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If you're looking to remake one of the scariest horror movies of time, it's probably not a good idea to put the remake in hands of an action movie director. Especially when the movie in question, The Haunting, is scary because of what it leaves to your imagination. But alas, that thought didn't occur to Dreamworks, the company responsible for the remake of the aforementioned haunted house movie. They gave it to Jan De Bont, the man responsible for such films as Speed, Twister and, er, Speed 2. So it's not surprising that not only is the movie not even in the same league as the original, it's one of the worst 'horror' movies you're ever likely to see.
The movie starts like the original movie did, in fact as many horror movies do, with several characters finding themselves in a haunted house. In this case, they're there to prove whether or not supernatural phenomeon exist. They don't have long to wait, as odd things start happening straight away. - Like sculptures coming to life and their faces follow people around the room. Or a giant ten foot ghost charging after the cast. Oh, and Owen Wilson getting decapitated by a stone fire-guard. Yes, I swear I'm not making this up. I, and quite a few members of the audience, laughed out loud when Mr Wilson met his gruesome demise. It was certainly the highlight of the film for me.
Unintentional hilarity aside, The Haunting really has nothing at all going for it. It's not scary - at all - and it's a textbook example of how not to make a horror film. And the ending is as utterly predictable as can be. Thankfully, Jan De Bont hasn't been let near a horror movie since then, which is definitely a good thing. If he got his hands on The Grudge, he'd have ended the movie with a kung-fu fight between one of the main characters and the ghost - but that's only a small mercy. Given that the original The Haunting is still available on DVD, and is superior in every way, there's absolutely no reason to watch this mess.
The movie starts like the original movie did, in fact as many horror movies do, with several characters finding themselves in a haunted house. In this case, they're there to prove whether or not supernatural phenomeon exist. They don't have long to wait, as odd things start happening straight away. - Like sculptures coming to life and their faces follow people around the room. Or a giant ten foot ghost charging after the cast. Oh, and Owen Wilson getting decapitated by a stone fire-guard. Yes, I swear I'm not making this up. I, and quite a few members of the audience, laughed out loud when Mr Wilson met his gruesome demise. It was certainly the highlight of the film for me.
Unintentional hilarity aside, The Haunting really has nothing at all going for it. It's not scary - at all - and it's a textbook example of how not to make a horror film. And the ending is as utterly predictable as can be. Thankfully, Jan De Bont hasn't been let near a horror movie since then, which is definitely a good thing. If he got his hands on The Grudge, he'd have ended the movie with a kung-fu fight between one of the main characters and the ghost - but that's only a small mercy. Given that the original The Haunting is still available on DVD, and is superior in every way, there's absolutely no reason to watch this mess.
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If you're looking to remake one of the scariest horror movies of time, it's probably not a good idea to put the remake in hands of an action movie director. Especially when the movie in question, The Haunting, is scary because of what it leaves to your imagination. But alas, that thought didn't occur to Dreamworks, the company responsible for the remake of the aforementioned haunted house movie. They gave it to Jan De Bont, the man responsible for such films as Speed, Twister and, er, Speed 2. So it's not surprising that not only is the movie not even in the same league as the original, it's one of the worst 'horror' movies you're ever likely to see.
The movie starts like the original movie did, in fact as many horror movies do, with several characters finding themselves in a haunted house. In this case, they're there to prove whether or not supernatural phenomeon exist. They don't have long to wait, as odd things start happening straight away. - Like sculptures coming to life and their faces follow people around the room. Or a giant ten foot ghost charging after the cast. Oh, and Owen Wilson getting decapitated by a stone fire-guard. Yes, I swear I'm not making this up. I, and quite a few members of the audience, laughed out loud when Mr Wilson met his gruesome demise. It was certainly the highlight of the film for me.
Unintentional hilarity aside, The Haunting really has nothing at all going for it. It's not scary - at all - and it's a textbook example of how not to make a horror film. And the ending is as utterly predictable as can be. Thankfully, Jan De Bont hasn't been let near a horror movie since then, which is definitely a good thing. If he got his hands on The Grudge, he'd have ended the movie with a kung-fu fight between one of the main characters and the ghost - but that's only a small mercy. Given that the original The Haunting is still available on DVD, and is superior in every way, there's absolutely no reason to watch this mess.
The movie starts like the original movie did, in fact as many horror movies do, with several characters finding themselves in a haunted house. In this case, they're there to prove whether or not supernatural phenomeon exist. They don't have long to wait, as odd things start happening straight away. - Like sculptures coming to life and their faces follow people around the room. Or a giant ten foot ghost charging after the cast. Oh, and Owen Wilson getting decapitated by a stone fire-guard. Yes, I swear I'm not making this up. I, and quite a few members of the audience, laughed out loud when Mr Wilson met his gruesome demise. It was certainly the highlight of the film for me.
Unintentional hilarity aside, The Haunting really has nothing at all going for it. It's not scary - at all - and it's a textbook example of how not to make a horror film. And the ending is as utterly predictable as can be. Thankfully, Jan De Bont hasn't been let near a horror movie since then, which is definitely a good thing. If he got his hands on The Grudge, he'd have ended the movie with a kung-fu fight between one of the main characters and the ghost - but that's only a small mercy. Given that the original The Haunting is still available on DVD, and is superior in every way, there's absolutely no reason to watch this mess.