The Haunting

A movie by Jan de Bont

With Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and others

Monika says:

In a remote mansion Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson) wants to conduct a study about behavior under extreme conditions of stress, but tells his volunteers it’s about sleeping disorders. Among the volunteers is Eleanor Vance (Lili Taylor) who ran away from her hardhearted family who only want to use her as a cheep employee.

Nobody worries when the housekeepers as usual insist on leaving the mansion before dark because it is not safe to be there by night, but soon strange events start to make the guests nervous.

After SPEED 2 - CRUISE CONTROL I didn’t expect much from this movie and I was right. The story is stretched too thin even if the film is visually impressive. I’m not talking about the visual effects that are not very original, but the various camera angles the mansion is shot from on the outside as well as on the inside. That made me wish Jan de Bont had never decided to move to the director’s chair but would have remained a very able director of photography.

My biggest complaint about THE HAUNTING is that I wasn’t spooked at all. And that is the worst thing one can say about a horror movie. Ghosts rattling doors and blowing curtains don’t frighten anybody anymore. By way of compensation Catherine Zeta-Jones graces the scene scantily dressed but that will impress only some males in the audience. Liam Neeson’s talent is completely wasted. We have seen him in better parts where he actually is allowed to act. That is not required here. But even the best actors pick a bad script now and then.

Not a movie you absolutely have to see, but if you don’t have anything better to do....

Any comments? Write us:

Monika Hübner

Last changes: 27/04/03