The Haunting (1999)

Director:

Jan de Bont

Writers (WGA):

David Self (screenplay)
Shirley Jackson (novel)

Release Date:

23 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Some houses are born bad

Plot:

When Eleanor, Theo, and Luke decide to take part in a sleep study at a huge mansion they get more than they bargained for when Dr. Marrow tells them of the house's ghostly past.

Plot Keywords:

Fear | Mansion | Experiment | Insomnia | Haunting

Awards:

2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Dr. David Marrow
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Theo
Owen Wilson	...	Luke Sanderson
Lili Taylor	...	Nell
Bruce Dern	...	Mr. Dudley
Marian Seldes	...	Mrs. Dudley
Alix Koromzay	...	Mary Lambetta
Todd Field	...	Todd Hackett
Virginia Madsen	...	Jane
Michael Cavanaugh	...	Dr. Malcolm Keogh
Tom Irwin	...	Lou
Charles Gunning	...	Hugh Crain
Saul Priever	...	Ritchie
M.C. Gainey	...	Large Man
Hadley Eure	...	Carolyn Crain

Also Known As:

La maldición (USA: Spanish title)
The Haunting of Hill House (USA) (trailer title)
The Legend of Hill House (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense horror sequences.

Runtime:

113 min | Switzerland:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36806) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England, UK

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

This was the first film for uncredited executive producer Samuel Z. Arkoff in almost 15 years. It also gave him a chance to work with his daughter, Donna Roth, who was one of the producers.

Goofs:

Continuity: Nell's facial expression changes between front and side shots, when the spirits are moving her hair.

Quotes:

Dr. David Marrow: The only problem with fear is that it largely has become inappropriate and non-adaptive.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Soundtrack:

Home Safe

Extravaganza gone horribly wrong

I wondered during watching this flick whether Jan De Bont (a fellow Dutchman) had seen the original Haunting. Because from this movie he could have learned that LESS is MORE. This is the ground rule in making a successful horror flick. Alien, Jaws, Poltergeist are all movies in which most of the time you don't see what the characters are up against. The same with the original Haunting from 1963 in which you don't get to see the enemy at all, you just hear it.

This suggestion of 'something's in here with us' has been totally annihilated in this version. Added to that the horrible acting performances of the cast except maybe Lili Taylor who delivers a somewhat credible performance.

The only positive credit goes out to the CGI and physical effects people for delivering astonishing effects, but regrettably this didn't help the movie much, it even diminished the scaryness factor. It's these effects people that prevent this movie from getting a 1 instead of a 3.

Better luck next time, Jan.

3/10