The Legend of Lucy Keyes (2005)

An urban family leaves city life behind for the confines of rural New England. Little do they know that their new home once belonged to the Keyes family, a clan who experienced the tragic loss of their daughter some 250 years ago.

Director:

John Stimpson

Writer:

John Stimpson

Stars:

Julie Delpy, Justin Theroux, Brooke Adams

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Delpy	...	Jeanne Cooley
Justin Theroux	...	Guy Cooley
Brooke Adams	...	Samantha Porter
Mark Boone Junior	...	Jonas Dodd
Cassidy Hinkle	...	Lucy Cooley
Kathleen Regan	...	Molly Cooley
Ken Cheeseman	...	Bud Travers
Michele Greene	...	Sheila Travers
Jamie Donnelly	...	Gretchen Caswell
Tom Kemp	...	Chief Kemper
Bates Wilder	...	Deputy Officer
Charley Broderick	...	Bob Greenwood (as Charlie Broderick)
Frank T. Wells	...	Gus Jasper
Rachel Harker	...	Martha Keyes
Anna Friedman	...	Lucy Keyes

Storyline

Guy Cooley moves to an old farm in Princeton with his wife Jeanne Cooley and their two daughters, Molly and Lucy, to build eight windmills to generate clean power to the city. He was hired by the local Samantha Porter, who owns with her relative Jonas Dodd the lands in the woods where the facility will be built. The Cooley family has a cold reception in town, and while voting for the approval of the project, the old woman Gretchen Caswell votes against the construction with many followers and mentions the historic importance of the spot and the name of Martha. Jeanne researches and discloses that two hundred and fifty years ago, a girl called Lucy Keyes got lost in the woods and in spite of the efforts of her mother Martha Keyes and the locals, she was never found. When the ghost of Martha comes to the fields around their property calling for Lucy, Jeanne realizes that the legend is true and that there are many hidden secrets in that location.

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Plot Keywords:

double barreled shotgun | ghost | family secret | pig farmer | small town | 

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Taglines:

250 years ago a child disappeared. Tonight, she returns.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent content and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

LMNTV Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Lenda de Lucy Keyes

Filming Locations:

Princeton, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Moody Independent,Intellectual Properties Worldwide (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

An enjoyable spooky yarn

I caught this film last night and was very pleasantly surprised. Other reviewers have covered the basic plot, so I won't bother here. I have to say that I was most impressed by the little girl who played contemporary Lucy. That tot can act! She was cute without being cutesy, and solid without being wooden or robotic, as some child actors can be.

It was fun to see Jamie Donnelly on screen again. Although she has changed quite a lot from her Grease days, the voice and the eyes are still the same. Living in a small (pop. 3000) town myself, I found myself chuckling about the rather clichéd "town eccentric" character Donnelly played and thinking to myself, "Why OF COURSE there's a town eccentric!" But her character was central to the plot and she turned out to be more than I expected.

I recommend this film for those who want a spooky yarn without all the slash-and-gore contemporary film makers seem to think all ghostly tales must have. It does have some bloody moments, but compared to most of "Let's dismember people" films being made today, they're not too bad.