Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 2.0
Maybe If I Hadn't Read the Book...
I might have enjoyed this movie. But I doubt it! This flick was terrible! I had hoped that with all the special effects, this re-make would be able to intensify the creepiness of the 1963 film, or even the original novel by Shirley Jackson. I've read a lot of horror novels, and "The Haunting of Hill House" is one of the few books to give me that delicious "frisson" in the middle of the night. The Robert Wise film managed to capture this feeling and make the hair on the back of my arms stand at attention. Sadly, this version did not, largely because, once again, Big Hollywood felt the need to step in and improve the story. The worst line in the film hast to be "It was always about family." Sorry Eleanor, but it was NEVER about family -- it was about a creepy house with a mind of its own. The house was supposed to be the antagonist, not Hugh Crain.In addition to the story flaws, there were some problems with the acting. I usually love Lili Taylor, and I thought she'd be a perfect Eleanor, but her performance falls a little flat. The same goes for Liam Neeson,from whom I also expected a better performance. Either both of them were having a really rough period, or the fault lies with the script. (And I've already harped on that!) Catherine Zeta-Jones's performance didn't really bother me, but maybe that's because she played the same type of character she always seems to play (I had this response to her performance in "High Fidelity" as well). As for Owen Wilson...well, his nose bothered me. But that's really more of a personal thing.I am assured by some friends of mine that this is a perfectly enjoyable film if you haven't read the novel, or seen the original film. That is, it's enjoyable until the ending, which seems to be oversimplified.