Some houses are born bad and so are some films. Here is yet another remake,
this time of the generally overrated 1963 The Haunting, based on Shirley
Jackson's book 'The Haunting of Hill House'. Jan de Bont's interpretation
appears to exist to show off an impressive house, imaginative set design and
the special effects, and as with so many films of recent years, the film is
all style and no substance. Who keeps propagating the belief that special
effects are a suitable replacement for story and characters? Why can't we
have both?
Liam Neeson is uninspiring as a docter studying fear and insomnia in a group
of people at Hill House. The subjects include Catherine Zeta-Jones, unneeded
as she walks through yet another sex object role, the emotionally vulnerable
and incredibly dull Lili Taylor, and the annoying and pointless Owen Wilson.
The house is haunted by it's builder, Hugh Crain, his second wife, and the
hundreds of children he killed last century. The first hour is little but an
excuse for the characters to roam around the house so we can be astounded by
the interior. Eventually the horror starts, or at least the horror is meant
to start, sadly it never does and we spend the rest of the film wondering
where the terror or suspense is.
Taylor is susceptible to the poltergeists of the house and as the movie
progresses she works to free the spirits of the trapped children by fighting
the evil Hugh Crain who controls the house. The final confrontation is a
nonevent and there are so many unanswered questions…How did the children
die? Why is the presence in the house so big? Why is this film rated M? Etc.
I can't express how boring this film even when it bursts into a Lovecraftian
style evil presence. The ads for this film make it seem so good (because
they highlight the house and not the story or the evil presence), but the
Haunting could be the worst haunted house film ever made.
This is the first of the run of horror films expected in our cinemas. I hope
The Sixth Sense, Stigmata, The Blair Witch Project, Bringing Out the Dead,
etc are more exciting, innovative, interesting or at least watchable. I saw
this film at the Drive-In (they still exist in Brisbane) where there were
two screens and found myself constantly distracted and looking out the rear
window at the other film, and it was Big Daddy! The Haunting was part of a
double feature with The Mummy, and I am wondering if The Mummy was actually good or just seemed good in comparison to The Haunting.
sebastian niemand
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