Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 1.0
Don't waste your time with this unnecessary remake
The original was better.I mean WAY better. I already had a lot of respect for the original as a neat little 60's horror flick but this movie made it look even better in comparison. Why didn't they leave it alone? It didn't help that the original was a classic. But they messed up here. I hardly ever say this, but the effects were overdone--they didn't make up for the putrid script or lack of scares. There was only one moment when I jumped and that was because everyone else in the theater screamed and scared me. Plenty of people were laughing at parts that were not supposed to be funny--not a good sign. There was just no excuse for the amazingly stupid line, "It's about family!" which would make you wince under any circumstances but came at what was supposed to be the climax of the film. The house is supposed to look old, but it is so obvious that it was just created by a set designer or is CGI. Really not very scary. The sound was good, I'll give it that, but that was about it. The writers obviously just threw in Theo's character being bisexual because they knew the guys who think Zeta-Jones is hot would get off on it--unlike the novel, where there is a point to it. Really, see a matinee--if you really MUST see it, that is, which I do not recommend--and see it while the theaters are still packed, which makes it more of a thrill ride. All the so called 'scares' and CGI in this film put together do not even measure up to be 10% as scary as the scene in the original where Nell thinks Theo is holding her hand in bed but turns on the light to see her friend across the room, who had been asleep in her own bed. I had a bad feeling about this movie when I saw the trailer months ago that featured the tagline "Some Houses Are Born Bad". Should have stuck with my original instincts on this one and saved my time and my 7+ bucks. Do yourself a favor and rent the original instead.