What could have been a gothic novel turned out to be a gorefest

Rating: 5/10 (20 August 2000)

I was very interested in this movie when I heard about it. A classical "Gothic novel Haunted House"-tale being transferred to a science fiction background with an empty, haunted spaceship - that sounded quite interesting and new. This movie could have been one of the best Science Fiction movies of all times - if it would have been done right. It started out quite good - the crew finding the ship and going aboard, but then the whole movie turned from a psychological, creepy and atmospheric film into a gorefest. When will Hollywood directors learn that real thrills are not produced by blood and gore, but by the things you DON'T see. A sound, a pounding, camera angles, music - THAT is what makes me shiver, the old "to thrill is not to show" recipe that leaves room for imagination, not the straight into the face thing with guts flying around. I really expected this movie to be a classical gothic novel-kind-of-thing in the tradition of movies like "The Haunting Of Hill House" (1963 version of course) or "The Innocents" (also the black/white version) but it turned out to be a cheap and gory movie in the tradition of "Nightmare on Elm Street". It's a pity - the subject REALLY had a huge potential . . .