The Haunting

One would like movies like these to be scary, or at least chilling, but de Bont's Haunting is just plain stupid. The house and settings are great to look at but most of the effort on making the film has gone into over-the-top computer generated effects and zombie looking actors, while the script makes no sense at all. How much fun is it to watch Lili Taylor walking around talking to herself in order to help the audience understand what is happening on screen? Unintentionally funny moments include Mr Crain's incredibly bad make up and Owen Wilson not being able to climb over a closed gate. In short, stay away from Hill House.

This remake of the sixties classic of the same name has unfortunately been somewhat slated by critics, although I feel it's better than most people seem to think it is.

The location work is stunning and the set design has clearly had a lot of work put into it.

Liam Neeson, Owen Wilson and Catherine Zeta Jones all perform their parts quite well, but Lili Taylor is not as good as she should be. On paper she should be perfect for the role of Nell and for much of the film she provokes the necessary sympathy. She seems unable, however, to scream properly, instead letting what sounds like an animal cry. Also, she seems to say "Oh No" in exactly the same tone of voice every time she sees something frightening, although to be fair this is as much the fault of the script as it is hers.

Towards the end the atmosphere is slightly diluted by such things as having the beds and statues spring to life which makes these scenes much less frightening than they could be.

In spite of all this, this movie has a certain something that regardless of it's faults, makes me want to watch it again and again, and ultimately you can't ask much more from a film than that.

Well, my goodness, am I disappointed. When I first heard news of a remake of Robert Wise's 1963 film, "The Haunting", I had a fear that it would be ruined by an abundance of summer-movie sized visual effects. But, deep down, I had faith. Surely, with such a talented cast intact...De Bont and company will not ruin a film, who's original was a fantastic and frightening movie that understood the delicate art of subtlety. Well, subtlety, where are you now!!?? My fears have manifested...a promising movie has gone wrong. Yes, Eugenio Zannetti's production design is jaw-dropping; the movie is wonderfully photographed; and composer Jerry Goldsmith can never EVER do wrong. But, the script puts it's fine actors to the test..asking them to deliver the kind of stilted dialogue that is only spoken in movies. In the end, the always wonderful Lili Taylor is the only performer to escape with some dignity...and that's just barely. But, the crime of all crimes is that the horror is shown to us. We can no longer use our imaginations, feel that horrible dread of fear of the unknown. No, we get some visual effects to SHOW US what we're supposed to be afraid of...and you know what? As wonderfully realized as they are...the visual effects come off as sort of silly. And the climax is a phantasmogoric mess...but things had gone terribly wrong long before that.

Everything in The Haunting is overdone and overblown. I'm afraid there are no real thrills or creaks in this old haunted house monstrosity...only groans. Check out the original instead.

With all the other reviews it hardly seems necessary to go into vast detail about what the film is actually about. But it certainly uses superb special effects to give it a very supernatural atmosphere. I grant you that it does rob you of the use of your imagination by showing you exactly what's happening, but what's happening is hardly boring, so I don't know why so many people are complaining about it. And don't even think of criticising the ending, when practically every horror movie ever made turns out like this. By that I mean the source of the all terror is finally revealed, and all the scariness suddenly disappears. Don't you think there's a reason for that, so that the movie can end on a more pleasant note, and we're not all lying awake at night, too terrified to go to sleep?

This movie is a remake of a truly horrifying and nightmare inducing 1963 film of the same name. Why Hollywood thinks that digital effects and campy acting is better than the imagination is beyond me. This film is so full of digital effects (none of which look real) and overacting that it cannot compare to the original film which starred Julie Harris and Claire Bloom. This film is just plain stupid. The original (in black and white) is still the scariest film I've ever seen (and I've seen them all). The original makes you use your imagination to fear the unseen - this remake doesn't allow you to do that and that is its biggest mistake.