Haunted Castle

This has to be one of the best 3D IMAX movies that I've seen! But everyone else that I know whose seen it hated it. Probably because too many people look for a decent plot instead of its visuals. It sort of makes you think that people don't care about the quality of a presentation.

Now I admit, the story was...bad. But let's face it, 3D movies in general don't have great plots. If they did, people would be too busy focusing on the story than the 3D effects.

In general, this is one the best IMAX 3D movies I've seen mainly for their 3D effects. Don't see it in 2D, you'll be very disappointed if you did.

Well, not the BEST movie I've ever seen, but it deffinetly is one of my favourites! It had just a few things I like about a movie; rock music, gothic, very hot guy, lots of horror. It was a fun roller coaster ride through a bone chilling gothic castle. I'm glad there was a plot line, as thin and flimsy as it was. It was still a potentially strong plot line, and I think if they had focused a bit more on strengthening the plot, and perhaps made it a longer movie, it would have been excellent. But after all, it was an Imax movie, so you can't expect box office masterpieces jumping out from those screens. Nonetheless, it was VERY enjoyable, and I intend to buy the DVD and if I can, the soundtrack. I LOVE that song he sings at the beginning and end.

I saw this movie a while ago... and it was a total waste of my life.. to think what i could of been doing instead of watching this movie. dont ask me why they made it 3D, cause 3d or 2d it was a waste of mine and there money. sooo if u want to pay for a movie where u sit there and wait for it to end.. i advice to to see this, otherwise dont bother.

After reading of the disagreements between IMAX and the producers, I decided that the film simply *had* to be seen, if for no other reason than the support of free artist endeavour, unfettered by the dictates of the machinery used to present it. The visual aesthetics of current 3D projection technology were also a strong drawing point.

First, the up side. Much of the film is computer-generated, usually quite obviously so, but this detracts very little from the beauty of the images on the screen. By way of introduction, the film begins with the viewer flying over a vast expanse of seascape and hillside, circling an ominous castle...getting ever closer and closer. This echo of early Imax films (i.e. North of Superior) is highly effective as a means to draw the viewer into the world subsequently created. The illusion of depth and solidity is maintained, and increased, throughout this rather short offering by clever viewpoints, slow panning and circling, and the creation of interior spaces and movements that had some of the audience gasping in discomfort, yet loving the "ride". Textures were sumptuous, perspectives both nightmarish and realistic, though the meshing of computer-generated surroundings and human actor(s) was somewhat disconnected or abstract at points. The 3D effect was never lost, though oft-times had a cartoonish quality to it. The music was geared to a 15-25 year-old audience, with some of it having an unearthly beauty that sent shivers along my spine.

The disturbing images are inadvertently humourous, lacking even the "horror punch" present in everyday hellfire-and-brimstone preaching, letalone the creepy-crawly quality present in "Nightmare Before Christmas".

The down side? The plot isn't much, characters lack depth, and trite philosophy underlies much of the dialogue on the screen. The technology is barely tolerable, with rather heavy eyegear needed to complete the illusions of visual depth. Watching three hours with this equipment on one's head would be physically painful, if not impossible. Though I soon adapted to the equipment I had to move my head, rather than my eyes, to look at different sections of the screen, in order to avoid a disconcerting strobing effect. This is hardly "ergonomic".

All in all, worth seeing as an almost-spectacular demonstration of a technology in its primitive stages of development, and a visual genre still in formation. More will come our way, and further refinements will no doubt amaze us in years to come.

I saw this one on an IMAX screen and loved it. The 3D technology has come a long way since the red and blue glasses days. The home DVD is worth the price just for the song that the ghost mother sings at the beginning of the movie (even if you don't order the 3D hardware). It's very captivating. The roller coaster ride through hell is awesome with the 3D effect. Some parts are genuinely creepy, particularly the torture room scene where several CGI characters are subjected to some very imaginative painful deaths. Probably not something you would want to explain to younger children. The credits at the end show up as floating bubbles. The credits are as impressive with the 3D effect as the whole rest of the movie. I really enjoyed this short film.