IMDb user comments for
Haunted Summer (1988)

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9 comments in total

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Literate and absorbing, 4 March 2002

Author: JoeytheBrit from Cambridgeshire, England

THE HAUNTED SUMMER is based on the novel of the same name by Anne Edwards, and recounts what it rather blithely refers to as 'the first summer of love'. This was the summer of 1816 which Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Mary and Claire Godfrey and Dr John Polidori spent at Byron's home on Lake Geneva.

Filmed on location at Lake Geneva, the movie is visually appealing yet manages to avoid allowing the lush exteriors to distract from the intriguing interplay between the five characters. Quickly establishing the 'free-spirit' of the main characters - Shelley in bed with the sisters, and swigging laudanum at the dinner table, Claire Godfrey performing a saucy little dance for Byron as he puffs on an opium pipe, etc - the main thrust of the movie concentrates on the dynamics within the group. Shelley, Byron and Mary form the core of this gathering - Claire and Polidori (a surprisingly good Alex Winter) are largely peripheral figures - and the interaction between them is beautifully portrayed, capturing the real affection shared by Shelley and Byron, and the mutual fascination between Mary and Byron. The film also shows a number of scenes designed to show the inspiration for Shelley's classic novel, Frankenstein.

All the performers in this movie have been perfectly cast. Phillip Anglim - a name new to me, and an actor who, on this evidence, seems to have been woefully under-used on the screen - cuts a suitably dashing and decadent figure; Eric Stoltz, a surprising choice for the role of Shelley, gives a credible performance; Alice Krige is beautiful and serene as Mary Shelley, effortlessly imbuing her character with grace and intelligence.

This movie is vastly superior to Ken Russell's GOTHIC - it actually makes you want to learn more about the characters - so if you want to see a movie about this tale make sure you choose this movie.

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Summer of 1816 movie out there!, 26 July 1999

Author: Shayde9 from Corpus Christi, Texas

The first time my best friend and I sat down to watch this movie, we were watching it for Alex Winter of "Bill & Ted's" fame. We didn't know what to expect other than who and what it was about.

By the time the movie was over, we knew that it was love at first sight. This movie, while not completely historically accurate, was and is the best one of its genre. I have seen other movies depicting the history of this famous summer and in my opinion, none of the others can compare. It fibbed a little at certain details, but those parts did not take away from the sheer elegance and romance of the story. I have seen the other movies about this summer and I find most of them to be good, but none as captivating as this one.

"Haunted Summer" has the qualities of a painting. The colors and settings seem to be something one would find on a canvas, framed and hung in a museum or on the walls of an eccentric's home. The costumes were gorgeous and, despite not being the most comfortable clothes in the world, made me want to find a seamstress to create such garb for myself. The whole movie was set on the picturesque Lake Geneva (where I hope to one day go because of seeing this movie) and the serenity that these historical figures found there.

This movie shows, besides the tranquility found by all the escapees of England's harsh judgements, the strangeness that surrounded this adventure as well. Yes, there were drugs. It was a fairly common practice during that time, a time when drugs were not illegal. And the taking of laudanum (the liquid form of opium) was medicinal as well as recreational. Shelley suffered from consumption. Lord Byron suffered the pains of a clubbed foot. It was not surprising that there would be prescriptions of the strong drugs that were in their possession during that summer. And they were poets during a time when experience was the key. There was no time for prudish caution. Passion and experience were a big part of the Romantic Era. And out of the thoughts and discussions of science, religion and philosophy came the creation of a legend: "Frankenstein."

Yes, in this movie, we see the beautiful and liberated Mary Godwin (not married to Shelley at that time) played by beautiful and talented Alice Krige. She is the control factor to all that goes on until she, too, gives in to experience. But she stands her ground and experiences things on her own terms. As was the strength that she inherited from her mother and father.

The actors and actresses in this were perfect for the parts they played. The music fitting. The direction captured the essence of the summer, as I've read about it. This movie was based on a wonderful book "Haunted Summer" by Anne Edwards. If you like this movie, read the book. The author takes the story from what she was able to put together from the actual journals of Mary Godwin Shelley and the other participants of this story.

If you are a person who loves history (even the little inaccuracies from time to time) and romance and the gothic, then this is a movie for you. It shows the birth of the birth of the monster, which even today teaches us about the morals of "playing God."

A definite must see movie!

