I 13 spettri

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 ****

It doesn't rely on too much splatter and it doesn't try to startle you out of your seat every two minutes so that immediately makes it better than the average horror flick. The ghosts were unusual enough to be memorable and there was not a lot of familiarity to the plot. This was very nearly an excellent film with a solid cast and very good effects. Five or ten more minutes of scary interaction between the ghosts and the children(if you can call Shannon Elizabeth a child) would have made the movie much better. I call it a near miss which is as good as most horror fils can aspire to.

I watched this movie last night, and I thought it was entertaining. Sure, it's a B-movie and has its flaws - it's a bit silly, it's not particularly horrifying (although I must admit no movie has scared me in 10-15 years, and I've watched quite a lot of horror flicks), it's a tad silly (Ghostbusters meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer?). But as B-horror movies go, this one is entertaining for those who like films with supernatural phenomena and people dying in "imaginative" ways. Actually, Thir13en Ghosts reminded me of one of my favourite films, The Cube. But that's just the reason I can't give a lot of points for this movie - there are better B-movies with which to entertain yourself. Cube-films sum up the better parts of the film and dispense with boring love-issues. But then again, there are heck of a lot more crappier films than this, and it was funny enough for me to even buy it for five or so euros in case I came across this in a store.

The movie is fine. It could have been so much more. It's all right there for the taking. They're remaking everything so why not remake something they could truly improve upon? So my review of this is that it's fun, but you'll feel that there is a lot of lost potential with this. I give it a 6, but it could've been a classic! That's the hardest part to take in when you think about the movie.

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.