The Haunting, 1963 black-and-white horror film directed by Robert Wise, is considered one of the classics of the genre. Much of this reputation was, however, created years later when Steven Spielberg explicitly named it as one of the inspirations for his work. In 1990s he tried to pay further homage by directing a remake which was to be written by horror genre literary master Stephen King. During the pre-production Spielberg and King parted ways over creative differences (with the latter ultimately using his screenplay as basis for 2002 miniseries Rose Red). Spielberg instead made his version through his Dreamworks SKG studio and the result is 1999 film directed by Jan De Bont.
The film, like 1963 version, is based on The Haunting of Hill House, 1959 gothic horror novel by Shirley Jackson. Plot begins when Eleanor “Nell” Vance (played by Lili Taylor), woman suffering from insomnia, finds herself with possibility of losing home because her greedy sister Jane (played by Virginia Madsen) wants to sell it after the death a mother Nell has spent years taking care of. Nell is therefore willing to take part in experiment planned by Dr. David Marrow (played by Liam Neeson), scientist researching insomnia. The site for experiment is large mansion outside Boston which has been built by wealthy industrialist in 19th Century. Nell is joined by two other test subjects – Luke Sanderson (played by Owen Wilson) and bisexual Theo (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones). What trio doesn’t know that Dr. Marrow actually wants to research fear instead of insomnia, so he specifically chose house infamous for dark past and rumours about ghosts. After night falls, it turns out that such stories might not be a figment of someone’s imagination and that Marrow and his subjects would need a lot of skill and luck to survive until morning.
The Haunting had decent results at box office, but it was quite different story with critics that almost unanimously attacked it as example of everything wrong with late 1990s Hollywood remakes. Most of complaints dealt with inevitable comparisons between 1963 and 1999 film. The former was praised for creating sensation of fear and anxiety indirectly and even not being unambiguous whether characters’ misadventures in haunted house are result of supernatural forces or too much imagination and damaged psyche. The latter discarded all subtlety, especially in the second part, which not only gave clear supernatural answer to all viewer’s dilemmas, but also served as an excuse for orgy of CGI special effects. Uninspired direction by Jan De Bont is well-matched by uninspired acting performances by Liam Neeson and Owen Wilson. Catherine Zeta-Jones has misfortune of playing character that is simply declared as bisexual without any dramatic justification; even the scenes during which she shares screen with independent cinema icon Lili Taylor lack any chemistry or hints about possible sexual tensions. The only thing that makes this film somewhat watchable is good cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub, musical score by always dependable Jerry Goldsmith and fascinating production design by Eugenio Zanetti. Although film doesn’t represent complete waste time, it shouldn’t be recommended to more demanding fans of horror genre and haunted house stories.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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