Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 3.0
Haunted By Computer Graphics
A visual funhouse, "The Haunting" fails to generate any real scares or much of a plot. In other words, Jan de Bont went heavy on the flash and polish and light on any actual story.The Hill House itself is a wonder to look at. The widescreen version of this film lends well to this. From intricately detailed cherubs and wall patterns to visually fun apparitions, this film has it all. Though much of the ghosts and their work are pretty fake-looking, they do not take away from the film.The real shortfall of this flick is the weak story that tries desparately to keep up with the caliber of actors displaying it. Lili Taylor portrays the central figure of the story, which is fairly stock and rehashed from an older version of this film. Liam Neeson plays the parapsychologist trying to study the aspects of fear in humans. Catherine Zeta-Jones is wonderful as eye-candy queen, Theo, and Owen Wilson phones one in as Luke, the fourth primary character.In short, if you want a scary, suspenseful flick full of horror, look elsewhere. If you like computerized ghosts and plenty of visuals, this flick is for you. I give it three stars for the visuals and one star for the story. Not recommended as a purchase, but a rental should satisfy you.