Amazon.co.uk Review
A by-the-numbers haunted house movie, albeit one with some neat twists, a couple of good performances and impressive design work, Thirteen Ghosts is a remake of the 1960 original by exploitation superstar William Castle. When ghost-hunter Cyrus (F Murray Abraham) dies his quietly decent widower nephew Arthur (Tony Shaloub) inherits his house. With almost infinite predictability, he, his teenage daughter (Shannon Elizabeth) and young son, as well as a rival ghost-hunter and Cyrus' untrustworthy tame psychic (Mathew Lillard), are trapped in the house, which is a glass labyrinth of sliding panels and shifting staircases. As the woman ghost-hunter Kalina helpfully explains, the house is "a machine designed by the devil and powered by the dead"--specifically by 12 ghosts, most of them murderously malevolent.
Shaloub and Lillard manage to make us care about this farrago and Abraham lends his few scenes his usual malignant authority, but the real star is the inventively designed house itself and the outrageous horror-comic makeup of the ghosts. This is a knowingly trashy film enjoyable on its own level.
On the DVD: Thirteen Ghosts comes with a short textual explanation of who Castle was and why he should get this sort of homage, a self-congratulatory making-of documentary and filmographies for cast and crew, as well as odd short featurettes explaining the imagined back-story for each of the ghosts. The disc has Dolby sound and is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen ratio.--Roz Kaveney
Customer Reviews:
Solid horror film, good acting.......2008-02-02
I don't know many people who don't dislike remakes, but this happens to be a good one. In place of the original 'magic glasses' that cinema goers needed in order to see the ghouls in the 1960s original, we get to see them through the 'spectral viewers' that the characters in the movie wear. This is a nice touch that works very well. Anyway, no long-winded review from me; just one to say this is a good, solid, very entertaining horror movie with very good acting, particularly from Tony Shalhoub (who i think is a sorely underrated/overlooked and incredibly talented actor), and one with enough surprises and 'jumps' to keep you in suspense throughout. I think it's a lot better than a lot of people give it credit for, and the production/direction team is an excellent one.
Another enjoyable remake........2007-12-30
Great movie, never seen the original (although i'd like too), but this version is a competent horror. Can't understand an earlier reviewer saying the ghosts are drab, the ghosts are awesome, especially loved the "Jackal" a dickension lunatic. The only ghost which I thought was abit of a let down was the "Juggernaut". Yhe one failing of the movie for me was the lack of a back story on the majority of the ghosts, but still a great film, and worthy of buying.
A good scary movie.......2007-10-22
Thirteen Ghosts is an enjoyable film, well acted, interesting story and scary in places. Well worth seeing.
THIS IS AMAZING!.......2007-05-19
yes, i know it is not scary but its a one of a kind. It made me laugh out loud a few times because the story is so silly but its still one that you must see :)
One of the best ghost films I've seen.......2007-01-05
Great ghost film, one of the best ones I've seen for ages.
Following ghost story tradition, there are sudden brief flashes of various nasty looking ghosts which made me jump the first time I saw them. A fairly simply plot which is explained well by the characters as they try to stay alive. Possibly a bit gory for a 15 certificate but definately something I'll be saving to watch again. Early on, before they'd worked out how to see the ghosts, I almost felt like yelling at them as they walked right up to the things, completely oblivious.
Being a bit of a techie, I loved the house. Full of sliding glass and metal panels (driven by a massive frightening looking load of gears - imagine looking into a gearbox created by a madman) opening and closing to reveal and block corridors all under some strange control.
Along with all the screaming and running around, they find time for some humour as well.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one.
Customer Reviews:
Fun package of slightly lame horror.......2004-05-19
The Amazon listing above is about 66.6% incorrect, so I thought I'd be public spirited (or a know-all!)...
Thirteen Ghosts is as listed: another haunted house type movie from the same company that made House on haunted Hill and Ghost Ship. Not very scary, but good Hellraiserish monster make-up.
Darkness Falls is NOT the Sherilyn Fenn / Ray Winstone film from 1998, but the daft supernatural slasher movie from 2003. An old woman, known locally as the Tooth Fairy, is executed for a crime she didn't commit, and comes back to haunt the townsfolk as a fairly impressive wraith in a porcelain mask, who has to stay out of the light. Quite silly and predictable, but some good scares come from the Tooth Fairy lurking in the dark...
Finally, the version of Night of the Living Dead in this set is NOT the original black and white one, but the Tom Savini remake from 1990; low on scares but full of laughs and inventive zombie deaths, as you'd expect from Savini.
All in all, as long as you have a fondness for cheap and cheerful horror, this set is a really good buy: three solid little movies for a fiver each.
UK DVD:
- Underworld [2003]
- Underworld - Evolution [2006]
- Videodrome [1983]
- What Lies Beneath [2000]
- Wrong Turn [2003]
- 1408 [2007]
- 28 Days Later ... [2002]
- 28 Weeks Later [2007]
- 30 Days Of Night - Special Edition 2 DVD set with 48-page Graphic Novel & Slipcase [2007]
- Audition (Collector's Edition) [1999]
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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