Review of The Haunting (1999) by Ian S — 27 Mar 2011

Jan de Bont's "The Haunting" somehow works despite major flaws, it comes out on top to be terrifying and edge-of-your-seat thrilling. But at times it's predictable and boring. It has a great cast including Liam Neeson, Owen Wilson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Dern and Lili Taylor, in which they all gave brilliant and convincing performances. Overall a scary and fun movie, but there could've been so much more and so much better. One of the last places in the world you'd expect to find a portrait of redemption is in a special-effects-driven horror story. But surprises abound in the always unpredictable realm of contemporary cinema. The movie does not, alas, succeed as a horror film. But it succeeds as a film worth watching anyway, and that is no small achievement.

VERDICT: "Matinée" - (Mixed reaction). These kinds of movies are usually movies that had some good things, but some bad things kept it from being amazing. This rating says to pay matinée prices to see at a theatre or buy an ex rental or a cheap price the DVD to own.