High Spirits

"He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle."

1988 1h 39m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 257

FantasyComedyHorror

Synopsis

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When a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.

“He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Peter O'Toole
Peter Plunkett
Daryl Hannah
Mary Plunkett
Steve Guttenberg
Jack Crawford
Beverly D'Angelo
Sharon Brogan Crawford
Jennifer Tilly
Miranda
Liam Neeson
Martin Brogan
Peter Gallagher
Brother Tony
Martin Ferrero
Malcolm

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Neil Jordan
Writers: Neil Jordan
Languages: English
Countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 57% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Neil Jordan, shot by Alex Thomson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Bradsell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter O'Toole and Daryl Hannah and Steve Guttenberg carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Neil Jordan directs. Alex Thomson behind the camera. George Fenton scores. Michael Bradsell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 57% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 3 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Neil Jordan, shot by Alex Thomson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Michael Bradsell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter O'Toole and Daryl Hannah and Steve Guttenberg carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle.".
9IMDB entry: tt0095304 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Alex Thomson
Original score: George Fenton
Editing: Michael Bradsell
Production design: Anton Furst
Costume design: Emma Porteous
Stunt coordinator: Martin Grace
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $8,500,000
Return: 57% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: High Spirits (1988)

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Neil Jordan

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-07-01
★ 7/10
Over-the-top horror comedy set in a ghostly castle The owner of a dilapidated castle in Ireland (Peter O'Toole) is about to lose it to foreclosure and so turns it into “the most haunted castle in Europe” in order to attract tourists. When the first group of travelers is bused-in to spend the night it turns out that the ancient citadel is actually haunted. The rest of the cast includes the likes of Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Tilly, Liam Neeson, Daryl Hannah and Peter Gallagher. "High Spirits" (1988) is an outrageous horror comedy in the mold of "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (1967), "The Vampire Happening" (1971), “Young Frankenstein” (1974), “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark” (1988) and “Elvira's Haunted Hills” (2001). It ranks with the best of these even though it failed at the box office. Director Neil Jordan said that the movie released is very different from the one he shot, pointing out that he was excluded from the editing process of the final cut. Beverly D'Angelo and Jennifer Tilly are of course highlights on the feminine front, but more shoulda/coulda been done with them (not talkin’ about nudity or raunch). Still, enough was done with them. The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot at Dromore Castle, County Limerick, Ireland. I’m sure a lot of it was also filmed in the studio. GRADE: B
kevin20192024-02-24
★ 10/10
"High Spirits" was a part of the exciting and ever growing renaissance that was taking place within the Irish film industry. And rightly so. It brings some unique and quirky Irish humour brilliantly to life on the silver screen for a much wider audience to wholeheartedly indulge in and thoroughly enjoy. It was amongst an expanding number of productions being produced back then which reached a much higher level of success than in previous times. And why shouldn't it have been so? After all, the Irish had the talent both in front of the camera and behind it to be able to work in any given genre of film and when the results turn out to be of this calibre where the infectious comedic enthusiasm of the cast never wanes and there are some wonderfully wacky set piece sequences loaded with humour which the audience can relish then Irish cinema deserves all the hard earned plaudits and success accorded to it.