Best movie of this year hands down!

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

I picked up this cheap DVD knowing very little about it, other than it being a ghost story starring Terry O'Quinn who also made some other horror fables around this time; "The Stepfather" and "Pin". To my pleasant surprise, this rarely talked about (if not) enterprise actually turned to be a compelling and worthwhile dip. The word sleeper can get thrown around, but "The Forgotten One" is what you call a sleeper! More interesting than most. Novelist Bob Anderson packs up and moves to a new city buying an old creaky Victorian house, hoping to storm up ideas for his second novel and move on from the unexpected death of his wife. However he learns the house homes a long-dormant entity, which he discovers is the spirit of a murdered 19th century housewife Evelyn. Thinking that discovering the corpse and actually burying it would free the spirit, only seems to entice the spirit and Bob soon becomes obsessed with Evelyn who just won't let him go. While customary in its set-up, it actually managed to tell a complete, low-key ghost tale of harrowing heartbreak, haunting mystery and a certain amount of moody chills. Director / writer Phillip Badger's competent touch is atmospheric, sensual and suggestive in what is mature, slow-tempo storytelling with polished visuals, well-revealed twists, constant danger and respectably good performances from the likes Terry Quinn, Kristy McNichol and Blair Parker. Quinn gives such a strong performance with his neurotic presence really carrying it, but McNichol is not to be discarded in a very likable turn as the helpful neighbour. Then there's the striking beauty of Parker, who gracefully engages with a tormented, if sincere performance as the forlorn spirit trying to manipulate things to her own liking. Also popping up is Elisabeth Brooks as a steamy nightclub singer. The script is a character drama with its focus on haunted memories, love, and fate with the right balance of dry, witty humour. Subtle, slow-tempo and stylish low-budget horror chiller with the common theme of eternal love binning it all together."How do you kill something that's already dead."

In the past I thought only the British could make a good ghost story. I was wrong. This is a wonderfully dark, atmospheric movie that thrills, chills and even in moments, sparks a giggle. My only regret is that it's not (yet) available in DVD format. Perhaps that will be rectified. In the meantime if you love ghost stories as much as I do you'll need to add this one to your collection. Kristy McNichol plays an endearing part as a budding writer and possible love interest of Terry O'Quinn who plays a widowed writer who buys a house and is soon confronted by his past ... his forgotten past. It's a really great story and an excellent movie all around. Well written, beautiful photography, and excellent acting which is unusual these days. Hope to see this one on DVD one day!

The always outstanding Terry ("The Stepfather," "Pin") O'Quinn gives a typically vivid, intense and beautifully wrought performance as Bob Anderson, an affable and eccentric novelist who smokes raunchy cigars, wears a fedora and suffers from writer's block because of the recent untimely death of his wife. Bob moves into a creepy, decrepit old Victorian house that's haunted by the dangerously seductive and melancholy spirit of murdered, adulterous 19th century housewife Evelyn James (a fine, sultry debut performance by Blair Parker, a voluptuous, raven-haired brunette beauty who looks quite delectable sans clothes). Evelyn wants the troubled, on edge Bob to kill himself and join her in the after life so she won't be lonely and unloved anymore. Writer/director Phillip Badger does an adept job of creating and sustaining an appropriately brooding, spooky atmosphere, the story may not be especially novel, but it's constantly absorbing throughout, the ever-spunky Kristy McNichol contributes an appealing turn as a concerned neighbor, grossly underused late, great flash-in-the-pan 80's scream queen Elisabeth ("The Howling," "Deep Space") Brooks has a nice cameo as a foxy night club torch singer, the movie offers an almost painfully poignant, trenchant and accurate examination of how maddening loneliness can become, and the startlingly bleak conclusion packs a potent emotional punch. Eerie, erotic and refreshingly offbeat, "The Forgotten One" qualifies as an extremely well-done and undeservedly neglected little fright film sleeper.

This movie is a genuine sleeper. Not many know about this one, but it's definetely one of my favourites! Terry O'Quinn (from The Stepfather) is great as a writer who rents an old house, and is haunted by a strange presence in it. The movie is very atmospheric and at times hypnotic in it's handling of the ghost-theme, and has some genuine twists in the story and a great ending!