Rating: 
Summary: Keep the remake.
Review: It was all smoke & mirrors anyway (pun definitely intended), and ultimately boring. The original, in all its cheesy glory, actually offers some OK acting here and there and a few genuinely creepy moments.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Says You Can't Go Home Again
Review: Last night I recaptured a treasured childhood memory when I watched "13 Ghosts" in it's new DVD incarnation. I was pleased to find that the film was entirely restored, including not only trailers but theatrical prologues and epilogues that I haven't seen since I was 6 years old. The "Illusion-O" process worked fully as well as it did in 1960 and overall, I was not merely pleased, but actually blissful at being able to so fully re-create that important (and influential) childhood experience.One small criticism, there is only ONE Ghost Viewer packaged with the DVD, and also, the RED filter is a teensy bit too dark, although the blue filter worked perfectly. Looking at the film again from an adult vantage point I was struck by how much the film has to do with "secrets". From Buck's Birthday wish right through to Elaine's cryptic line "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies", the whole plot of the film seems to be an exploration of secrecy/privacy within the family dynamic. Buck's Birthday Party presents the visual motif of the circle (in this case the family circle) which is threatened by squares and angles (in the form of the book, and the squarish ghost viewers.) The family circle expands to include Ben, a grave mistake, during the Ouija scene, and sets the stage for the frightening scene which follows. Buck's keeping of his secret is accompanied by his exclusion from the circle (of the Seance) and his subsequent endangerment. All three circle scenes have "group communication" as their theme. All the "square" scenes (dealing with the book, the four-poster bed, the secret panel in the staircase and, of course, the glasses) are about priviliged/private, secret communication. Plato Zorba, a man well used to keeping secrets, has been living in Los Angeles since the time of Buck's birth. Buck and Plato are stongly connected,and have a similar attitude toward "spirits" and, of course, secrets. It is Buck's need to differentiate himself from his family, and to trade on his secrets which leads him to confide in the one person unworthy of such confidence. Wonderful movie for kids, wonderful movie for adults, wonderful movie - period!
Rating: 
Summary: A Castle Classic...
Review: Maybe time has dulled the effect this movie had on me when I first saw it some forty years ago, but it still has its moments. William Castle artfully blended scares with laughs in this film and the combination works very well. The movie makes heavy use of sound effects along with some innovative visual effects which all add up to a very foreboding atmosphere...just the kind of atmosphere for ghost hunting! I won't spoil it by detailing the action; I'll let you see it for yourself. Too bad there isn't a ghost viewer packaged with each tape (it wouldn't work with TV, but it would be a great piece of nostalgia!) For those who don't know, the theatre gave each attending patron a ghost viewer. The viewer was made out of two layers of cardboard, decorated with drawings of ghosts, with two cellophane lenses (one blue lens and one red lens) sandwiched in between. One lens would make the ghosts show up really well while the other lens would make them pretty much invisible. During the movie, when the ghost alert was given (you were warned, although I don't remember how, when the ghosts were going to appear so that you could be ready with your ghost viewer), I watched through the lens that hid the ghosts so that I wouldn't have to see those horrid creatures (although once or twice I sneaked a peek through the other lens.) I even took my viewer home and checked out my bedroom before going to sleep...just to be sure, you understand. It would also be nice to see the original before-feature footage of William Castle explaining how to use the ghost viewer. Oh well, memories notwithstanding, this is still a very good movie and one worth watching. I hope you won't be number 13!
Rating:
Summary: Beware
Review: Movie is a lot of fun with the Illusion-O effect, provided you get the ghost viewer glasses. I ordered a copy from Amazon in May 2004 and it did not contain the ghost viewer glasses. I returned it and they sent me a new one that also didn't contain the glasses. I suggested that their whole batch was bad. They responded that the problem was larger than they thought and they would straighten it out, but couldn't provide me with a copy with the viewers at this time, and would refund my money. I ordered a copy from an outfit in Canada (Tampoo.com) and it contained the glasses. I discovered that the flyer inside contained a panel for ordering more glasses that expired in December, 2002 that was not attached to the flyer that came with the Amazon copies. It appears that Columbia Tristar ran out of the glasses and are knowingly releasing copies of the DVD without them.
