User reviews

I saw this when I was 11, and liked it. Granted I didn't sleep with my feet over the bedside for a while. After watching it again tonight, I realize that I still like it. There is symbolism in having a 'no-name' actress play the main character. It goes with the character. The effects were fun, and very much my style of creepy, suspense, and just plain disturbing.

And for being made in 1999, The Haunting is very well done. You clearly see the fear in the characters as they try to figure out what was going on, and the change that happens in the main character is very subtle and empathetic to a receptive audience. I don't watch horror/suspense movies because I am very empathetic and remember details, but this is a movie even for 'chicken' audiences. I recommend this movie if you prefer suspense and thriller with dignity over gore, blood, and screaming college students. ^~^

True, the movie may not be as scary and spooky as the previews made it out to be, but the plot was interesting, and the house was beautiful. The exterior shots were amazing, and I've never seen anything like the interior before. The house, alone, was worth seeing the movie for. When you add the special effects and the "bumps" in the night, the movie is definitely worth seeing.

I watch a lot of Horror movies, and this movie does not deserve the bad rap it gets from people. Note that there are 34,780 reviews, does that sound like a movie people think is worth commenting about? This is a movie I've watched many times.

Solid acting, atmospheric set, great location, deceit, terrific sound effects Catherine Zeta Jones. Did I mention Catherin Zeta Jones? At the height of her youth and beauty? And if Steven Spielberg had anything to do with it, he did not muck things up too badly.

The only thing I would have changed would be to make it a little more rough - more violence, more terror. This is why I do think Spielberg had a hand in it and tried to make an "ET" of it, but there is still plenty to like .

Alot of people hate on this movie. But since it has come out on my birthday in the summer of 1999 I've loved it. I know it's goofy. But it's one of the only big budget Hollywood scare fests. And although it's not very scary or even very suspenseful it lacks something genre films desperately need, it's absolute fun. A genuine rush of pure entertainment. Starring Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Owen Wilson and scene stealer Catherine Zeta Jones. The film centers on a group of characters who are unwittingly participating on a study on fear in a giant grotesquely beautiful mansion with a sketchy past. The film is not subtle at all and when the floodgates of paranormal activity begin. It's a barrage of CGI that has everything from furniture to stone sculptures springing to life and attacking. Like I said before the movie it's a ton of fun and a truly rare example of an imaginative Hollywood reimagining with a budget so that the director of Speed and Twister can do everything his little heart desires. One of my faves.

Budget: $80M Box Office: $180M

9/10

The camera work, special effects and sound effects in this film are truly enjoyable, and give you all the creeps you need. Plus add a good cast to go through the haunting experience, and you've got a pretty good movie. Makes me wonder why critics were putting it down. I enjoyed it, and liked the fact that it actually had a plausible story. Not something unbelievable out of space or a cosmic creation, or a revengeful ghost killing everyone. Maybe that was best about the movie, killing the characters and thinning out the cast was not the main point but it were the creepy sounds, the things you didn't see and then the visual effects that kept you in suspense. Well, there are these haunted houses in New England... (though the "castle" of this movie was in Britain.)

Good movie . Well shot ,well acted and good special effects.Alot of fuddy duddys have slammed this movie and consider the '63 version a masterpiece.. pffft! .. This is waayy more fun ! Compared to a lot of garbage out now this is a very well made movie. Entertaining and well worth a look !

I have yet to read the novel by Shirley Jackson, but I have to assume that this remake covers all the material left out of the original that would have gone so far to explain the house's history and idiosyncrasies. The effects are very good, but they aren't very scary or likely in the boundaries of true haunted houses.Lili Taylor's performance takes back stage to Catherine Zeta-Jones which is quite the opposite of the original and does obviously impair the movie's likeability. Liam Neeson is rather distant to the character and events, and Owen Wilson is quite annoying as he tries to copy the original role set forward by Russ Tamblyn. The house, however, takes centerstage as the special effects take over the storyline midway through the movie. Complaints aside, this is a very good if not excellant movie. It ends rather on a confused edge, but thankfully, it does not try to copy the original.

As I have recently watched many rather stupid and low budget horror movies, 'The Haunting' really did it for me. The set was definitely mind blowing, even though most of it was recreated on a sound stage in the US. The enormity of the house depicted has to be seen to be believed, even then it cannot be.

