SummaryA state-of-the-art remake of the classic William Castle horror film about a family that inherits a spectacular old house from an eccentric uncle. There's just one problem: the house seems to have a dangerous agenda all its own. (Warner Bros.)
SummaryA state-of-the-art remake of the classic William Castle horror film about a family that inherits a spectacular old house from an eccentric uncle. There's just one problem: the house seems to have a dangerous agenda all its own. (Warner Bros.)
Too distinctive-looking to dismiss out of hand, but it would help to be able to look through a magic viewfinder (or maybe magic eraser) and make its script disappear.
First-time director Steve Beck hurls a dozen ghosts and probably a million dollars' worth of prosthetic makeup at us for a full 90 minutes, but it's old hat and not a bit scary.
There's alot I like about this reimagining. The set is amazing, the ghosts are incredible and some of them deserved their own individual films. And conceptually it's truly a unique and appreciated cinematic experience. That being said it's a bad movie with a goofy screenplay and awful performances. Only Matthew Lillard manages to rise above the material. The film centers on a family that's given an ultra stylish glass house by a rich, deceased relative. The bad thing is that it is filled with some of the world's worst ghosts and the house is a machine that releases them one at a time to wreak havoc as part of an ultimate ritual. The movie is dumb and exploitative but it is fun. And the gimmicks mostly work. In the end it feels more like a ride or product than an actual film, but it's a decent way to pass a cold evening.
Budget: $42m
Domestic Box Office: $42m
Worldwide Box Office: $68m
3.25/5
This film is the remake of a film with the same name directed in 1960 by William Castle. The plot is similar: Arthur Kriticos is a modest man embittered by the death of his wife when he receives the news **** inheritance left to him by a uncle, Cyrus, who was very rich. In the inheritance is included a huge and very modern house that Arthur doesn't know to be haunted by a collection of evil spirits that his uncle hunted and imprisoned. The film has a truly frightening opening sequence that shows us how this man hunted and trapped the most cruel spirits. But then the film calms down, takes on a more cadenced rhythm and builds the ending, on a plot simpler and more psychological than one might expect. Suspense isn't effective as it should, some script solutions are forced and unnatural, even resorting to obvious clichés. There are several scenes of graphic violence somewhat shocking but this is not scary, it's disgusting. In contrast, the film is visually pleasing, with proper cinematography, good special effects and sound and an extraordinary setting. The house is something like I've never seen, combining tradition and modernity with a sinister touch, and the subplot around it was a plus point for the film. Tony Shalhoub (who still remembers this actor in Monk?) did a good job as lead actor and F. Murray Abraham also pleased me. I didn't like Matthew Lillard, overly theatrical and exaggerated to the point of being humorous when he shouldn't. The rest of the cast was OK and did their job without surprising, disillusioning or highlighting.
A total mess. A movie that tries to funny with stupid ghost and fails miserably. Acting shouldn't be taken seriously and neither should the movie. Don't watch it will make you stupid.