Ghostkeeper
45th anniversary special edition
Ghostkeeper (1981)
During a New Year’s Eve snowmobiling trip, Jenny (Rabid’s Riva Spier), her boyfriend Marty (The Grey Fox’s Murray Ord), and their friend Chrissy (Sheri McFadden) veer off path to explore a patch of private property. Stranded by a heavy snowfall, they stumble upon an abandoned hotel and seek refuge for the night. But before long, they meet a menacing woman (Rad’s Georgie Collins) who shares the building with her knife-wielding son (The High Country’s Bill Grove) and a mysterious creature who feeds on human flesh. As the visiting trio comes under attack, they struggle to make a safe escape – and maintain their grip on reality.
Featuring haunting performances from the entire cast and a typically atmospheric score by Paul Zaza (My Bloody Valentine), Jim Makichuk’s Ghostkeeper is an essential entry in the New Year’s Eve horror canon and a dread-inducing descent into wintery isolation and madness. Long regarded as the Canadian answer to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, this slasher staple is a Canuxploitation classic and one of the enduring highlights of the tax shelter era.
Special features
• Newly scanned and restored in 4K from the only known complete 35mm theatrical print by Canadian International Pictures
• New audio commentary featuring stars Riva Spier and Murray Ord, plus co-writer/associate producer Doug MacLeod
• New audio commentary featuring The Hysteria Continues! and author/film historian Amanda Reyes
• New episode of The New World Pictures Podcast on Ghostkeeper
• Ghostsneaker (2025, 16 min.) – New interview with film historian Chris Alexander
• The Window of Opportunity (2025, 16 min.) – New interview with story consultant Dave Makichuk
• I Need It Friday (2025, 10 min.) – New interview with composer Paul Zaza
• Zaza Begins (2025, 16 min.) – Zaza reflects on his early films
• Hollywood Canadians (2025, 14 min.) – Filmmakers Paul Lynch (Prom Night) and David Winning (Storm) reflect on Jim Makichuk
• Calgary Underground Film Festival Q&A (2024, 41 min.) – Post-screening discussion featuring Ord, MacLeod, and Dave Makichuk
• Archival interview with actress Georgie Collins (2011, 14 min.)
• Archival interview with cinematographer John Holbrook (2011, 7 min.)
• Alternate opening (1982, 2 min.)
• Ghostkeeper 2 (2013, 6 min.) – Jim Makichuk’s Kickstarter video pitching a sequel
• Night School (1971, 2 min.) – Early Jim Makichuk short
• Booklet featuring a new essay by film journalist/programmer Yasmina Ketita, an essay on the film’s production history by Eric Volmers, and an interview with Jim Makichuk
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
• New slip art by Tony Stella
Canadian International Pictures
From arthouse to Canuxploitation, Canadian International Pictures (CIP) is devoted to resurrecting vital, distinctive, and overlooked triumphs of Canadian and Québécois cinema. We are focused on the country’s original cinematic boom years – spanning the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s – occasionally venturing past that period (and the country’s borders) to highlight the films of Canada’s most inspired actors and filmmakers.
