The Haunting
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Movie Reviews of The Haunting
Movie Review: A super fun spooky thriller!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Film: The Haunting
Year Made: 1999
Overview: A group of strangers are brought to a spooky house with a promise of money if they are willing to take part in a innocent experiment. All seems innocent enough, until they arrive at Hill House. What they soon realize is there is a reason that nobody stays after dark!
The Package: 4 Stars. The holder is nice, with cool eerie shot of Hill House on the cover. When you open the holder, the CD is held nicely inside the case. I found it easy to pop out, but also stays put. There is a nice inlay included inside that has some information about the film and it's great to read about just how large the massive set was in the film. As far as extras, there is a behind the scenes feature as well as 2 trailers included! You get a short teaser trailer as well as the main longer trailer. Cast and filmmakers bios as well as production notes. Overall, a very nice package.
Spook Meter: 4 Stars. I have to say that this is without a doubt, in my top list of all-time! favorite films. As I watched this, I found I had so much FUN watching that I never wanted it to end. The size of the house made my jaw drop. My favorite was the carvings of the children's faces near the bed! Super spooky and oh so cool!!! This film has everything that a FUN horror, haunted house film should have. A massive huge house, creepy ghosts, eerie sounds, a plot that is built up at a great pace, super actors and actresses!! What more could I want? Nothing!
Gore/Violence Meter: 2 Stars. There is really zero gore in this what so ever. As far as violence, there is only a few parts where anything violent happen and the two parts are pretty tame really. What replaces the large amounts of violence and gore is tons of great sounds and creepy details that pull you right into the what your seeing on the screen.
Profanity Meter: 2 Strikes. Very little profanity used, however Gods name is used a few times which was unnecessary, so I bumped up the profanity meter one more star. If not for that, there is no bad language in this at all and it's very enjoyable to watch.
Sexual Meter: 1 Strikes. There are no sexual/make out scenes what so ever. There is a hint from a comment in a few parts that lead the viewer to believe that Theo may have a bit of a extra interest in Nell. Theo asks Nell if she is married, or has a boyfriend or.... girlfriend? Overall though, their is nothing offensive that should offend any viewers.
Final Thoughts. So, is this film the type that will leave you awake for endless nights afraid? Probably not, yet I found that it has a extra special charm to it, that is not matched by other haunted house films. I have watched this film 3 times so far as of this writing and it just keeps getting more and more fun! I'm actually surprised that more viewers didn't love this as much as me, but I guess we all have our taste in what we like and that's cool. If I had to sum up this whole film in just three words, it would be.. Spooky,spooky FUN!
Movie Review: One of my All-Time Favorites!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I LOVE this movie!! I saw it in the theater at least three times and now own it on DVD. It may not have the pure psychological chills of the original B&W version, but it is plenty scary--far scarier than, say, the pathetic joke that was "The Blair Witch Project", which was released at the same time.
If you like a bunch of gratuitous gore, look elsewhere. This movie has real class, and an excellent cast. Bruce Dern and Marian Seldes brief performances set up the piece perfectly. One of my favorite early scenes is where Eleanor (Lili Taylor) echoes Mrs. Dudley's warnings about no one coming near the house after dark (when Mrs. Dudley is creepily explaining the situation to Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones).
The other characters are excellent as well: Liam Neeson plays the jaded and ethically challenged Dr. David Marrow to a T. His blase' and unbelieving attitude towards the terror the others feel early on makes it that much more terrifying--and satisfying--when the house reaches out to get him. You know it's going to happen, and when it does I, at least, felt like: "it's about time he got a taste of his own medicine!"
Theo's free spirit is a perfect conterpoint to Eleanor's repressed and sheltered character. In the early scenes where the two are exploring the amazing house it is clear that this is the most fun Eleanor has had in decades. Owen Wilson comes across with a gentle cockiness--a sweet, humorous young man who tries to show bravado in the face of the growing terror--sort of an "I'll protect you, little lady (even though I'm as scared as you are)" attitude.
