Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 3.0
WHY DID THEY BOTHER?
My main reason for watching this film was that it is a remake of a film I had failed to respond to 40 years ago. The first version of The Haunting seemed to me stilted and just a little silly. However I seemed to be in very much a minority in taking this view, so I gave the new version a try during the dead zone between Christmas and the new year. I found it just about worth watching. The effects are goodish, but we have been there before with Poltergeist, and in the meantime there has been a very similar film about somewhere called Hell House (this one takes place in Hill House) and I experienced a strong sense of déjà vu. The acting is only good average. Lili Taylor as Nell has the most opportunities and she acquits herself quite well. Catherine Zeta-Jones has - how can one put it? - considerable presence but still gives a fairly run-of-the-mill performance, and the film is really a terrible waste of Neeson. Apart from anything else, his American accent goes to pieces when he shouts. Far and away the best thing is the sets. The interiors are fine gothic efforts, but the building itself was what fascinated me most. I was too slow to spot whether it was Harlaxton Manor, which I recall from another film which I have forgotten in every other respect, but it was from the same general area, and if that part of England contains more than one building like this it looks like somewhere worth visiting.3 stars mainly because this is the season of good will.