Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 1.0
You'll Want to Leave Hill House Long Before the Dark Comes
When I read that Wes Craven was remaking Robert Wise's brilliant 1963 chiller THE HAUNTING, I cringed. Why remake a film that got it right the first time around? Then I thought of the audience that the studio had in mind and I had my answer: summer movie box office. The project left the hands of Wes Craven and ended up in the lap of Jan DeBont, a gentleman who really should return to his day job as a director of photography. Like his previous TWISTER and SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL, DeBont's THE HAUNTING is utterly lacking in characterization, visual style, and plot. Nothing really happens in this film. The house itself is a gargantuan monstrosity - who could believe that anyone would inhabit it out of their own volition? In fact, the film is a real downer. It's so disheartening to see Liam Neeson and Lily Taylor, two of cinema's finest performers, virtually wasted in their roles. Marian Seldes, a fine stage actress, does what she can with her turn as Mrs. Dudley, who was so wonderfully immortalized by Rosalie Crutchley in the original version. Believe it or not, Bruce Dern turns up as Mr. Dudley, looking positively out of his mind with berzerk white hair. He was once one of the finest screen actors in the '70's. Catch him in THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS and COMING HOME to see what I mean. Lastly, Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was wonderful in THE MASK OF ZORRO, does her best sauntering from scene to scene attempting to remain interested. Her best scene is her introduction to Lily Taylor. Her dialog is sophomoric, but she looks positively breathtaking.Most disturbing, however, is realizing who edited this film: none other than Michael Kahn, one of the best film editors in the business. I can't imagine that the man who cut some of Steven Spielberg's best and most successful films needed the money this desperately.To think that the 1963 version made little money at the time of its release is a crime when you consider how big this movie was during the summer. The blame should be placed on the audience for paying to see this dreck. They do a fine job of telling Hollywood to keep churning out awful movies. The original THE HAUNTING is a masterpiece of filmmaking: intelligently written, superbly photographed, brilliantly scored, acted, and directed. It needs an anamorphic release on DVD.As a DVD, the transfer of the new version of THE HAUNTING is spectacular and the sound is stunning. But what good are all these bells and whistles if the movie stinks? For a spectacular film experience featuring well-rounded characters and a frighteningly good time, opt for POLTERGEIST (also edited by Michael Kahn!), a film that stands up after multiple viewings.If you're male and really need a reason to see THE HAUNTING, it is for Catherine Zeta-Jones. She's truly stunning, and certainly worth the price of the DVD rental.