Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 2.0
SHIRLEY JACKSON'S CLASSIC STORY SLOPPILY DONE
The new version of "The Haunting" is an overblown hodgepodge which doesn't do justice to the original novel. It's obvious the makers of this film went for the sensationalism route via the use of technology: the special effects were mostly unneccesary, and, for the most part badly conceived; (the set was too brighty ornate to be creepy!) The acting in this movie is mostly embarassingly bad (the ludicrous script was partly to blame)-but Liam Neeson seemed to be really completely lost. Catherine Zeta-Jones was good as the beautiful Theo, but Lilli's interpretation of Eleanor was tiresome and inane. Jackson's story, "The Haunting of Hill House" is known by thousands as a psychological study of loneliness and madness; it ain't about using millions of dollars worth of "special effects" to bring the masses in, so the movie will reap finacial rewards from the producer's personal gain. Phoney and contrived, with banal elements which weren't in the book, this film is an insult to fans of the genre, and I just hope Shirley Jackson isn't rolling in her grave!