10 Brilliant Horror Movie Concepts Not Taken Far Enough

This Canadian film attempts to tell the legend of the Wendigo and his keeper, a creepy old lady that keeps her ghostly charge in the basement of her hotel as her son sets about getting flesh for it to feast on.

It begins so promisingly, with stranded snowmobilers taking refuge in an old hotel. With the ever present feeling of being watched the film drips with atmosphere as the snow howls outside. The problems arise with the introduction of the Wendigo. Despite the briefest explanation of its history and the threat it presents, here the mythical figure is presented as a rather pathetic zombie-like man sat shackled in an ice-laden basement. The supposed threat is only seen twice and most of the horror sequences come from characters being chased around the old hotel by the batty old woman and her son, intent on carving them up to feed to their captive Wendigo. The film is too convoluted for its own good with it soon seeming like a slog to get to the finish as elements of melodrama are introduced to pad out the runtime. This was likely done because production ran out of money and more scenes involving the captive Wendigo had to be scrapped.

Still, one can't help but think that a much simpler movie about a mythical creature chasing unlucky campers around the desolate Canadian mountains would've worked miles better. Instead, Ghost Keeper opts to add too many elements to the story and the mountain entity is forgotten in the shuffle. It really is a shame, as the horror world needs a good Wendigo movie.