Ghosts began production in 1993 under the title Is It Scary? With the director Mick Garris and was supposed to play before Addams Family Values. For a time, it was the longest music video ever - Pharrell Williams' "Happy" is longer now - and is still the most expensive at $15 million. That's because it was all paid for by its star, Michael Jackson.
A lot of that money is because Jackson backed out of the original plan. Garris went to film The Shining miniseries and Stan Winston, who did the makeup and special effects, took over.
Unlike Thriller and Captain EO, two of Jackson's long and expensive videos that were seen by millions and can still be watched in some places today, Ghosts has disappeared after playing before Thinner.
In a small town, The Maestro (Michael Jackson) loves to scare kids - Mos Def is one of them - and perform magic tricks. The town's mayor comes to kick him out of town, saying, "He's a weirdo. There's no place in this town for weirdoes." If this feels like how the public was treated Michael Jackson in 1996, it's no accident.
Also: the mayor - as well as the ghoul version of the mayor and two other characters, Superghoul and a skeleton - is played by Jackson.
The Maestro challenges the mayor to a scaring contest and the first to show fear must leave town. He brings his entire family of ghosts to dance with him, then possesses the mayor. After that, the Maestro says that he will leave town, but falls to dust and then rises as the Superghoul. This makes the mayor so upset that he dives out a window, allowing the Maestro to remain.
I do have to say, a thing lost about Jackson after all his life's controversies is just how good his music is. This features several I hadn't heard before-"2 Bad," "Is It Scary" and "Ghosts" from HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix - and they're really amazing. The dancing is great, too, as are the effects, if somewhat dated.
Of course, this was made after the first time that Jackson escaped child molestation charges and this feels like, well, that trial. Except it gets supernatural.
Written by Jackson, Garris, Winston and Stephen King, this has one jaw dropping moment, when Jackson becomes a dancing skeleton and escapes his mortal form. I've always wondered if he wished that he could do that in reality.
Nathan Rabin explained the end of this way better than I can and his words prove why he inspired me to write about movies: "Ghosts has a happy ending: The common folk and especially their adorable children welcome Maestro back into the fold and embrace him for being a showman and an eccentric with a straight line to the spirit world. In the real world, alas, Michael Jackson wasn't as lucky. He had to die young and mysteriously to rehabilitate his terminally tattered image."
A lot of that money is because Jackson backed out of the original plan. Garris went to film The Shining miniseries and Stan Winston, who did the makeup and special effects, took over.
Unlike Thriller and Captain EO, two of Jackson's long and expensive videos that were seen by millions and can still be watched in some places today, Ghosts has disappeared after playing before Thinner.
In a small town, The Maestro (Michael Jackson) loves to scare kids - Mos Def is one of them - and perform magic tricks. The town's mayor comes to kick him out of town, saying, "He's a weirdo. There's no place in this town for weirdoes." If this feels like how the public was treated Michael Jackson in 1996, it's no accident.
Also: the mayor - as well as the ghoul version of the mayor and two other characters, Superghoul and a skeleton - is played by Jackson.
The Maestro challenges the mayor to a scaring contest and the first to show fear must leave town. He brings his entire family of ghosts to dance with him, then possesses the mayor. After that, the Maestro says that he will leave town, but falls to dust and then rises as the Superghoul. This makes the mayor so upset that he dives out a window, allowing the Maestro to remain.
I do have to say, a thing lost about Jackson after all his life's controversies is just how good his music is. This features several I hadn't heard before-"2 Bad," "Is It Scary" and "Ghosts" from HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix - and they're really amazing. The dancing is great, too, as are the effects, if somewhat dated.
Of course, this was made after the first time that Jackson escaped child molestation charges and this feels like, well, that trial. Except it gets supernatural.
Written by Jackson, Garris, Winston and Stephen King, this has one jaw dropping moment, when Jackson becomes a dancing skeleton and escapes his mortal form. I've always wondered if he wished that he could do that in reality.
Nathan Rabin explained the end of this way better than I can and his words prove why he inspired me to write about movies: "Ghosts has a happy ending: The common folk and especially their adorable children welcome Maestro back into the fold and embrace him for being a showman and an eccentric with a straight line to the spirit world. In the real world, alas, Michael Jackson wasn't as lucky. He had to die young and mysteriously to rehabilitate his terminally tattered image."