The Haunting

Rating:
Summary: APALLINGLY BAD VERSION OF SHIRLEY JACKSON'S CLASSIC STORY
Review: My sister rented the DVD and we watched it at midnight last week; I should have hit the sack instead! This movie version of Jackson's brilliant novel "The Haunting of Hill House" is infinitely inferior to the 1963 version starring Julie Harris. Overblown and badly acted, this movie has one ludicrous script and the set, which is meant to be impressive, misses the intentions of the original story. Liam Neeson is totally out of his realm in this hodgepodge - Lilli Taylor would have made a great Eleanor if it weren't for the banalities of the script and the ludicrous additions to the story: the children, her Great-Grandmother, making eccentric Hugh Crain into Lucifer personified, etc. The original novel has a lot to recommend it and these fabricated aspects definitely are not among them. Catherine Zeta-Jones makes a visually arresting Theo,and she's really the only character in the film which comes alive and rings true. Owen Wilson's interpretation of Luke Sanderson comes off as just plain stupid and Neeson seems completely lost. Shirley Jackson fans around the world are sorely dissappointed in the misinterpretation of her work and this film which is basically a waste of money, talent and the viewers time!

Rating:
Summary: AN EXCELLENT HORROR FILM IN A MODERN WAY
Review: I admire three people there in this film, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta Jones, Liam Neeson who have done great jobs with their actings. Catherine's performance was not overpowering and she is really beautiful, Lili is pretty and sexy in certain circumstances. We can have all these good three people in this movie, what can we ask more! Buy this DVD movie, the best is to play it with Dolby 5.1 which will bring you an EXCITING haunting feeling !

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie, An absolute Must See!
Review: When I watched The Haunting I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the plot, the characters, the fact that it made you think, and that it made you sit on the edge of your seat. The casting was WONDERFUL, I've never seen a better cast. They all played there parts perfectly, like they really were the characters, that's one of the main reasons why I loved it so much. The fact that they could play there roles so well made it happen for the movie. The story line made you think. In order to understand the movie you HAD to listen and get into it. It made you watch it and pay close attention to the film. It was also scary, very scary and ver suspensful. I love that in a movie. It's what makes you want to see it again. I could never get enough of it. However even though the story line was wonderful I think it was a little too confussing. You have to see it twice to really understand it. Other than that it was a well made, well acted, well written movie. I would and do highly recommend this to anyone who loves suspense, thrill, mystery, and suspense.

Rating:
Summary: About as scary as a " Facts of Life " reunion special
Review: The Haunting is incredibly mediocre, even to the point of making you laugh when you should be screaming. The plot is weak, the script is empty, and the acting is subdued. Well, what do you expect from a movie that has Zeta Jones in it? Actually, the scariest part of the movie is that they didn't allow a good actor who played a bit part ( Bruce Dern )to be the main character in the film. Trust me, you've seen this movie a hundred times before. Even The House On Haunted Hill was better than this turkey.

Rating:
Summary: Actually the second time around it's not that bad.
Review: Ok so the first time I saw this I thought it was pretty bad and dumb. So I got the DVD for an early Christmas present and thought why not lemme watch it again. I did and I was surprised that I liked it the second time...not that it was fantastic or anything but I learned if you dont take it too seriously it's actually pretty fun and entertaining. The special effects are fantastic and real looking but when the last 15 minutes come look out...absurdity hits right about now which makes it not great. The ending is the worst part...but up until there it's a fun movie. Now for the DVD it's fantastic with a clear crisp picture and the colors were rich and vibrant. The sound was fantastic and was great with surround. The special features could have been better and added the scenes that were cut to recieve an R rating. The only special features are a 30 min docu on the film, a teaser trailer and a full length trailer, bios and menus. Now for the menus themselves they were pretty neat and were animated with music in the background. An audio commentary would have been nice had they added it but they did not. This being a signature collection is a bit meager in it's features but the DVD is overall great.

Rating:
Summary: what a waste!
Review: This is a horrible movie. The plot, the acting, the special effects... I don't know what was worse. I was very disappointed when I rented this movie (on DVD). I'd love to point out all the things that don't fit, but I'd rather just say that the whole movie is plain stupid. I almost fall asleep watching it: it's not scary, it's not thrilling, the story is not addictive, and all special effects are shown in its 2 min trailer. I agree with the reviewer who said, "Don't rent it and don't buy it."

Rating:
Summary: Not So Bad
Review: I didn't know what to expect with this DVD. I'd heard some bad reviews of this. However, it wasn't the totally awful movie some say. It is not your basic, horror (ie slasher) movie, it works more with suspense, and the plot unrolling to give you the whole store. (I admit, I haven't seen the original, but then again, I'm judging this only on it's own merit) While not the WOW WHAt a Great MOVIE experience I've had with some, it was entertaining for the afternoon. The effects were good, and there was the element of suspense in many scenes, instead of blood and guts. Buy it , rent it, love it hate, - As long as your not expecting the greatest horror movie ever, and just an afternoon of entertainment, you're fine. and no, it's Not Blair Witch (Oh THANK GOD it's not, now that was overhyped and a huge let down! )

Rating:
Summary: OH MY GOD
Review: Though I have a suspicion that this movie will soon become a cult favorite, currently, it is simply one of the most unintentionally hilarious horror movies ever made. The elements -- including the cast, from a pouting, bi-sexual Catherine Zeta-Jones to an achingly sincere Lillian Taylor, and the plot, which takes a classic Shirley Jackson story and actually takes away the terror -- are each so bad that the end result is one of those movies you watch and say -- how did this ever get made? Redeeming qualities: the set, which is so massive and full of detail that it is interesting to explore, and a few of the special effects, which unfortunately do not help you to understand the absurdly diluted-and-then-regurgitated plot. There could have been a great horror movie from that story, but this is definitely not it.

Rating:
Summary: The Editor Reviews are wrong!
Review: This movie was excellant. It was one of the few movies I have ever seen that was truely riviting, and scary. I have seen the old version directed by Robert Wise and there is no comparison. The new movie is great, while the old one isn't worth watching. Don't believe the editorial reviews. This movie is great. I highly recommend it. The acting is top notch, the effects are gret, the set was awesome, and I have watched it six times already on video and will watch it again as soon as I get my DVD player.

Rating:
Summary: Not anything near Shirley Jackson
Review: I was excited about seeing this movie. I really was. It started out like the book, kind of, but of course, like so many movies today, the special effects took over and then we went on the most boring roller coster ride that was ever created. Suddenly, the house wasn't just evil, it had to be the actual evil man who inhabited it. Yeah, that wasn't in the book. Then it tried to regain our sympathy after it tortured us with stupid special effects by implying that the evil main character was really into killing his child laborers. Sorry, no sympathy here. And then, just for fun, some guy gets his head chopped off for no real reason, a picture comes to life, a door comes to life, a statue comes to life, Elenor goes crazy -- all not scary -- and then these little kid statues say, "Help me! Help me!" Then somehow, someone becomes the great grand-daughter of the evil guy and she proceeds to not get out of the way when he slams into her, causing severe internal bleeding. Finally, the movie ends and the two people who didn't die WALK out of the main gates, seeming to forget that they had driven there. Anyone who let this movie fool them into believing that it was good has never read the book and is probably way too into special effects for their own good. Even the actors couldn't save this. Stick with the book. For being written in the "olden days" it still has more horror than this movie could ever produce.