I found 'Hill House' incredibly haunting, so any plot staged in that place would be creepy by nature. I don't usually find special effects believable and mostly they are completely over the top. Effects in this movie are excellent with photography to match. As for the very creative and enormity of the sets, they were stunning and very professionally done.

I rate this movie as a 9......that's quite high I know, but it really tickled my imagination. The best movie I've seen in quite a while, (most movies along these lines are rubbish) so I'll definitely watch it again.

That said, I loved it. Had me glued to the screen the entire time. I'd barely looked at the watch. Horror fans, this isn't gonna scare you. Don't look at it as a horror movie per se. The problem we see here is whether it's a horror movie or just a movie that is creepy. It's just your classic haunted house movie. Original no. But I personally loved it. If you've ever played the Sierra video game Phantasmagoria (7 cd roms long) as it is an interactive movie, you'll simply love this movie. I also appreciated the fact that whomever designed the pan/scan version took it upon themselves and preserved some integrity of the film by putting 1 particularly widescreen moment in the film along with a smaller, but equally just widescreen towards the end of the film. Aspect wise, I think people are still confused with widescreen. They would call us purists I suppose, but movies are meant to be shown in widescreen. Widescreen is not like those rip off panaramic shots used by Camera's. (those who have used it know what I mean) I think it was wise that they used that widescreen shot in the movie to show what difference it could make. Pan/scan versions are cropped and destroy the movies integrity. Some movies are shot in good and poor widescreen, but one this is for sure. Get ready for HDTV..... :)

The interior of the castle was done inside the old hanger for the Spruce-Goose in Long Beach, California. The artwork and detail of the interior is outstanding. The special effects are also very good. I have the original film and although they are similar, they are enough different that you can enjoy one and then the other. Everytime I watch the new version I concentrate on the detail present, it is mind boggling. The ending of the film I think could have been a bit better, perhaps, but the rest of the film was good enough that the ending was OK; which made it a bit like the original film. If you have never seen the original, you should. It was super and it never really shows a creature or demon. But, you are convinced they are there, just the same. I should say that I have the advantage of viewing the new movie on DVD and with a very good sound system. With a big screen and a good sound system the film really gets you.

This movie is the greatest Thriller, Suspence, Horror movie I have ever seen.. It just blows "Scream", and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" out of the water, no contest. It's full of GREAT Special FX, and the acting is awesome. I would definately go see this movie again. It's worth the 6 bucks.

after seeing the movie and reading all the "reviews" of it and comments on how the audience hooted and laughed at the film i see no reason why they did. there were some scenes in the movie that made me laugh a little, at the situation, not at how bad they tried to scare you. it did make me jump a few times and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. i can't see how this movie made so many people laugh, in the theater i work at and saw it in, the whole auditorium was filled and when something happened i saw a lot of people jump up...no one was laughing.. makes me kind of wonder what kind of audience was at the preview?

Great comedy I mean Owen Wilson it was a grate movie not scary but when I talk to other people they say its so scary but I love the childs play movies in the same way FUNNY scream is ok I love holoween and Im a fan of vamps, witches, Werewolves and beasts both real and fictional I dont like Jason, Holloween or Fredy Kruger

This movie is very cool and exiting! The special effects is brilliant and the editing (by Michael Kahn) is perfect! The acting isn´t the best you can get, but it´s not bad, so it´s OK! One thing that makes this movie so cool is the sound effects! They rule! It won´t suprise me if The haunting gets an Oscar for best sound effects.

I recommend this movie for all Jan De Bont-fans, and all other people who likes a good thrill!

When you hear the word "haunting", it makes you think automatically of some spooky old house with ghosts that chase you around. Well, basically, as you have seen in the previews, this is what this film is about. 3 complete strangers stay in an old house and get freaked out by some"thing".

The thing is, this film is unlike any other scary movie i have seen before. It is a scary movie, but not in the usual sense of scariness. There is no guy in a black hooded costume chasing innocent young girls with a butcher knife, but instead a house come to life by things unknown. The special effects are used in this movie like no other. Instead if using goriness to freak others out, they imply violence, rather than showing it to you face to face. The CGIs are astounding. They bring the house to life for the viewer without making you feel that you are inside some elaborate computer game. Overall, this movie is the best horror movie to come out since "Screa-": well let's not give that gore-fest too much credit...