Most critics would say the true star of the movie is the house itself--and the special effects that make it move and attack. Indeed, the set is incredible, the effects are fantastic, but the movie would be nothing without the varied personalities of the actors.
Perhaps the most chilling scene is Eleanor's vision in the mirrored carousel room, when Eleanor's mirror doublegives her an absolutely creepy smile.
For all of the effort the others go to to protect Eleanor, it is she who proves to be the strongest and the bravest--a nice twist when the hero's of most movies are men.
All in all, a terrific "Class A" movie that can be watched again and again and never get any less spooky.
Movie Review: A Very Grand Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not really going to compare this to the older version-doing that just makes comparisons, and that makes for a less enjoyable viewing experience if you have pre-envisioned ideas. See this on its own merits. You'll be happier, trust me.The story is about Dr. Marrow (Liam Neeson), a scientist who wishes to conduct a psychological experiment about fear, so he lures three subjects to an old house with the pretense of staging a sleeping-disorder experiment. This is a fairly hollow excuse to have the house be haunted, but it is an excuse, and it does work, so who cares?
As far as acting goes, Neeson is in the 'good' range. He's not great, but he does pull off his role fairly well. He has to be fairly sympathetic and genial, which he pulls off very well. He also needs to be sinister enough to confuse the audience. This is where Neeson stumbles a little bit. Now, the three 'subjects' are played by Lilli Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson. Taylor does a respectable and competent job fleshing out her sensitive, put-upon character Eleanor. At times she seems silly, but usually manages to pull off her character's melodrama. Zeta-Jones is equally capable as the openly bi-sexual, extroverted Theo. She manages to pull her character off slightly better than Taylor at points. The real stand-out is Owen Wilson, as the cynical joker Luke. His role is a supporting one, but he does a great job.
The special effects are very good: they are a bit overblown later on, but the subtle effects are very amazing as we see the many manifestations of the villainous ghost of the owner of Hill House. The sets are a show-stopper. They are very beautiful and exquisite: a high point.
The Haunting is an awesome movie. Rent or buy it tonight!
Movie Review: Very slowly, you are sucked into a nightmare!
Summary: 5 Stars
I understand why there are a lot of people who say that this movie is not very scary. I think that the movie is too slow for that. Because Jan de Bont takes his time before the actual nightmare begins. And I'm glad he did, because you can't start with some gory killings right away. It just wouldn't be believable. So you have to be patient with this movie. But in the main time, the movie is still very interesting because of the beautiful and scary lookin' house and the stories they tell about it. Inside the house, everything looks great and big which also gives you the creeps. But there are still some pretty suspenseful scenes which keeps the movie interresting and sometimes you even jump off your chair(if you have the sound a bit loud, that is).
"The Haunting" also contains some very cool looking effects and sounds which realy makes the house living! I especialy loved the wooden children who start to live!
The performances of Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson are also great and all this makes "The Haunting" a movie wihch you just have to see if you have a bit patient and like not very gory horror movies, because this movie hardly has any violent scenes!
Movie Review: Excellent film with serpurb special effects and setting.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was baby-sitting at someone's house the other day and decided to watch Cable TV (since I don't have it at home). I was flipping through the channels and found HBO, which was playing this film, THE HAUNTING. I missed like, the first half of it. But from what I saw, I thought this was excellent and I can't wait to rent it so I can watch the whole movie. I felt as though THE HAUNTING was a very underrated film, because it really was pretty amazing. I'm a fan of horror movies, and even though I rarely ever get scared, I still thought this was a good movie and other people out there might get freaked out by it.It's about four people who are asked to come to this old mansion to do experiments with the supernatural. If you didn't like this movie, you should at least give credit for the special effects and the settings, which were absolutely stunning and breath-taking. The acting from the entire cast, I gave an A+. This film stars Liam Neeson (STAR WARS - EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE), Lili Taylor (RANSOM), Catherine Zeta-Jones (THE MASK OF ZORRO), and Owen Wilson (SHANG-HIGH NOON). You must see this film to believe it. It's simply a wonderful, breath-taking film!