The Haunting (1999)

Nobody. And then, "I won't let you hurt the children!"These two lines are perfect examples of how the movie fell apart in the second half. Mainly because there was no prompt for this iconic dialogue from the first film in the second one. No one was shown to be holding Nell's hand, or that her hand was in any position in which it would be 'held'. And secondly, she didn't hear the terrifying noises of child abuse in the dark. Being a remake of the 1963 classic, I don't think anybody expected it to be as good as the first. But still it was off to a promising start, with lonely, unwanted Eleanor against the glamorous have-it- all Zeta as Theo. Even Owen Wilson being Owen Wilson in Hill House was entertaining. Unfortunately, the second half nose-dived. They didn't keep up the motif of the desperate Eleanor with no home being hounded by society - except in that one scene in which Owen Wilson trashes her only legal possession against the iron gate (he gets his poetic justice). Instead of the house PREYING on Eleanor's weakened mind, the idea that Eleanor DID somehow legally belong with the house was pushed a bit too far (the woman wearing the necklace in the painting and Eleanor spewing a lot of ancestral details which no one can possibly verify there). That and the abundant use of CG takes away from all horror and leaves us with an adventure film with one horrible accident.Watch the original 1963 film for your dose of chills and terrors.

This movie came out when I was 11 and even at that age I thought this movie was horribly done. The acting is juvenile and lacks any depth or sincerity, the script is just pathetic, and the poor actors had to somehow make it a film that people wouldn't burn at the stake. It also contained hokey effects (the CGI was tasteless and you could see wires in various scenes) and many mistakes in continuity. The lead actress is as awkward with her performance as the actor who played Charlie Bucket in the original Willy Wonka. Half the time you just sit there wondering how on Earth they even got into a movie because the acting was so awful. I feel so sorry for the actors who took a career hit by being in this movie!

What made the original so haunting and unsettling is its atmosphere, and its psychological effect on the main protagonist. This film, however, takes the whole psychological and atmospheric concept and replaces it with crappy CGI and a horribly written story. Since this was during the time when CGI was being exploited, I see what they were trying to do with this. However, its tacky that they should rely on new technological features on a remake of a film that was purely affective for its subtly. In terms of writing quality, if your expecting a film that dives into questioning the parallels between the paranormal and the human psyche like the original, be prepared to be disappointed. There is no mystery behind anything- this purely a light vs. dark movie. It's not smartly written what-so-ever. This being said, I surprisingly do have a couple of pros. (1) the mansion is unbelievably and gothically beautiful, and even more than the one from the first movie. The house they used is called Harlaxton Manor, which is owned by the University of Evansille for students studying abroad. It is the PERFECT setting for a Gothic horror movie. (2) casting is actually decent (minus Owen Wilson. Sorry bud, not your movie). Lily Taylor is actually a pretty good replacement, bringing a gentleness and gravity to the role. These two pros are what really makes me sad. With such an incredible setting and actors who can actually act (once again excluding Owen Wilson), and if they had just lost the CGi and stuck to the psychological story- this could have been a decent movie. Really disappointed!

This movie upon first impression leaves this reviewer asking, " Did I do something to mess this up? Was it me?" Only after a second viewing does it becomes apparent that it's the movie's fault. This is a remake of a 1963 movie that was itself a poor poor adaptation of the Shirley Jackson masterpiece The Haunting Of Hill House- if you haven't read it, the book is like a modern day epic poem as a tale of horror. Certainly the 1963 film adaptation fell short, and this version manages to fall short of the '63, that's a big empty space of a difference between The Haunting (1999) and the book. The book is classic, the movie is lowest common denominator over-the-top Hollywood psychopathy on display. You would have made more money if you just did a film version of the book- good stories are eternal, special effects are forgotten.