The Haunting

Rating:
Summary: Amazing sound and video
Review: I'll keep it short(review of the DTS version)

The DTS 6.1 channel discrete sound contained on this dvd is one of the most impressive sound mixes i have ever heard,it enhances the the effectiveness of the film tremendously.You'll need a 6.1 DTS receiver and a subwoofer to take advantage of it though.Perfection.

The video is the cleanest i have seen in quite some time,the color saturation is striking,flesh tones are accurate,and the scenes at night are genuinely creepy as a result of the dark tint prevailent throughout.

I liked it better than the original,the story made more sense,the acting(especially LT was above average),and the pace of the film was just about perfect.

Yes the original was great in it's time,but this one takes it to another level with awesome sound,terrific fx,a solid story,excellent cinematography,and very good acting.

Rating:
Summary: Total bore compared to the original
Review: I guess if I never saw the old version of "The Haunting" with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom, I may have liked this, but being that I love the old 1963 version, this was a total bore. I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I saw some parts when someone else was watching it. Some of the things that happpened was just stupid hollywood special effects!
The old one seems real. Okay, maybe the door breathing in the old may or may not be real, it is by far more realistic than the new version. I recommend getting the old version of "The Haunting".

Rating:
Summary: Ultimately, this one's a failure (though not without merit).
Review: Four people are placed in a gigantic mansion as part of a study in fear, but they don't realize the house is actually haunted. Effects-heavy thriller features a decent beginning and a so-so cast (Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones are fine, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor are spectacularly awful), but eventually falls apart in the last half-hour, with a barrage of cheesy special effects taking over. Add to that the predictability and the sappy conclusion and you have a movie that went from promising to big dud. It might, however, hold appeal to non-horror fans looking for a quick, undisturbing thrills (and it seems that that was the crowd this movie was aimed at). For everyone else, either stick with the original or see House on Haunted Hill for a real coaster ride of a haunted house thriller (Which also actually features better CGI effects, a surprise considering it only had 1/4 the budget of The Haunting).

Rating:
Summary: A favorite of this horror fan
Review: I thought this was a very good movie and am quite surprised to see so many negative reviews of it. I am a horror fan and a Shirley Jackson fan, so I am not judging this movie in an intellectual vacuum. It really does not bother me that the makers of this flick took Jackson's basic premise and went in a completely new direction with it. It would be all but impossible to dramatize Jackson's original novel theatrically because the bulk of the story lies in the emotions, thoughts, and fears of the characters, especially Eleanor. I felt that the film did a very good job of portraying the sad isolation and fragile emotions of Eleanor, and I liked the portrayal of the other characters. Catherine Zeta Jones is wonderful as the complex Theo. With the exception of one short scene, Lili Taylor was a more than adequate Eleanor. The special effects, with the exception of a short hair-brushing scene, are excellent and well done; they do not, in my opinion, take precedence over the story but richly add to the atmosphere of the house. The ghostly manifestations are appropriately creepy, tastefully restrained, and wonderfully subtle in detail. The only flaws I found in the movie are probably the result of time constraints; more time was needed in order to adequately explain Eleanor's growing obsession with the house and her acceptance of the impressions coming from the spirits of the children "trapped" in the house. The turning point, where Eleanor comes to understand the evils Hugh Crain committed in the house and magically discovers the existence of a second Crain wife, does not make adequate sense based on the facts shown to the viewer and thus cries out for further elucidation. The ending of the film is slightly unsatisfying yet somehow seems right and appropriate. While this movie is not really scary and does not reflect the much richer storyline of Jackson's original novel, it nonetheless strikes me as a surprisingly good, enjoyable movie, head and shoulders above most other films in the horror/suspense genre.

Rating:
Summary: Best sounding DVD of all time!
Review: WOW! Is all I can say. I can honestly say that I agree with every comment that has already been said about this. This *IS* in fact one of the worst movies ever made, *BUT* you have *NEVER* heard one like this before. If you are going to rent or buy it, don't waste your time with the Dolby Digital version. Get the DTS version. It has SOOOOOOOOOOOO much bass, you need 4 subs, just to do it justice! The chapters that come to mind are 16 & 17, there is so much bass in those, you could easily destroy any sub that is not equiped to handle it. It may be the worst movie of all time, but it is certainly worth buying, just for the sound!

Rating:
Summary: Please don't even bother with this one
Review: I saw the original movie made in 1963 and it was wonderful. I was very anxious for this remake to come out and man was I disappointed!! It was horrible!

Rating:
Summary: Not a horror movie, a horrible movie
Review: This movie personifies everything that is wrong with Hollywood these days. The characters are superficial, the plot anemic, and the special effects vastly overused. Liam Neeson leads a cast of characters who spend a few days in a haunted house to gauge their fear reaction. The house is possessed by the spirit of its builder, who hates kids. That is about it. A terrible remake of the original 1963 classic, which was the best horror film ever made. Get the original, and save your bucks by letting this one sit in the warehouse and rot.

Rating:
Summary: A personal favorite movie
Review: I'll be one of the few people who will say that I preferred the remake over the original version. I've seen the original version of "The Haunting" on TCM. I wasn't too impressed by what I saw. I absolutely adore the '90s remake. Too bad this movie did not do as well as "The Blair Witch Project" back in '99. Personally I liked both movies but as for overall fun, "The Haunting" was better while "The Blair Witch Project" was better at suspense but a bit too predictable at the end of the movie for my taste.

Normally I don't dig over-the-top special effects like what I saw in this movie but I did. I thoroughly loved the scenes involving Lili Taylor's character Nell being tormented by the spirit of the deceased owner of the house, especially the scenes in her bedroom. Another favorite scene involved Liam Neeson when he was alone in that garden room with that water fountain and the statue comes alive and tries to drown Liam's character. Without giving too much away, I thought it was a bit too predictable the way Owen Wilson's character bought the farm but that scene made me cringe in my seat, and still does to this day. I will always love this movie. It is one of the few movies that thoroughly entertains me to this very day.

Rating:
Summary: Good,but not great.
Review: The Haunting Is a good movie to watch,but not a great movie.
The plot was flat,but the special effects are okay.The script
needed more work,and the plot needs to be better.I give this movie a three because its not great.

Rating:
Summary: Good Special Effects
Review: This film featured very good special effects. Good story development. I like the way the incidents of the haunting built gradually. Catherine Zeta Jones deserves an award for the fastest slap on film when she hits Liam Neeson. I mean, wow, you can't even see her hand. With all that going for the film, somehow, it's only rather mediocre. The characters evoke no sympathy from the viewer. I didn't agree with who lived and who died. The ending was simply unsatisfactory. I recommend watching this film only if bored.