Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 3.0
A haunted house movie that's high on budget, but low on scares.
"The Haunting" came out back in 1999 and is directed by Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister). The story is set up when Dr David Marrow convinces three insomniacs to spend the night in a mansion. He does so by telling them that he is studying insomnia in an attempt to help individuals such as themselves. What he's really doing though is studying the effects of fear and how different people react in very diverse ways. Sure enough, the group begin to show signs of paranoia and fear. But are they imagining things or is there something far more sinister happening in the house?I thought this version of "The Haunting" had a fair few things going for it when I heard about it. Firstly, it's based on a successful 60s film that was really very good. You'd think that with an increased budget ($80 million) and standard in both audio and visual effects, they'd be able to improve on the original. It also has some big names in it with Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson all included. Even the house that the film takes place in is suitably massive and creepy. Surely all these ingredients would add up to an above average fright flick!Well unfortunately, it didn't work out the way it should have. The reasons for this aren't all that easy to define. I mean, the acting is ok (Owen Wilson shouldn't play these roles though, he should stick to comedy), the house itself is perfectly designed and the audio is filled with creepy sounds and disturbing whispers. But even with all this, it's just not frightening in any way. The movie spends the first hour setting things up and your patience will seriously be tested. When things actually do start happening towards the end of the film, it feels contrived and even unintentionally humorous at times. The dialogue is fairly atrocious, the first death scene is ridiculous (will you just move!) and there's nothing subtle about anything that occurs. This is the main difference between the original and the remake. The 1963 version worked on the viewer's nerves through suggestion and believability. It was all about what you couldn't see that was frightening! Instead, the creators of this version decided to show us everything, and considering how fake a lot of the CGI appears, it only lessens the effect rather than improving on it.As you can tell, I'm disappointed in this film. It's not a complete waste of time and I've definitely seen worse. But I can't really recommend it as a must see film. I know it has been said a thousand times already, but "see the original instead".