Trece fantasmas

This is one of those movies that you cannot hate fully, but you cannot like fully either. Something is missing, I can't point a finger to EXACTLY what it is, but I know if "it" were included, this movie would have been a blockbuster.

It's a great Halloween "popcorn" film. It's entertaining. It's a nice attempt at an update of a movie that wasn't that hot to begin with. I liked the actors, I just wish they had more to work with. I really liked the Ghosts, I wished they were developed more, had more exposure/time onscreen and were a little bit more gruesome. Only a few ghosts out of the 12 got featured, I felt shortchanged.

Maybe there was too much about the family for me..then again, maybe too little. Maybe the family didn't have enough goose-bumpy peril for me. I REALLY liked the daughter washing her face in the new bathroom scene. Maybe there should have been ALOT more of that kind of suspense/horror. I loved what happened to the Lawyer. I HATED the ending, it just fell apart for me. But, I loved the Nanny's closing line at the end and I think it would have been more effective if the film was a whole lot scarier and gruesome. I have to wonder, is there stuff on the editing floor that didn't make it?

I watch this film everytime it comes on Cable-TV for it IS interesting, and there are parts that are good. Then there are parts that ruin it. Character development that has plot holes as big as the grand canyon. It was as if they wanted to make a horrific, scary ghost movie and just when they were about to let go, they pulled back. But ya know, you can still watch it and be entertained.

Thir13en Ghosts 2? Only if the makers, the scriptwriter, etc., are allowed to let go and its released with the sheer horror, fear, gruesome tale it looks like it was headed in.

I know it may offend alot of folks if Thir13en Ghosts went that "balls-out" route, but for what we're paying to get into movie houses now...do me a favor and scare the hell outa me!!! I can take it!!! Make me jump out of my seat ALOT...scream...grab onto my boyfriend and/or whomever else is sitting nearby! Trust me, I'll come back for more.

This film had all the elements in place and it just peter-ed out.

This is a chiller remake with grisly horror, genuine chills and shocks . When Cyrus Kriticos (F. Murray Abraham) , a very rich collector of unique things dies, he leaves it all to his nephew and his family. All including his house, his fortune, and his malicious collection of ghosts. As reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his eerie mansion to his penniless nephew Cyrus Zorba (Tony Shaloub) and his sons (Shannon Elizabeth , Alec Roberts) . Along with the house, the Zorba family has also inherited the occultist's collection of 12 ghosts (Laura Mennell as The Bound Woman , Kathryn Anderson as The Withered Lover , Craig Olejnik as The Torn Prince , Shawna Loyer as The Angry Princess , Xantha Radley as The Pilgrimess , Ernst Harth as The Great Child , Laurie Soper as The Dire Mother , Herbert Duncanson as The Hammer), who can only be seen through Zorba's special goggles.The house suddenly closes itself and they encounter trapped inside and soon supernatural creepiness begin frightening the hosts . Then they'll spend a ghastly night in the spooky house with killings-laden history . The family members, their lives at risk upon the discovery a strange book that lies hidden somewhere in the house , they receive aid from unexpected woman (Embeth Davidtz) as the threat to their lives is revealed .

This eerie story contains bit good fun with grisly killing , relentless horror and lots of blood and gore. The chiller version packs genuine chills and terrifying deaths such as a horrible quartering . It's silly but amusing fun and with an excessive use of computer generator FX and special make-up in charge of Robert Kurtzman , Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero . The monstrous ghosts are the real stars of this production , being rightly realized by means of an excellent make-up and magnificent special effects . Some scenes are clumsily shot but the movie has some good moments here and there , the illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the creepy ghosts . The film was lavishly produced by Dark Castle , production specialized on terror genre and in charge of Joel Silver , Robert Zemeckis and Gilbert Adler ; both of them have produced successful terror movies dealing with eerie tales about horror , grisly killings and lots of blood and gore such as ¨House of haunted hill¨, ¨Return to house of haunted hill¨ , ¨Gothika¨, ¨Ghost ship¨, ¨House of wax¨ , Whiteout¨ , ¨Splice¨ , ¨The reaping¨ , ¨Orphan¨ , among others . The motion picture was professionally directed though without originality by Steven Beck who subsequently filmed ¨Ghost ship¨.