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
More interesting than you might imagine, 1 March 2003
Author: suessis

While "Gothic" (Ken Russell's surprisingly good psychotic drug trip fantasy) has attracted more of a following, this film simply took a different route to chronicle the intensely powerful relationships that existed among this group of artists and writers.

Phillip Anglim's performance dominates every other. He grips the part of Byron with an iron hand and draws the viewer into this story. While, Alice Kreige and Eric Stolz also offer good performances they sometimes become lost in Anglim's. Alex Winter's and Laura Dern's sometimes seem to disappear into the scenery.

While this film is not exactly a masterpiece, it is worthy of more attention than it has had. It makes the lives of these people more accessible than "Gothic" did. It breathes life into people that Americans tend to view simply as moth eaten old poets with scandalous and mythical reputations who's work they are forced to read in school.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Enchanting,beautiful,romantic telling of real life events., 14 June 2006

Author: jeanne46205 from United States

In this glorious telling of a weekend shared among literary greats. Mary and Percy Shelly,Lord Byron and others created a entrancing group. Showing their quests for sexual enlightenment. Personal freedoms from political to moral. Liberal drug use for both stimulations and as addiction. Their creative views of life and writing. Describing without boring the viewer how each writer seeks to find their muse. Along with the distractions and affections each share. With breathtaking scenery that does not detract but very much enhances the story. Well created characters from grim to loving then angry to peaceful. With some of the most lovely and scene enhancing costuming to be had.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Mesmerizing, 31 May 1999
Author: jtbe from Illinois

I first saw this on TV in the early 90's and was obsessed with finding it so I could tape it. I dwelled on it and searched and finally found it at a library and had a friend copy it. It was beautifully filmed and captivated me completely. I have watched it many times, each time was better than previously. I'm a 68 year old senior and am "haunted" by it. I only wonder how much, if any, truth is in it. I give it 10 out of 10; it was so mesmerizing.

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Whereforartthou Haunted Summer???, 13 September 2007

Author: globalpoet from United Kingdom

I would love to comment on this film. Alas , my search has always endeth in vain. If any good citizen could help a desperate inhabitant of this ailing planet and restore his confidence in humanity by offering the whereabouts of either a UK VHS or loan him a DVD copy of the VHS; he would, without reservation, be eternally grateful.....

Blake wrote "The road to excess is the path to wisdom", one hopes my weary road of excess will offer the path to fruition .... If not, I will have to replay the excellent Mr Russel's Gothic in the knowledge that those who have seen Haunted Summer (for better or for worse) have enriched their viewing pleasure of the events of July 1816 whilst I, a fellow member of this melodious plot, rests his lonely case in solitude ...

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Fantastic Time Travel!, 4 August 2007

Author: tom-2608 from United States

I have no idea what the other reviewer is talking about- this was a wonderful movie, and created a sense of the era that feels like time travel. The characters are truly young, Mary is a strong match for Byron, Claire is juvenile and a tad annoying, Polidori is a convincing beaten-down sycophant... all are beautiful, curious, and decadent... not the frightening wrecks they are in Gothic.

Gothic works as an independent piece of shock film, and I loved it for different reasons, but this works like a Merchant and Ivory film, and was from my readings the best capture of what the summer must have felt like. Romantic, yes, but completely rekindles my interest in the lives of Shelley and Byron every time I think about the film. One of my all-time favorites.

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3 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Why oh why did I rent this???, 13 July 1999

Author: xirtam from USA

I read the back of the box and it talked about Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. I thought, "wonderful! This will be great!" I was so wrong. The story was all screwed up. In fact I still don't get it. It just seems to me that all the characters did was drink, smoke (opium?) and have sex. Not that those aren't good movie qualities, but please! Where was the story? I made myself finish the movie, and yes, it did pick up towards the end, but by then the movie was almost over. Rent it if you really want to. Just don't trust the back of the box.

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1 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Waste of Time, 27 July 2004

Author: ravcon from Charlotte, NC

Don't waste your time on this dreck. As portrayed, the characters have no redeeming values and watching them interact is sheer torture. "Gothic" was entertainment at least, this is crap. If you like watching pretentious and spoiled poets straining to outwit each other, this may be right up your alley. Lord Byron is portrayed as a complete jerk, and why the others would choose to spend more than five minutes with him is truly bewildering. Mary Shelly appears to be the only character with any spine whatsoever, but even she comes out of the whole ordeal without an ounce of respect. What a waste of time. See Gothic instead. I also remember seeing another superior movie based on the same subject matter, but didn't catch the title. I was hoping this was it, but no such luck. Not recommended.

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