Thirteen Ghosts
Thirteen Ghosts (also known as 13 Ghosts and stylized as THIR13EN Ghosts) is a 2001 supernatural horror film directed by Steve Beck. A remake of the 1960 film "13 Ghosts" by William Castle, the film stars Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, Rah Digga, and F. Murray Abraham. It was released to theaters on October 26, 2001. The film was critically panned upon release. The film was also a financial disappointment, ultimately grossing only $68 million against its $42 million budget. Plot. Ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos and his psychic assistant Dennis Rafkin  lead a team on a mission to capture a spirit called the Juggernaut. Several men, including Cyrus, are killed while the team is able to catch the ghost. Cyrus's nephew Arthur, a widower, is informed by Cyrus's estate lawyer, Ben Moss, that he has inherited Cyrus' mansion. Financially insecure, Arthur decides to move there with his two children, Kathy and Bobby, and their nanny, Maggie. Dennis meets the family as they tour the mansion. The residence is made entirely of glass sheets inscribed with Latin phrases, which Dennis recognizes as barrier spells. He discovers that the twelve angry  ghosts he and Cyrus captured are imprisoned in the house, held captive by the spells. As he warns Arthur, Moss unwittingly triggers a mechanism that seals the house and releases the ghosts. He dies when a set of sliding doors cut him in half. Bobby sees several of the ghosts, including the Withered Lover - his mother Jean, who had died of injuries sustained in a house fire. He is knocked unconscious and dragged away. Dennis uses a pair of spectral glasses that allow the wearer to see the supernatural realm to avoid the ghosts. The Jackal, one of the most  dangerous ghosts, attacks Kathy and Arthur but they are saved by Kalina Oretzia, a spirit liberator who is attempting to free the ghosts. Kathy disappears, and the four adults gather in the library, where Arthur learns that Jean's ghost is also in the house. Kalina explains that the house is a machine, powered by the captive ghosts, that allows its user to see the past, present, and future. The only way to shut it down is through the creation of a thirteenth ghost from a sacrifice of love. Arthur realizes that he must become that ghost to save his  children. Armed with the spectral glasses, Arthur and Dennis enter the basement to find the children. Dennis barricades Arthur behind a glass sheet for his protection, but is beaten to death by the Hammer and the Juggernaut, two other dangerous ghosts. It is revealed that Cyrus faked his death to lure Arthur to the house; Kalina is his partner, revealed when she knocks Maggie unconscious with a large book and promptly kisses Cyrus upon his arrival. Cyrus has orchestrated the abduction of Kathy and Bobby so that Arthur will become the thirteenth ghost, which will not stop the machine as  Kalina had claimed, but trigger its activation. Cyrus kills Kalina, who objected to Cyrus putting the children in danger, and summons the ghosts to activate the machine. In the main hall, Arthur witnesses all twelve ghosts orbiting a clockwork device of rotating metal rings, with his children at the center. He fights Cyrus while Maggie disrupts the machine's controls, releasing the ghosts from its power and causing the machine to go haywire. The ghosts hurl Cyrus into the moving rings, slicing him to pieces. With the encouragement of Dennis' ghost, Arthur jumps through the machine safely to protect his  children. The walls of the house shatter as the malfunctioning machine rips itself apart, freeing the ghosts. Jean's ghost tells them she loves them before she disappears. As the family departs from the house, Maggie angrily declares that she is quitting as their nanny. The Ghosts. While the backstories for nearly all the ghosts are not mentioned in the movie, they are hinted at and are explicitly described in the "Ghost Files", a special feature on the DVD, with Cyrus as the narrator. With a few exceptions, they seem to become more dangerous as their numbers increase. Release. Home  media. The film was released on VHS and DVD on April 2, 2002. The film initially debuted on the Blu-ray format on October 19, 2010 in a double feature with "House of Wax" (2005). A special collector’s edition Blu-ray was released by Shout Factory under their Scream Factory label on July 28, 2020. This new release features brand new interviews with the cast and crew, plus a brand new audio commentary with director Steve Beck. Reception. Box office. In the US, the film opened ranking 2nd, making $15,165,355. It spent 10 weeks in the US box  office, eventually making $41,867,960 domestically, and $68,467,960 worldwide. Critical reception. Reviews for the film were mostly negative. Praise was directed toward the production design but the film was criticized for its lack of scares and a number of strobe effects throughout that could induce seizures. It holds an approval rating of 16% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 94 reviews with an average rating of 3.62/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The production design is first rate, but "13 Ghosts" is distinctly lacking in scares." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30  out of 100, based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. Ed Gonzalez of "Slant Magazine" rated the film two out of four stars, panning the film's lack of scares, and predictable plot twists. However, Gonzalez commended the art direction, while also stating it was underutilized. Roger Ebert praised the production values saying, "The production is first-rate...The physical look of the picture is splendid." However, he criticized the story, lack of interesting characters, loud soundtrack, and poor  editing. In 2005 Ebert included it on his list of "Most Hated" films. In the years since its release and disappointing box office performance, the film has gathered a prominent cult following, finding further success and more positive reception. Elvis Mitchell of "The New York Times" said of the film "what we're left with after the scares is just plain dumb."