Haunted Lighthouse

I was really looking forward to seeing R.L. Stein's Haunted Lighthouse because Busch Gardens Williamsburg had run the 4D show Pirates for the last five seasons. I enjoyed the show, but it was sort of a let-down because it was so similar to Pirates. In fact, there's one scene where Christopher Lloyd is looking through a telescope (and the telescope appears to be coming straight at you) that was identical to a scene in Pirates. Still, the show was good and had some moments that surprised and starteled me. Haunted Lighthouse was a fun, 20 minute 4D movie that was a fun and relaxing way to beat some of the heat during the day. It was worth seeing once. However, if you're going to be visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg and only want to do one 4D show, I recommend Cork Screw Hill in the park's Ireland section. I've done Cork Screw Hill about 10 times now in the two years since Ireland opened and I enjoy it every time! It's a much more involved 4D experience.

This was a cute little family flick where they give you cheap thrills by spraying water at you and having various items popping out of the screen. worth watching as long as you dont mind getting wet. It stats ou with a story about how the lighthouse became haunted. Then you come to current time where a ghost boy brings two siblings to the lighthouse and trys to kill them. And it ends with a comical cameo by Wierd Al. Overall 2.5 out of 4 stars

This was a cute little family flick where they give you cheap thrills by spraying water at you and having various items popping out of the screen. worth watching as long as you dont mind getting wet. It starts out with a story about how the lighthouse became haunted. Then you come to current time where a ghost boy brings two siblings to the lighthouse and trys to kill them. And it ends with a comical cameo by Weird Al. Overall 2.5 out of 4 stars

While this isn't terrible, I think the main problem is it's too short. There could've been a whole lot more backstory built into every one these characters, and the end result would've been more satisfying. Even another 15 minutes would help. There are a couple of loose ends I'd like to see tied up--how does Bobby Edner's character cast a shadow on the beach, anyway? Not only backstory, but in the "present day" there should've been more for each character to do. Every performer seems only to be barely scratching the surface of his/her role, and the whole thing could've been a whole lot more fun. Maybe this long version could've even been protracted to 2 installments (there's an idea--keep people coming back!) Not only that, but with Christopher Lloyd & Leah Thompson (who share more screen time here than they did in the entire BTTF trilogy), I kept expecting a McFly, Tannen or DeLorean to show up at any second!

The only thing haunted about "Haunted Lighthouse" was the fact that about 30 minutes of my life has now passed on and I will be forever reminded about how I cannot ever get it back.

The "Spy Kids" series, Warner Bros. cartoons, and the Muppets constantly show that you can do family entertainment that will appeal to everyone and avoid heavy shipments of cheese.

I would say the writing was primarily what was at fault here. I've never read any of R.L. Stine's books but I am familiar with the genres the author deals with (early teen thrillers). I can't get on the actors here too much. The kids were.. well.. not every kid can be Haley Joel Osment.

The adults were primarily Christopher Lloyd and Michael McKean since Lea Thompson only had a scant two or three lines and Weird Al was mainly scenery for while he was present. Lloyd and McKean did performances that were right on par with what the film was supposed to be. The problem was the material they were given to work with wasn't up to par with them.

The 3-D effects featured were well done and the '4-D' interactions (water spraying, buzzing vibrations from the seats, wind blowing, etc) were pretty effective. It's just a shame that the entire package that was delivered could not compare to the wrapping that encased it.

For anyone visiting Busch Gardens I recommend seeing it once (because I think every flick they have in the Globe should be viewed at least that many times) but similar to their "Auction at Castle O'Sullivan" in Ireland... once is more than enough for "Haunted Lighthouse".

Neat idea, needed more of a plot than what was likely enscribed on the back of a napkin in 5 minutes by the author.