I love this movie so much

Really Surprised!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Nobody. And then, "I won't let you hurt the children!"These two lines are perfect examples of how the movie fell apart in the second half. Mainly because there was no prompt for this iconic dialogue from the first film in the second one. No one was shown to be holding Nell's hand, or that her hand was in any position in which it would be 'held'. And secondly, she didn't hear the terrifying noises of child abuse in the dark. Being a remake of the 1963 classic, I don't think anybody expected it to be as good as the first. But still it was off to a promising start, with lonely, unwanted Eleanor against the glamorous have-it- all Zeta as Theo. Even Owen Wilson being Owen Wilson in Hill House was entertaining. Unfortunately, the second half nose-dived. They didn't keep up the motif of the desperate Eleanor with no home being hounded by society - except in that one scene in which Owen Wilson trashes her only legal possession against the iron gate (he gets his poetic justice). Instead of the house PREYING on Eleanor's weakened mind, the idea that Eleanor DID somehow legally belong with the house was pushed a bit too far (the woman wearing the necklace in the painting and Eleanor spewing a lot of ancestral details which no one can possibly verify there). That and the abundant use of CG takes away from all horror and leaves us with an adventure film with one horrible accident.Watch the original 1963 film for your dose of chills and terrors.

This movie came out when I was 11 and even at that age I thought this movie was horribly done. The acting is juvenile and lacks any depth or sincerity, the script is just pathetic, and the poor actors had to somehow make it a film that people wouldn't burn at the stake. It also contained hokey effects (the CGI was tasteless and you could see wires in various scenes) and many mistakes in continuity. The lead actress is as awkward with her performance as the actor who played Charlie Bucket in the original Willy Wonka. Half the time you just sit there wondering how on Earth they even got into a movie because the acting was so awful. I feel so sorry for the actors who took a career hit by being in this movie!

The Haunting (1999): Dir: Jan De Bont / Cast: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Bruce Dern: Remake of the Robert Wise classic about past incidents that stir horrid images. A group of individuals suffer from insomnia and are summoned to an isolated mansion for treatment. This mansion has a past as the heroine can hear the echoes and cries of children. The film contains an eerie soundtrack and startling images. Special effects are breathtaking with an ominous presence about to give the mansion its haunting appeal. Unfortunately the screenplay presents a formula story with a climax that becomes ridiculous. Director Jan De Bont allows it to get away on him. It is as if he was given all of the budget and he could not figure out what was needed. He made Speed, which is his one worthy film but this film is a tad better than his embarrassing Twister and Speed 2: Cruise Control. Of the ensemble cast Taylor seems interesting as she struggles to figure out the bizarre around her. She comes from a broken home only to learn that she has connections here that elevate to a laughable outcome. Liam Neeson passes as the doctor while Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson wander about as if bored. Bruce Dern plays the gate keeper who is suppose to look sinister and more or less over the top. Special effects are the one saver otherwise it is hauntingly bad. Score: 3 / 10

This movie upon first impression leaves this reviewer asking, " Did I do something to mess this up? Was it me?" Only after a second viewing does it becomes apparent that it's the movie's fault. This is a remake of a 1963 movie that was itself a poor poor adaptation of the Shirley Jackson masterpiece The Haunting Of Hill House- if you haven't read it, the book is like a modern day epic poem as a tale of horror. Certainly the 1963 film adaptation fell short, and this version manages to fall short of the '63, that's a big empty space of a difference between The Haunting (1999) and the book. The book is classic, the movie is lowest common denominator over-the-top Hollywood psychopathy on display. You would have made more money if you just did a film version of the book- good stories are eternal, special effects are forgotten.