Rating: Summary: 5 stars is too low for this thriller!! Review: This movie rocks! Unlike Jeff's complaint, I differ in my opinion. What is truly scary is the unexplained and the mysterious, the menacing and the unseen. Poltergeists have no need to physically harm people, and some of Jeff's complaints were unnecessary. The statues were placed there to scare, and were not walking around. There doesn't need to be a back story, since in real life very few people know the back story of anything. The ghosts didn't need to open the door-they were accomplishing enough by scaring the girls. Anyway, buy this movie!
Rating: Summary: The 1999 version should be ashamed of itself Review: Loving the original, I couldn't wait to see the remake, since there are such advances in movie technology. Unfortunately, it beats you over the head mercilessly with too many effects, too much pop culture, too much overacting, and no respect for an audience and what is better left unsaid and unshown. What a mess! The whole audience was laughing it was so overdone. Give me Julie Harris and her unspoken thoughts any day. The pulsing walls of the original were far scarier than the ridiculously overcarved cherubs of '99.
Rating: Summary: not bad but weak Review: This movie would be GREAT to show at a kid's Halloween party, and it's worth renting for adults, too. I got a chill during the shot of the empty staircase when the crashing noise first starts, but after that the spooks are noises and the Doctor's wife gets disoriented -- scary if you're there but less so on TV. I found too many plot holes distracting, like:--No discussion on why was the house was haunted in the first place, apart from pale surmising on "built evil." Built on an old Indian burial ground? Built with a freak combination of non90-degree angles that opened a portal to the Beyond? And what was up in the towers of the house that they kept showing Eleanor looking up at? --WHY did the house choose to focus on Eleanor? I eventually gave up and assumed it had something to do with her accessible mental state? It's not like she sees or hears her mother in the house, which would have tied that in. Was Eleanor a long-lost relative of the original inhabitants, and they needed her for some cosmic spook reason? --There should have been some follow up on what were the white statues all about. The heir said they weren't on the house inventory, which should have been a major clue -- so was it the statues stomping around all night? Did the statues move when no one was looking (very Stephen King)? And did Eleanor join them as the newest white statue -- that would have been a creepy ending. --that whole part about the hand holding was clever but done poorly. The beds of Eleanor and the other woman had been next to each other; all of a sudden they're across the room? If the haunting can create the force of a hand (Eleanor dreamed it?) and bend a solid wood door, how come it can't turn a doorknob (ectoplasm is slippery)? --physical phenomena: Can an old wood door really bend that much? If the air isn't physically cold (they said a thermometer can't measure it), how can they have frosty breath?? For an empty house, there was no dust anywhere; and the caretakers were too cynical to believe they house clean meticulously for no reason. --and how come the caretakers were so creepy? Did they have a financial gamble on keeping the house spooky, and getting it for themselves (very Scooby Doo)? --did nothing happen when the Doctor went back into the house ALONE at the end? After all they'd been through, why were they so sure Eleanor was the end of the story? I think the movie is a big, fat, red herring not about a haunted house but about how people can believe they are being threatened. In fact, nothing happens except noises (would there be a story if all the characters were deaf?) and the house actually takes rather good care of them (Eleanor embraced her fate) until they decide to walk away. Maybe the movie worked better in a theater?
Rating: Summary: This Movie will keep you up nights ! Review: This has been my favorite movie since I was a kid,Now whenever I want a good scare I turn out the lights and watch The Haunting. So if you want to know what goes bump in the night, this movie is a must see!
Rating: Summary: THIS MOVIE WILL SCARE THE PANTS OFF YOU !! Review: This movie was scary and kept me up all night, hearing all the bumps and creeks in my house. I was amazed at how scary it was with no special effects and no really horror scenes with tons of blood. This is a great psychological thriller that also satifys those who like a good ghost story. I recommend this movie to anyone who doesn't need a good night's sleep
Rating: Summary: Jan DeBont: Watch and learn Review: It's what you don't see, can't see, or think you see that scares the dickens out of you! P.S.- The same goes for sound.
Rating: Summary: Hair raising classic, without the gore. Review: Hair raising classic, without the gore. Better than the 1999 remake, which is still scary but dos'nt capture the darkness of the original. Dont miss it.
Rating: Summary: GREAT OLD FASHIONED SCARE FEST WITHOUT THE GORE. Review: ONE OF THE BEST FILMS I'VE SEEN. KEEPS YOU WONDERING WHAT WILL SCARE YOU NEXT. GREAT FILM TO WATCH ALONE OR WITH SOMEONE YOU LOVE ON A DARK RAINY NIGHT
Rating: Summary: Things That Go Bump In The Night Review: This film will truly raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Creepy, scary and unsettling, it is the epitome of all haunted house movies. The cast is execeptional and Robert Wise's concept is simply using good old fashioned storytelling and filming it with shadows and sound: You'll fill in the gaps -- and those gaps will keep you up at night! I still insist that a portion of this film is missing from the original theatrical release. There was an early segment filmed that explained Eleanor's scene (where she was looking up at the window while leaning too far back on the balcony) that has been removed. I'm almost positive of this, but the film doesn't really suffer from it. One note: At every scene where both women are in the bedroom and the sounds start, keep a light on!
Rating: Summary: This one will work your imaginary fears to the limit. Review: The 1999 remake of this movie pales in comparison to this original version. This version allows your imagination to create the fears and horrors to terrify you. The best thrill is scaring your self. While special effects of today are great, the directors perception may not ignite the deep inklings of fear that your own imagination can. I remember this movie as a young person and know that it thrills me today like it did then.
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