rising a bit more quickly every evening. Enter Halloween, a sometimes sweet and sometimes scary day, with schoolchildren and masks and vulnerability everywhere -- the perfect time for a ghost story.Lady in White encompasses each of these elements. Set in 1962, young Frankie Scarletti (Lukas Haas) is locked in a school cloakroom on Halloween, where he witnesses a young female ghost reliving the night she was murdered there. Thus begins a series of events that lead him to discover the ethereal Lady in White as a very real murderer chases him down.
Frankie is a believable boy in a realistic family and that is what makes this story engrossing and spine-tingling. Children must learn who they can trust. Parents don’t always know best. Siblings can be obnoxious one moment and helpful the next. And trying to do the right thing is not always an easy task.
If one is willing to suspend belief, Lady in White is atmospheric and compelling. And perfect for fall viewing.
