Driftwood

Introduction

Institutions have proved a fertile ground for filmmakers in the past, whether it's prison in The Shawshank Redemption, Parris Island in Full Metal Jacket or an asylum in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  In the case of Driftwood, the film is set in an 'Attitude Adjustment Camp for Troubled Youths' run by Captain Doug Kennedy (Diamond Dallas Page), a sadistic man who has no compassion and rules with an iron fist. 
 
When his parents find and read his journal, David Forrester, a 16 year old grieving over the death of his older brother, they send him to Driftwood as they are worried about his obsession with death.  David soon finds that there is more to the camp than meets the eye, seeing a strange presence walking the corridors at night and a ghostly image appearing on his photograph.  Sensing that something terrible has happened in the past, David figures he must find out what happened to this young man so his spirit can be at rest and David can get out.
 
However, the guards are almost as cruel as the Captain, the psychiatrist picks on the only inmate that pays attention to what David has to say and there's something more to Driftwood than just a camp for maladjusted teenagers. 
 

Video

This is very nicely shot with some good ghost effects, with subliminal and brief glimpses of the spirit combining well with the more prolonged shots.  The setting works well and it's generally a very well composed film.
 

Audio

The two audio options - both the surround and stereo - are clear and do a decent job with creating atmosphere though obviously the extra channels in the 5.1 mix add much more than the stereo can manage.  A decent score by William Ross helps and is well presented, as is the dialogue which is easy to make out, so the lack of subtitles aren't an issue.

 

Extra Features

You get a pretty good selection of supplementary material, with a couple of Bloopers from a barbecue scene, audition footage with commentary by director Tim Sullivan, deleted and extended scenes, plus an alternate ending also with commentary but, for these, Sullivan is joined by Diamond Dallas Page. 
 
There are a couple of 'making of's: the very brief Doing Time on the Set and the much longer (at nearly half an hour) Through the Gauntlet: Inside the Walls of Driftwood featurette.  These contain interviews, behind the scenes footage and other material and are worth a look.  There are also five weblogs and a photo gallery. 
 

 

Conclusion

Driftwood marks a remarkable change in direction for Tim Sullivan, best known for his B-movie/exploitation film homage 2001 Maniacs.  Apparently originally written as a straight prison movie, Sullivan added the supernatural element when producers were looking for a horror film and the PR bumf makes the association between this and The Devil's Backbone.  To an extent such a comparison is valid as they are thematically similar: a youngster is put in unfamiliar surroundings where he sees a spectral presence and feels compelled to solve the mystery.  However, this is not as rich or deep as Guillermo del Toro's sometimes overlooked masterpiece with no contextual setting and certainly nothing as resonant as war or being made an orphan. 
 
On its own merits, this is a reasonably satisfactory and fairly well crafted film with decent performances throughout.  Ex-wrestler Dallas Page certainly cranks his acting up to 11 and is fantastically over the top, chewing the scenery all the way, contrasting well with the more understated performances from the rest of the cast with Ricky Ullman (credited as Raviv Ullman) impressing as the tortured and abandoned David. 
 
Whilst no classic, this is still a decent film which is worth a watch but, if you really want a top-notch ghost story, watch The Devil's Backbone.