The film resulted to be an acceptable but inferior remake from superior ¨13 ghosts¨ by William Castle . It was plenty of gimmicks, leaps from the screen and surprises descending on cinema-goers such as hidden wires and others . Of course the biggest film about this astonishing story is this vintage 1960 classic version rendition by William Castle that was starred by Charles Herbert as Buck Zorba , Jo Morrow as Medea Zorba , Martin Milner as Benjamen Rush , Rosemary DeCamp as Hilda Zorba and Donald Woods as Cyrus Zorba .

'Thir13en Ghosts' is a movie with lots of flashing images and loud sounds. Most of the time that is a little annoying, although there are moments it adds something to the scary events that happen. I am not a big fan of the horror-genre, although I can appreciate it when it is done good. Here you have no real story, but there are some real scares. Since it is about ghosts those things can turn up anytime and anywhere. One of the characters even explains that "they like to do that".

To explain the story would be quite pointless. What I can say is that a family without a mother but including dad Arthur (Tony Shalhboub), daughter Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth), son Bobby (Alec Roberts) and nanny Maggie (Rah Digga) inherits a strange house, created by their uncle Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham). We learn that Cyrus was a ghost hunter, of course with a purpose and a thirteenth ghost as the answer to a mystery, and that twelve ghosts are locked in the basement of the house. Two other characters are in the house as well. Dennis (Matthew Lillard) who sees future and past when he touches people and who used to work with Cyrus, and an opponent of Cyrus named Kalina (Embeth Davidtz). When the ghosts are unleashed they have to save themselves.

I realize I actually have told you the story, but that is not what this movie is about. What makes it at least interesting is the visual style of the movie. The house looks great, the effects and art direction are very admirable. That there is hardly time to notice that is a shame. The scares might be stupid but they work enough to make this a real horror movie. Yes, there are many flaws and things go terribly wrong near the end, but if you normally like these kind of movies, you must be able to enjoy 'Thir13en Ghosts'.

The only problem i found about "Thirteen Ghosts" is that it is not scary. It has the elements to be a horror movie, the ghosts, the gore, but it is not frightening at all.

So this film can be a real party pooper if you're watching it with the lights off at your girlfriend's house waiting for her to grab your arm through the hard scenes, or expect to enjoy having some nightmares about it. But, omitting that--yeah, i know it's hard to omit that a movie labeled as "horror" is not scary--, i judge it as a very interesting film. The production design is great; the glass house is a state of the art, away from your typical haunted house, looking both luxurious and somehow creepy at the same time. That innovation, carried out with such a splendid result, is worth my applause. So is the decision to make the ghosts be real actors in the set, not digital freaks. Human monsters, even if having to go through 4+ hours of make-up sessions, even if having to use a double amputee actor to play a particular ghost, are the film's best trump card. There are good ideas in this film, and they're very well developed. It doesn't deserve a bad score.

As I've said so many times before...people, this is just a movie. It is not intended to make deep social comment; it is not meant to reflect reality; the characters are not obligated to exercise good judgment; the fact that this movie is supposed to be "based on" the earlier version is not really relevant; and it ought to be possible to be entertained by a movie without necessarily feeling genuinely scared.

I find this to be a very entertaining movie. Good special effects, decent acting, lots of action, neat props and mechanicals, and some unique ghosts make this a lot of fun. Was I scared? No. I was startled sometimes, but not scared.

So what IS wrong with this movie? Well, I'm back to my usual gripe about action movies. There's a point in the film where one character says to three other characters, "Stay right here until I get back. Don't touch anything." Without going into detail, let me simply state the obvious: the other characters don't obey him and the results are not good. This is always a big turn-off to me, because the people who disobey almost always end up getting out safely, while other people die for their mistakes. In another film, for example, a family in the Federal witness protection program is told not to contact their old friends. The daughter, however, can't live without calling her boyfriend at least once. The bad guys intercept the phone call, show up at the "safe house," and end up killing several US Marshals. Of course, the daughter is oblivious to the damage she has caused and goes on to live happily ever after. Just once I'd like to see the survivors turn to the person who was reckless and say, "That was all your fault!" and blow the person away in a hail of lead.

Now, back to THIS film. I recommend it if you enjoy over-the-top horror/action films, but not if you are looking for some sort of psychological thriller or a moody mystery. If you liked "Dog Soldiers" and "An American Werewolf in London," then you should like this movie.

*** out of ****