Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 1.0
The Raunching of "Hill House"
Movie: BOMB DVD Quality: **** DVD Extras: *It's ironic that the DVD of "The Haunting" also includes the theatrical trailer for another film titled "Unfaithful", because "The Haunting" is unfaithful both to its source material and to its makers' stated intentions. Writer David Self supposedly based his screenplay on Shirley Jackson's classic novel, "The Haunting of Hill House", but aside from the characters' names and one brief snippet of dialogue mouthed by actress Marian Seldes playing the housekeeper ("No one will come any closer than that ... in the night ... in the dark"), there's not even the faintest resemblance between Self's childishly obvious re-plotting and Jackson's adult and oh-so-subtle original. Self's screenplay is loaded with scenes that demand special effects, including statues and paintings coming to life; faces and forms appearing in curtains and under bedsheets; rugs zipping across rooms; doors kicking people; ceilings lowering down upon hapless victims ... and then in the overly scripted "making of" documentary, the director, producers, and actors all talk about genuine scares being the product of what you DON'T see, and about the film being filled with "psychological" horror! Uh-huh. Okay. Right.The deviation from Jackson's novel and the apparent confusion of the filmmakers would be forgivable if the end result were a success. Unfortunately, the movie is just a big incoherent mess that never jells. It neither frightens nor fascinates, and by the end is merely tiresome and trite. Huge plot holes are left gaping wide open: what became of the two characters in the beginning who leave the house when one is injured? how did they get through the gates and what was the point of Neeson actually not secretly having a key to the gate? how has Eleanor managed to trace her family tree back to the childless Hugh Crane, and with such precision ("Grandpa, I'm home!")? The film is an embarrassment, really, and one can only feel especially sorry for Catherine Zeta-Jones when, as hostess of the DVD's behind-the-scenes featurette, she has to try to inform viewers with a straight face that the sets were so frightening that many crew members refused to work on the film after dark ... like anyone would believe that professional crew members were blithering idiots who don't understand the fakery of the movies; or as if that kind of nonsense would be tolerated in the big money world of film production.In all fairness, the DVD does feature excellent technical quality. Both the sound and video transfers are razor sharp and crystal clear. But honestly, why would anyone care? There are too many really good movies (including Robert Wise's superb 1963 original film telling of Jackson's story) worth watching to waste your time with this disappointing fiasco.