Year: 1989
Runtime: 90 mins
Language: English
Director: John Derek
After suffering a fatal heart attack that leaves his body broken, elderly Scott returns as a ghost. Determined to regain a physical form, he persuades his attractive, young wife Kate to select and murder a young man, intending to possess the victim’s body so he can be with her again.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Ghosts Can’t Do It (1989), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Katie O’Dare Bo Derek is married to elderly billionaire Scott Anthony Quinn. Despite a 30-year age gap, they share a deeply affectionate, playful life defined by trust, companionship, and a fearless zest for living, with a relationship that includes passionate, frequent intimacy that keeps them buoyant through the years. During a routine horseback ride, Scott suffers a heart attack. He survives, but the doctors reveal a hard truth: his advanced age bars him from receiving a heart transplant. Faced with a choice between a diminished life and true death, Scott chooses to die on his own terms, embracing suicide rather than a life constrained by illness.
Ascending to the afterlife, Scott is greeted by a fledgling guardian angel who is still learning the ropes. As the first soul in her care, she is uncertain, yet Scott uses his position to persuade her to let him return to Earth, not as a living man but as a ghost who can linger near his beloved Katie. Katie is the only one who can perceive or hear Scott, turning their bond into a quiet, spectral closeness that defies physical contact. They are both frustrated by their inability to share touch, especially the intimate acts they once enjoyed, and Scott hatches a plan: Katie could murder someone so he can possess that body.
On the surface, Katie follows the path of handling her late husband’s business affairs across the globe, using her inheritance as fuel for travel and strategic moves. This journey doubles as a moral test and a practical mission, and a subplot unfolds as she negotiates a business deal with Donald Trump. Scott encourages her to have sex with each potential victim, a disturbing test meant to confirm body compatibility and ensure a seamless possession. The plan narrows to a target: a young, handsome, petty criminal named Fausto Leo Damian. Katie’s sexual encounters with Fausto become increasingly intimate, but each moment also deepens the struggle within her as the idea of murder weighs more heavily on her conscience. Scott grows impatient with the delays and begins to question whether Katie has begun to fall in love with Fausto in any real sense.
The story pivots on a dramatic, dangerous turn during a snorkeling trip: Fausto is caught in a fishing net and drowns. In a surprising twist, Scott cannot possess Fausto’s dead body, but Katie revives him with CPR, and the living Fausto becomes someone Scott can inhabit. With Fausto now alive and animated, Katie marries him, marking a shocking conclusion where the dead man’s spirit truly takes up residence inside a living, new body through Scott’s possession. The result is a haunting, transformative union where love, mortality, and the boundaries of self collide in a way that redefines both marriage and existence.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:19
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