THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS (2015)

In 1921, Daniel Forsythe comes out of the dark and snowy woods, heading for his family's mansion on Christmas Eve. He witnesses an altercation between and a man and woman on the front porch, and just as he prepares to get involved, he is hit over the head with a blunt object and dies, blood spattering the snow. In 2016, the mansion, which now operates as Hollygrove Inn, is being sold and Kate, an attorney on the verge of getting a promotion, is sent there to wrap up the loose ends. But we first meet her at dinner as Laird, her current boyfriend, breaks up with her. She's actually alright with that, but she's not happy to hear, again, that she can't seem to make room in her life for love. At Hollygrove, she's surprised to hear from the current manager, Mr. Murray, that the inn closes for two weeks in the middle of December. It turns out that everyone believes that Daniel's restless ghost haunts the house for the twelve days before Christmas. Against Murray's advice, Kate spends the night at the inn and, yes, meets the ghost. He's handsome but brusque, picking her up and tossing her out of the house the next morning, but soon she and Daniel and Mr. Murray form a loose alliance as Kate vows to help him figure out who killed him, perhaps bringing an end to his unrest. Of course, as will happen, the human and the ghost fall in love. Eventually, other spectral beings intrude, including the woman Daniel was in love with all those years ago. Can Kate solve the mystery before midnight on Christmas Eve? And can she figure out how to have a relationship with a ghost who is only present for twelve days a year?

For a while, this movie seemed to have the potential to be a little something different from the run-of-the-mill Christmas TV movie. It feels more like an indie film that a Lifetime TV-movie and winds up with a split personality, bouncing back and forth between the interesting Gothic-flavored ghost story/murder mystery and the fluffier Christmas romance story so familiar from cable. The mystery is resolved (as is the romance) but the tonal problems remain throughout; another problem are some unorthodox "rules" of the spirit world. Frankly, the Gothic side of the story is far more interesting, and though the potential for a Brigadoon-like relationship between Kate and Daniel is teased for a while, even that gets sacrificed for the demands of the romance movie genre. Thomas Beaudoin, though appealing, seems too modern for a 95-year-old ghost, and Jen Lilley is about average for a TV-movie lead. In small roles, I enjoyed Alexander Gauthier as Laird and Brett Leigh as Daniel’s cousin in the past. [Amazon streaming]