''Ghost Fever'' is a 1987

horror comedy Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

film, directed by

Lee Madden Lee Madden (born Leon Blank, March 6, 1927 – April 9, 2009) was an American film and television director. He is known for directing the biker film, '' Hell's Angels '69'', starring the original Oakland Hell's Angels. His other films include ...

and written by

Oscar Brodney Oscar Brodney (February 18, 1907 – February 12, 2008) was an American lawyer-turned-screenwriter. He is best known for his long association with Universal Studios, where his credits included ''Harvey'', ''The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954), severa ...

. The film stars

Sherman Hemsley Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975; 1978) and ''The Jeffersons'' (1975 ...

, Luis Ávalos,

Jennifer Rhodes Jennifer Rhodes (born Janice Wilson) is an American actress best known in her many television roles specifically TV shows such as ''Friends'' and ''Gilmore Girls'' but she is mainly known for her role as Penny Halliwell on ''Charmed''. Life a ...

, Deborah Benson, Diana Brookes and

Myron Healey Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career span ...

. The film was released on March 27, 1987, by

Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

. It is an international co-production between the United States and Mexico. The plot concerns detectives Buford and Benny being sent to a

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

. During the night they spend there, the duo encounter ghosts, vampires and zombies.

Plot

Buford and Benny are two Greendale County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

police officers sent to serve an eviction notice for an historic

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

. Two ghosts named Andrew Lee, a former owner of the plantation, and Jethro, a former slave, decide to prevent their old home from being

foreclosed Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mort ...

upon. While the two officers explore the mansion, Buford discovers a hidden laboratory that was formerly used to experiment upon and torture the plantation slaves. Aggressive supernatural events begin occurring, but Lee and Jethro are confused because they are not responsible for these dangerous acts. Buford and Benny then find the home's residents: two pretty sisters named Linda and Lisa. The ladies explain that they believe their racist dead grandfather is the aggressive ghost. They introduce the men to Madame St. Esprit, a

spiritual medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

who has been called upon to hold a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French language, French word for "session", from the Old French , "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general and mundane: one ma ...

. This leads to a supernatural attack involving lightning-like spirit energy. During the evening and into the night, more ghostly mischief occurs. Jethro comes to realize that the slaves placed a voodoo curse upon their master and turned him into an immortal

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

. The vampire appears and the officers begin encountering

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore ...

on the plantation grounds. Benny manages to kill the vampire by staking him through the heart. Linda and Lisa reveal that they have been dead for many years and are tied to their house. To save the old plantation, Benny wins a boxing match (with a little help from Lee and Jethro) and uses the prize money to keep the home from going into foreclosure. As Buford and Benny drive on a rural road at the night, Lee and Jethro kill the officers in a car crash. The ghosts of Buford and Benny happily return to the plantation to spend the after life with Linda and Lisa.

Cast

as Buford Washington / Jethro * Luis Ávalos as Benny Alvarez *

as Madame St. Esprit *Deborah Benson as Linda *Diana Brookes as Lisa *

as Andrew Lee *

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...

as Terrible Tucker *

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning. M ...

as Sheriff Clay/Beauregard Lee *Kenneth Johnston as Terrible Tucker's Manager *

Roger Cudney Roger Cudney (June 22, 1936 – July 5, 2021) was an American actor, singer, dubbing director, radio and television announcer. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudney was known for starring in numerous Mexican films and telenovelas in which he ...

as TV Announcer *Patrick Welch as Ring Announcer *Steve Stone as Reporter *Ramón Berumen as Referee *George Palmiero as Terrible Tucker's Trainer

Reception

Leonard Klady of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reviewed the film during its initial theatrical release in 1987. He declared the film to be "frighteningly bad," and noted "there's chemistry between actors Hemsley and Avalos but it's far from being of the sure-fire variety."

References

External links

* * * {{Alan Smithee 1987 films 1980s English-language films 1987 comedy horror films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1980s ghost films 1980s police comedy films Miramax films Films credited to Alan Smithee American comedy horror films American fantasy comedy films American ghost films Mexican fantasy comedy films Mexican comedy horror films Mexican ghost films Films directed by Lee Madden 1980s American films 1980s Mexican films Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films set in country houses Films set on farms Films about sisters Films about curses Films about Voodoo American vampire films Mexican vampire films Vampire comedy films American haunted house films English-language comedy horror films English-language crime comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films