The Haunting

USA 1999 - Horror/Thriller/Mystery — 113 min — Directed by Jan de Bont
Cast: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Bruce Dern

A remake of the classic 1963 movie, where a group of insomniac volunteer research subjects travel to a massive old mansion to undergo testing for what they believe to be insomnia studies. What they do not know is that the professor in charge is actually conducting experiments on human fear. As the days and nights pass, the group slowly begins to learn the terrifying secret behind the house's former owner. They soon realize that the house is pure evil, and they must battle a terrifying spirit to escape the house of nightmares.

While not the best 'scary house' movie, it's still much fun. It has it's scary bits, mainly from the excellent sound, that really makes you jump outta your skin at times. Otherwise, it's just a regular possessed house flick. Though this one has Catherine Zeta Jones in it. Drool. Though she doesn't wear any skimpy outfits, not does she run into the dark cellar in her undies. Damn it. She should have a clause in her contracts just so she always had to do that. They found a creepy house for it though, but as usual, most interiors were shot on sound-stages. It's apparently a college in reality, creepy place to goto school, heh. Nice special effects giving the house 'life,' and for once, used sparingly and subtly, which is good. Liam is allright, but guess what, he did this one for the cash, not for the good part. Hell, they all did, but it was still good fun.

My rating: 6 / 10