KirkS
Joined Feb 1999
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KirkS's rating
Most "making of" documentaries are little more than puff pieces in which the director and lead actors bs about what a wonderful experience it was to make the film and why you should go see it. The Hamster Factor is quite a bit different. Fulton and Pepe were brought on as "witnesses" rather than promoters. The documentary is refreshingly honest about the process including the moments of doubt, the temporary loss of vision, the angst following test screenings and the eventual success of the movie. The Hamster Factor also does a better job at describing the technical details of how the film gets made from pre-production debates in bare-walled offices with distressed office furniture, to on-location production to editing in bare-walled offices with distressed office furniture.
This movie appears to be one of those that you will either love or hate. Generally I think you might love it if you thought that the original The Haunting (1963) is one of the scariest films ever made while the remake (1999) is one of the worst films every made. You might like this film if you are bored with all of the gimmicky variations on slasher horror films. You might like this film if you liked The Innocents (1961). You might like the film if you like a slow well-structured plot rather than a thrill-a-minute ride.
You might strongly dislike this film if you thought that any of the above or Unbreakable and 6th Sense were booring in comparison.
The Others is old-style psychological gothic horror with a twist. Beautifully directed, beautifully acted. No stupid men in rubber masks jumping out with big knives.
You might strongly dislike this film if you thought that any of the above or Unbreakable and 6th Sense were booring in comparison.
The Others is old-style psychological gothic horror with a twist. Beautifully directed, beautifully acted. No stupid men in rubber masks jumping out with big knives.
One of the best parts of a horror movie is watching how people self-destruct under pressure. The original of The Haunting is probably one of the best horror movies ever made, it does quite a bit more with less and pulls off a truely creepy film.
The plot is familiar if you've seen the remake. Dr. Markway rents Hill House, a house with a 90 year history of horrifying events and madness. Dr. Markway intends to live in the house with a selected group of certified psychics and mediums. Of the half-dozen psychics he invites, only two, Elanor Lance, and Theodora ("just Theodora") show up at the house.
The cinematography (filmed in glorious black and white) does an excellent job of demonstrating the claustrophobic insane atmosphere of the house. While the remake attempts to make the point with 3D modeled effects, the original does an excellent job with simple variations in film stock, camera angles and lighting. Many of my early childhood night terrors involved faces that appeared in the furniture when the lights went out. The original captures the same creepy sense that there are faces in the victorian scroll-work and gothic towers. The actors are frequently shot at odd angles, from the floor, or from above completing the sense that the view is skiewed.
The set design complements the cinematography. Unlike the remake where the set design was overdone with cherubic faces, the original looks like a victorian house until its heart and soul is revealed.
One of the key points that makes the original work so much better than the remake is that the original knows exactly how much information to tease out to the viewer and how much is left to speculation. (This is a technique that made the original Blair Witch Project successful.) The movie provides us with tantilizing peeks at the secret life of the former inhabitants but lets the viewer fill in the gaps.
The ghost story is highlighted by the romantic and character tensions between the investigators. All of the characters have their flaws, Dr. Markway is more concerned about his investigation than the people he works with, Theodora knows what everyone is thinking and tends to be tactless, Elanor is the romantic clinger seeking approval, and Luke can't see past the material value of the house. The contrast between the four characters is very well played and the love triangle in the film merges with the supernatural climax.
Overall, this is one of my favorite horror films. If you liked this you would probably also like The Exorcist and The Innocents.
The plot is familiar if you've seen the remake. Dr. Markway rents Hill House, a house with a 90 year history of horrifying events and madness. Dr. Markway intends to live in the house with a selected group of certified psychics and mediums. Of the half-dozen psychics he invites, only two, Elanor Lance, and Theodora ("just Theodora") show up at the house.
The cinematography (filmed in glorious black and white) does an excellent job of demonstrating the claustrophobic insane atmosphere of the house. While the remake attempts to make the point with 3D modeled effects, the original does an excellent job with simple variations in film stock, camera angles and lighting. Many of my early childhood night terrors involved faces that appeared in the furniture when the lights went out. The original captures the same creepy sense that there are faces in the victorian scroll-work and gothic towers. The actors are frequently shot at odd angles, from the floor, or from above completing the sense that the view is skiewed.
The set design complements the cinematography. Unlike the remake where the set design was overdone with cherubic faces, the original looks like a victorian house until its heart and soul is revealed.
One of the key points that makes the original work so much better than the remake is that the original knows exactly how much information to tease out to the viewer and how much is left to speculation. (This is a technique that made the original Blair Witch Project successful.) The movie provides us with tantilizing peeks at the secret life of the former inhabitants but lets the viewer fill in the gaps.
The ghost story is highlighted by the romantic and character tensions between the investigators. All of the characters have their flaws, Dr. Markway is more concerned about his investigation than the people he works with, Theodora knows what everyone is thinking and tends to be tactless, Elanor is the romantic clinger seeking approval, and Luke can't see past the material value of the house. The contrast between the four characters is very well played and the love triangle in the film merges with the supernatural climax.
Overall, this is one of my favorite horror films. If you liked this you would probably also like The Exorcist and The Innocents.