I 13 spettri

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.

The movie was fun. It wasn't a horrible flick my any means. The acting didn't make me want to leave, which is a definite plus for a horror movie. I thought the computer graphics were impressive. The ghosts were definitely freaky, and yes, I jumped a few times. I rarely jump in horror films, but this one I did...more than once.There were times where it was predictable however. This didn't take away from the entertainment factor though. I mean, this film isn't going to win any Academy Awards for best picture or anything, but it was a fun film. If you're looking for something to do this Halloween, take your friends out to see it.

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.

"Thir13en Ghosts" does have a certain charm, if only for its silliness. Maybe there's nothing particularly special about a visual effects-laden movie in which a family inherits a haunted house, but the movie definitely has its moments, namely when the lawyer "splits". Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, Rah Digga and F. Murray Abraham are all able to turn in neat performances, even if the whole movie is pretty outlandish. I would recommend the original version more, but this one isn't bad. Perhaps its little more than a way to pass time, but a cool one at that. Acceptable for what it is.

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 ****