Rating:
Summary: William Castle Intro and end Warning Intact
Review: Movie showman William Castle explains how to use the "Ghost-viewers" a pair of cardboard glasses that allow you to either see or not see the Ectoplasmic Ghoulies. The footage after the movie where Castle asks you to use the red part and look for Ghosts at home is intact. I have always enjoyed this film and along with THE TINGLER (1959) with it's rigged thaeatre seats that literally tingle your spine and the HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958) with the Percepto effect (consisting of a Skeleton on wires that flew over the film audiences heads) this is my favorite of Mr. Castles gimmick features... Enjoy this the original version and forget the pointless, un-focused and overly produced techno pop re-make released later.
Rating:
Summary: Spooky!!! With style...
Review: Mr. Castle gave us the Tingler with seats that shocked you at those TENSE times in the movie. But, before that he gave us 13 Ghosts with the viewers so you could see the ghosts! (When you wanted too). You have to give Castle credit for trying new things and entertaining the audience. Isn't that what movies are suppose to be about. I liked this movie. Buy it...buy some extra viewers...have the kids over on Halloween and have fun.
This is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Good clean fun
Review: Nothing like the remake - good clean fun with 3d glasses.
Strange to see the guy from Adam-12 as a shifty lawyer.
Funny to see the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz play the spooky housekeeper.
Well written and I'm sure the special effects were good for their time.
Sets are well made.
My daughter loved it! - great scary movie for pre-teens.
Rating:
Summary: Not as much fun without William Castle's "Ghost Viewer"
Review: Once upon a time there was a poor paleontologist named Cyrus Zorba (Charles Herbert) who learns he is heir to a mansion from his uncle Plato. So Cyrus moves his family, wife Hilda (Jo Morrow), son Buck (Donald Woods) and daughter Medea (Rosemary DeCamp), into the new digs. The problem is that Uncle Plato was a student of the occult who invented a nifty little device that captures ghosts. All of this is explained by Elaine, the old housekeeper, who is played by Margaret Hamilton (remember her, my pretties?). But the important thing here is that "13 Ghosts" was produced and directed by the inventive William Castle, which means there has to be a gimmick to get you to watch the movie. For "13 Ghosts" the gimmick was the "Ghost Viewer" which worked with "Illusion-o." This was actually one of Castle's best bits. The movie was shot in black-and-white, but the thirteen ghosts (duh) were tinted in red. The Ghost Viewer had strips of red and blue plastic: watch through the blue, you could see the ghosts really well. If you freaked, you could look through the red "ghost remover" and they would disppear. Of course, on the video tape you can forget about all this. You can always see the ghosts--bodies, body parts and even a lion--although not too clearly. Talk about killing the fun. But then there is the "Bed of Death," so it is not a total loss. I have to think that "13 Ghosts" is one of the few Castle films where they could duplicate the gimmick, so hopefully one day someone will revive Illusion-o and the Ghost Viewer. Until then, this tape is a poor substitute that does not quite make it to camp classic status.
Rating: 
Summary: Illusion-O Viewers Missing
Review: Product is advertised as having the viewers included. Too bad that the viewers are only an illusion. Don't be like me and order this DVD solely for the Illusion-O effect. The other problem with this DVD is that the "A" side is supposed to be the Illusion-O presented side with the "B" side being the non-Illusion-O side. Wrong! It's flip-flopped. Must have been burned wrong at the company.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit dated.
Review: Some old horror movies are fun--even if they are not what one would call "scary" today. This film, however, emerges as a bit of a bore because it lacks style and suffers from a weak, contrived plot. Moreover, what constituted "horror" in the director's mind in the 1960's is laughable today. This combination of flaws makes watching this film a chore. Rental only.
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