I thought that The Haunting was one of the best films I've seen in a long while. I know all the other reviews around say it isn't scary and there's no characters or plot, but I personally found that the characters had substance, there is a pretty deep plot (though they could have made more of the sub-plot between Nell and Theo), and it DID scare me. I have the childrens' voices in my head still. I went to see it at a late night showing (midnight), which I guess probably helped somewhat in making it really scary. Amazing special effects too. I liked the idea of using the curtains as a way to see the childrens' ghosts. And Lili Taylor was brilliant in it. I did think that it shouldn't be a 12 though. Okay, so there's no swearing or gory violence, but all the scary things - rooms changing shape, statues and pictures coming to life - are things that will really scare younger children.

Well, as promised they did pull it off. The Haunting really isn't one of the biggest shockers to hit the big screen, the great part, is there's finally a modern horror movie that can pull off at least a bit of a scare without a fountain of blood. With bloodbaths like Carrie, The Excorsist, and more, I think its gratifying that Jan De Bont made a horror film that almost everyone can see.

Bad points include that the movie has an incessant banging throughout the entire film, and, some of the scares are really destroyed by shots of fat statues of children with terrified looks on there faces.

A real SFX explosion, recommended.

I saw The Haunting the night it opened and I loved it. Let me say that I'm a horror fan in general, and I prefer a good ghost story to a hack and slash movie anyday. Still the Haunting had very few scary scenes. It is not in league with "The Shining" or even "Burnt Offerings". That aside The Haunting had an interesting story, great music/sound, good FX, and the coolest mansion even filmed. Indeed the house is the star of the film (as it should be). For haunted house fans it's worth the price of admission alone.

The movie has some faults, but most are minor. A lot of reviewers note the cheesy dialog, but the truth is that there are only about 2 or 3 bad lines in the whole picture ("home is where the heart is" & "it's about family" being the worst). Not enough to ruin it by any means. The acting is top rate. Lili Taylor (as Eleanor) is fantastic, but Catherine Zeta Jones seems to steal every scene she's in (doesn't she always). Liam Neeson is somewhat wasted as the doctor conducting a study on the other three.

A major complaint I hear a lot is that only Lili Taylor's character is really developed. True, but so what. Do you really need to know everything about a character in a movie. The Haunting is about the house and it's relationship to Eleanor. The other characters only serve to define her. For example: Catherine Zeta Jone's overtly sexual Theo serves to contrast with Lili Taylor's Eleanor to show us a woman lacking self esteem and confidence. It is Eleanor who the story revolves around, and Lili Taylor does an excellent job of bringing her to life.

It's also nice to see a horror movie that uses style and mood over gore & blood (of which there is very little). Those expecting to be scared out of their skin with the Haunting will be disappointed. Those wanting a good summer movie with a big budget, big stars, and lots of special Fx set in a very cool haunted house, will find The Haunting very satisfing. 9 stars (out of 10).

Lavish sets, playful effects, another great Jerry Goldsmith score, and a delightful main cast made this Fun-House Thrill-Ride my favorite "Summer Movie" in many years. While it doesn't achieve the "Great Movie" status for richness of story and characters, like say Good Will Hunting or As Good As It Gets, it's not supposed to! This is Summer, time to chuck reality and have some fun at the theater! This is a theater-experience movie, with sound that rumbles your seat, and eye candy to fill every inch of the big screen. It's what makes you want to go over and over again because it won't be the same when it comes to video. I've heard so many poor reviews of this movie and some people say it's not scary, but they are all missing the point: it may not be scary, but it's thrilling and fun; good old fashioned popcorn fun. I also like the liberties they took with the original story, which gives it a life of it's own. It's a good balance of having enough the same and enough different to keep it fresh and exciting. So, in my book, it gets top honors for a Summer Thrill Ride. [9 out of 10] [****] [A]

Okay, so the movie may not be as scary as it claims to be. There's definitely an unsettling, creepy feeling throughout, but I admit that the Haunting only delivers a few good scares. That, however, is no reason to avoid this film. See it even if for no other reason than an incredible set and effects that are beyond special. Okay, the face-in-the-sheet trick definitely gets old, and the story leaves something to be desired, but the effects are great, as anyone who has seen the previews knows. The acting is terrific most of the time, especially Catherine Zeta Jones and Lili Taylor (who looks eerily like Jamie Lee Curtis did in the original Halloween). If you let it, the Haunting can definitely keep you entertained for a couple of hours.