The Haunting (1999)

Very Cool!!!

I'll tell you why so serious

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Firstly, the house is incredible! The setting in the huge old house in itself is creepy, let alone all the wooden carvings of kids! The house's back story was actually more interesting than the plot itself, which I didn't find convincing enough. I did enjoy the eerie atmosphere and subtle, real scares without the help of overbearing music. The visual effects are simply awesome! The film does become weird towards the end, but nevertheless remains interesting and entertaining.

I went to watch this movie at the cinema when it came out in 1999 and I was blown away. No matter what people say, this movie will always have a soft spot in my heart. Let me, first of all, say that I knew nothing about the movie or even that it was a remake. Little did it matter, because I enjoyed the movie so much it was very entertaining!First of all, let me say it is pure eye-candy. Everything, the visual atmosphere was perfect, the location was top notch, visual effects were superb for the time, and still look good today, IMO. The story was mysterious intriguing and creepy, the acting was not that great, but quite ok. But above all, It opened my mind to the world of ghost movies, made me absolutely love them and search for them ever since.I then later saw the original The Haunting from 1693 and I could understand, why the remake got so much hate, since it strays so much from the original black and white movie, which is in my eyes awesome, very well done and oh so haunting. The 1999 version is like it's completely different movie. It does share similarities but it does not feel anything much like the original. The original didn't show any entities, the remake showed a lot of them, making most people hate the fact because it lacked subtlety. And that is true, however, I like both movies a lot, it is just that I look at them under a different light.While the original haunting from 1963, was a more serious, darker movie, its remake from 1999 is a more lighten-up version, we can safely say that it's made to appeal to a younger generation, especially with all that eye-candy treats and also some pretty cheap humor. But to be honest I don't mind its flaws. Not many movies intrigued me to the level that The Haunting (1999) did when I first saw it. True that some CGI may look silly and might be overused, but I will be forever grateful to this movie and for me, it's a criminally underrated gem. It's mysterious, creepy and scary but also Beautiful, I don't know what we want more from a horror movie? Its biggest mistake was indeed, to take the reputation of being the remake of such a classic gem. If it would've come out with a different, original name perhaps it would most likely get the respect I feel it deserves.It's perhaps the movie that reminds me most of Phantasmagoria, an exceptionally creepy PC game from the '90s put on 7CDs, and an interactive movie, as they called it. On a side note; someone should make a movie adaptation of it as well :) Also if you like the story from The Haunting, you should also check out "The Legend Of Hell House (1973) and The Uninvited (1944)"

This film has nothing to say, so I won't say much about it. It was meant to make money, it made it, now let's move on.Liam Neeson is wasted here.Catherine Zeta Jones is beautiful, her lines are crap and her personality is a caricature. Owen Wilson plays Owen Wilson, although his name in this film is Luke.Lili Taylor plays some kind of character. Not sure what. She saw a decapitation and just said "on, no." Theo (CZJ) was screaming - she covered her mouth in horror but the sound was coming as if it wasn't muffled, as if it were dubbed.The music has some ridiculous circus themes. I don't know what this film wants to be. Haunted house? Undead children? Scary paintings? Gargoyle statues coming to life?Why not all of the above?How about some comedy. Dr. Marrow says "what do we all need in life, the basics, food, water, shelter." Theo (Zeta Jones) interrupts/adds "sex" with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, to which Luke (Owen Wilson) responds "meow." Yups, Owen Wilson plays himself. If you've seen him say "wow" many times, then meow isn't far off. It's not scary, not funny, not entertaining, not dramatic, not mysterious, not anything.The special effects, some look good, some bad, but I won't give it plus points over good effects nor minus over bad ones. The attacking spider bed effect was interesting, but that's not why anyone would watch a film.Don't watch.

What made the original so haunting and unsettling is its atmosphere, and its psychological effect on the main protagonist. This film, however, takes the whole psychological and atmospheric concept and replaces it with crappy CGI and a horribly written story. Since this was during the time when CGI was being exploited, I see what they were trying to do with this. However, its tacky that they should rely on new technological features on a remake of a film that was purely affective for its subtly. In terms of writing quality, if your expecting a film that dives into questioning the parallels between the paranormal and the human psyche like the original, be prepared to be disappointed. There is no mystery behind anything- this purely a light vs. dark movie. It's not smartly written what-so-ever. This being said, I surprisingly do have a couple of pros. (1) the mansion is unbelievably and gothically beautiful, and even more than the one from the first movie. The house they used is called Harlaxton Manor, which is owned by the University of Evansille for students studying abroad. It is the PERFECT setting for a Gothic horror movie. (2) casting is actually decent (minus Owen Wilson. Sorry bud, not your movie). Lily Taylor is actually a pretty good replacement, bringing a gentleness and gravity to the role. These two pros are what really makes me sad. With such an incredible setting and actors who can actually act (once again excluding Owen Wilson), and if they had just lost the CGi and stuck to the psychological story- this could have been a decent movie. Really disappointed!