Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 2.0
Impressive Cast in a Lack-Lustre Tale of the Supernatural.
A group of people are invited to spend a night in a very imposing castle as part of a group experiment not knowing that the real purpose is far more sinister. Apparently, the house has summoned one of the female guests because she is somehow linked to the house's evil history and she must protect the child ghosts inhabiting the premises from the evil poltergeist who abused them in life and continues to do so in the after life.If you're heavily impressed by expensive CGI effects, "The Haunting" may be the movie for you. If you're wanting a good old fashioned ghost story with thrills, chills and logic you may want to stay away from this over-worked mess of a horror tale. I had approached "The Haunting" with high expectations. After all, it was billed as a chilling excursion into the unknown and several articles published before the film's release boasted about the elabortate special effects.I would like to first state that I personally think CGI effects are over-rated and over-used. This is specially true in horror movies. I have yet to see a CGI infested horror film that has been able to convince me that what I am seeing on screen is real. It all looks "cartoon-ish" and despite the expensive digital images displayed, it looks one dimensional and flat. It may be impressive as a video game but as a horror film it's unconvincing. Many of today's younger audience who have grown up with today's more elaborate and technical FX may not agree with my assessment but I know that many others do. Many of the scenes that were intended to produce chills ending up inspiring laughter instead. There is nothing ghostly about this film. Ghosts are suppose to move objects, break a few windows and say "BOO!" on occasion. All these ghosts do is possess statues. And what's with the purple hands poking out of the ceiling?Another aspect of the film that I find grating is the lousy script. I usually don't watch horror movies for Oscar calibre script-writing but since "The Haunting" takes itself seriously I have to judge it accordingly. The main character is constantly running around the house yelling "I won't let you harm a child"..."The children need me" ..yada yada yada. What harm can possibly be done to these kids? They're all dead! Why do they need protecting?The main reason I find this film so irritating is because it could have been so much better. It had all the potential. It had an impressive cast (Laim Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson), a great budget, a great musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and the location is splendid. The castle has got to be the most elaborate setting ever for a ghost story. But none were utilized to their full potential. The reason this film escapes the dreaded 1 star rating is because despite the film's cheesiness it still entertains.This banal CGI spectacle is recommended to undiscriminating horror fans under the age of 12. All others, you might want to think twice or look elsewhere. Aside from a few laughs, you will find nothing more than a mindless hodge-podge of computer trickery. The original film, "Poltergeist", "The Shining" and "The Changeling" are far better. You might want to give those films a try before you commit 90 minutes of your life to this.