The setup was creepy, cast members reliable, production values remarkable. Too bad director Jan De Bont is to horror what garlic is to vampires.
An adaptation in name and general premise only, the Haunting has doctor Marrow (Liam Neeson) invite patients Nell (Lily Taylor), Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Luke (Owen Wilson) - plus other two who leave after a minute - to Hill House, an isolated mansion, for a psychological study about fear. It soon becomes clear the house is haunted and the group in danger.
"Some house are born bad", recites the ominous tagline; to this I may add "and so are some movies". De Bont, who did a competent job with a fast-paced action movie like Speed, is unable to craft a sinister atmosphere, relying instead on the patented "whispering children" shtick and on cheesy CGI ghosts; the psychological terror of Shirley Jackson's novel becomes subpar horror schlock. Too bad, because production design at least did a commendable job: the set for Hill House looks effective, a humongous, tasteless, unsettling Gothic manor.
Even a magnetic actor like Neeson seems bored. Taylor starts well enough as the vulnerable Nell but then lapses into histrionics. Others aren't given much to do, with Wilson as the comic relief and Zeta-Jones as the eye candy (sadly, no Entrapment-like tight jumpsuits here).
The Haunting has plot holes so big you could drive a truck through them, a sign of blatant disrespect towards the audience. My favorite is how the survivors at the end don't bother to mention to the returning caretakers that THERE IS A BEHEADED CORPSE IN THE CHIMNEY. I guess they are in for a rather unpleasant surprise - just like viewers.
5/10
An adaptation in name and general premise only, the Haunting has doctor Marrow (Liam Neeson) invite patients Nell (Lily Taylor), Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Luke (Owen Wilson) - plus other two who leave after a minute - to Hill House, an isolated mansion, for a psychological study about fear. It soon becomes clear the house is haunted and the group in danger.
"Some house are born bad", recites the ominous tagline; to this I may add "and so are some movies". De Bont, who did a competent job with a fast-paced action movie like Speed, is unable to craft a sinister atmosphere, relying instead on the patented "whispering children" shtick and on cheesy CGI ghosts; the psychological terror of Shirley Jackson's novel becomes subpar horror schlock. Too bad, because production design at least did a commendable job: the set for Hill House looks effective, a humongous, tasteless, unsettling Gothic manor.
Even a magnetic actor like Neeson seems bored. Taylor starts well enough as the vulnerable Nell but then lapses into histrionics. Others aren't given much to do, with Wilson as the comic relief and Zeta-Jones as the eye candy (sadly, no Entrapment-like tight jumpsuits here).
The Haunting has plot holes so big you could drive a truck through them, a sign of blatant disrespect towards the audience. My favorite is how the survivors at the end don't bother to mention to the returning caretakers that THERE IS A BEHEADED CORPSE IN THE CHIMNEY. I guess they are in for a rather unpleasant surprise - just like viewers.
5/10