The Haunting

Rating:
Summary: One star only for two reasons...
Review: In 1959, "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson was published. Jackson was one of 20th century America's greatest writers, and "...Hill House" stands with some of the best of the British ghost stories as one of the finest, most enigmatic and chilling works in this genre.
In 1963, Robert Wise, with an obvious nod to the great low-budget horror films of Jacques Tournier(sp?), directed the 1st movie version of this film: "The Haunting". The film retained much of the mystery and strangeness of the novel... is this house truly haunted, or is Eleanor out of her tiny little mind? As in the book, this is really left for the viewer to decide. Wise's version of "The Haunting" is, in my opinion, still one of the most frightening and unnerving films ever made. The cast (Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn and Richard Johnson) were superb, but took second stage to the house itself. As did Tournier, Wise relied (wisely!) on what one DID NOT see to chill.
No monsters, ghosts, etc. are ever seen, just a truly haunting atmosphere made real by odd lighting, camera angles and VERY minimal special effects.
Enter 1999. Hollywood, in it's infinite wisdom, decides to take a great story and a great film and remake it! Hiring a hack director (Jan de Bont), and an idiotic screenwriter (don't even remember his name), they changed the story and relied wholly on special effects to turn this masterpiece into a freak show. There is none of the suspense or feeling of dread that the book and the original movie held left, just one constant "shock" after another, in a storyline that is not only stupid, but doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Utterly pathetic...
"Zero stars" is not an option, but even so, I would give this film "one" anyway because 1) The special effects aren't half bad, and 2) Catherine Zeta-Jones is SO easy on the eyes!!
Other than that, a waste of time. Rent or buy the original version, watch it on a dark, stormy night with the lights off, and see what a truly great "haunted house" film SHOULD be!

Rating:
Summary: Impressive cast in a lack-lustre tale of the supernatural.
Review: A group of people are invited to spend a night in a very imposing castle as part of a group experiment not knowing that the real purpose is far more sinister. Apparently, the house has summoned one of the guests because she is somehow linked to the house's evil history and she must protect the child ghosts inhabiting the premises from the evil poltergeist who abused them in life and continues to do so in the after life.

If you're heavily impressed by expensive CGI effects, THE HAUNTING may be the movie for you. If you're wanting a good old fashioned ghost story with thrills, chills and logic you may want to stay away from this over-worked mess of a horror tale. I had approached THE HAUNTING with high expectations. After all, it was billed as a chilling excursion into the unknown and several articles published before the film's release boasted about the elabortate special effects.

I would like to first state that I personally think CGI effects are over-rated and over-used. This is specially true in horror movies. I have yet to see a CGI infested horror film that has been able to convince me that what I am seeing on screen is real. It all looks cartoonish and despite the expensive digital images displayed, it looks one dimensional and flat. It may be impressive as a video game but as a horror film it's unconvincing. Many of today's younger audience who have grown up with today's more elaborate and technical FX may not agree with my assessment but I know that many others do. Many of the scenes that were intended to produce chills ending up inspiring laughter instead. There is nothing ghostly about this film. Ghosts are suppose to move objects, break a few windows and say "BOO!" on occasion. All these ghosts do is possess statues. And what's with the purple hands poking out of the ceiling?

Another aspect of the film that I find grating is the lousy script. I usually don't watch horror movies for Oscar calibre script-writing but since THE HAUNTING takes itself seriously I have to judge it accordingly. The main character is constantly running around the house yelling "I won't let you harm a child"..."The children need me" ..yada yada yada. What harm can possibly be done to these kids? They're all dead! Why do they need protecting?

The main reason I find this film so irritating is because it could have been so much better. It had all the potential. It had an impressive cast (Laim Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson), a great budget, a great musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and the location is splendid. The castle has got to be the most elaborate setting ever for a ghost story. But none were utilized to their full potential. The reason this film escapes the dreaded 1 star rating is because despite the film's cheesiness it still entertains.

This banal CGI spectacle is recommended to undiscriminating horror fans under the age of 12. All others, you might want to think twice or look elsewhere. Aside from a few laughs, you will find nothing more than a mindless hodge-podge of computer trickery. The original film, POLTERGEIST, THE SHINING and THE CHANGELING are far better. You might want to give those films a try before you commit 90 minutes of your life to this.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie!
Review: I think this is the type of movie that you have to watch at night in order to be scared. I wouldn't call it a horror film, but I wouldn't call it a thriller either. It's just one of those films that scares you. I thought Liam Neeson was great in this movie, the way he cared for Nell. I thought Owen Wilson did pretty good, Catherine Zeta jones character was a little strange, but still a good character to put in. But Nell played by Lili Taylor was great! She had a stunning performace! Now the mansion was simply amazing. I know it was probably just sets but it looked very awesome! Every room was extremely awesome! The sets were the best part of the movie!


Acting: 4/5

Location: 5/5

Music: 4/5

Story: 4/5

Very good movie!

Rating:
Summary: Why cast Lili Taylor as the leading lady?
Review: I have nothing against the girl, but to me anyway, she's a relative unknown, and they succeeded in casting a Plain Jane, certainly against Catherine Zeta Jones' beauty. She was a terrific actress, and the only reason I can think of that she was cast in the main role, is because of her striking likeness to Jamie Lee Curtis in the first Halloween movie. The hair and the slight similarity in the faces.

This film scared the bejeezus out of me when I was young, and after getting it on DVD, having not seen it for years, I wondered if it would have the same effect. It sure as hell did! I nearly hit the roof when various skeletons decided to jump out their tombs or whatever, or screams I wasn't expecting. The finale scared me a lot more when I was younger; now I just find it really sad.

With a cast including Owen Wilson (with a very bad haircut), Catherine Zeta Jones and Liam Neeson, this is a film that has to be seen, although the female characters are loads stronger than the male characters. I've seen quite a few bad reviews about it, about character development severely lacking. And apparently there's a book too? I know about the original movie, although never seen it. There's virtually no sexual content in this movie, which makes it stand out from the rest of the other movies along similar lines. There's a lot of criticism towards Catherine's (Theo) bi-sexual character too, and what seemed to be a possibility for a storyline between her & Nell. I found their "relationship" to be very subtle: nothing ever happens, but given half a chance, I think Theo would have more than introduced her back into the world.

If you've seen House On Haunted Hill, with Famke Janssen, then you'll notice similarities between the two movies. The title of this also had to be changed from The Haunting of Hill House to simply, The Haunting, as House On Haunted Hill was released a few months later.

The creaks and moans heard throughout the house were pre-recorded and played during filming in order to get a more natural expression of fear out of the actors. Liam Neeson is afraid of heights so his fear when he was dangling off the flight of steps whilst trying to save Nell (Lili Taylor), required no acting.

The sets are amazing in this movie, as are the sound effects, although the special effects can be slightly dodgy at times. There's two trailers (why two?), and a making of featurette, which I won't be rushing to watch.

If you like scary movies, and haven't seen the original, or read the book, then you'll probably like this. If you have seen or read, then you'll be sorely disappointed. If you like this too, look out for Thirteen Ghosts (even scarier) and House On Haunted Hill.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Hollywood Bull Sh*t
Review: What you would expect from a hollywood production. If you LOVE Hollywood, you'll LOVE this, otherwise go check out something that is actually freaky, I.E. The Changling or Suspiria.