Ghosts tells the story of an eccentric man with supernatural powers being forced out of a small town by its judgmental mayor. Jackson plays five roles, and performs dance routines set to the songs "2 Bad", "Is It Scary" and "Ghosts", taken from his albums HIStory (1995) and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (1997). The AV Club described Ghosts as an allegory for Jackson's life and pop culture status.
Ghosts was filmed and released in 1996 and released along with select prints of the horror film Thinner, and was first screened in the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.[2] It was released as promo a year later internationally on LaserDisc, VHS and Video CD.
Plot
The mayor of Normal Valley leads a mob to the mansion of the Maestro, who has been entertaining local children with magic tricks and ghost stories. The children assure the parents the Maestro has done nothing wrong, but the mayor intends to banish him as a "freak".
The Maestro challenges the mayor to a "scaring contest": the first to become scared must leave. He performs magic tricks and dance routines with a ghostly horde, then possesses the mayor, forcing him to dance. After the performance, the Maestro agrees to leave and crumbles to dust, but returns as an enormous ghoul. Terrified, the mayor leaps through the window. The families agree that they had fun and allow the Maestro to stay.
Production
Ghosts began production in 1993 under the title Is This Scary? with the director Mick Garris. It was planned for release in conjunction with the family comedy film Addams Family Values.[3] Jackson backed out of the deal, returning an estimated $5 million,[4] and the Addams Family connection was dropped.[3] Stan Winston, who was previously in charge of makeup and visual effects, took over as director when Garris left to make the Shining miniseries.[3] According to Garris, Ghosts was the most expensive music video ever made, at around $15 million, all paid for by Jackson.[5]
Cast
Michael Jackson as Maestro / Mayor / Mayor Ghoul / Superghoul / Skeleton
Taken from Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix
Release
Ghosts was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.[7] At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by Pharrell Williams' "Happy".[8] In 2020, the film was available on Jackson’s YouTube channel from October 29 to November 1.
Home media
In December 1997, towards the end of promotion for Michael Jackson's remix albumBlood on the Dance Floor, a Deluxe Collector Box Set of Ghosts was released only in Europe. The box set included a VHS release of Jackson's Ghosts mini-movie on home video and his Blood on the Dance Floor album on CD, as well as a CD maxi single named the Limited Edition Minimax CD. "On the Line" was the first track on this single.[9]
Reception
The A.V. Club writer Nathan Rabin described Ghosts as "clunky, leaden and overblown", and said it was a "staggeringly blunt" allegory for Jackson's life and pop culture status.[10] He attributed its failure to Jackson's place in the public imagination at the time, following his recent divorce from Lisa Marie Presley and the 1993 child molestation allegations against him.[10]
"On the Line" is a song co-written and produced by Babyface. Michael Jackson performs the track and is also credited in its writing (on the writing credits of The Ultimate Collection). It was originally recorded by Jackson for the Spike Lee film Get on the Bus (1996), but it was not featured on the soundtrack.[9][12]
