MovieChat Forums > The Haunting (1999) Discussion > Laughable

Laughable

posted 9 years ago by oprlvr33
4 replies | jump to latest

We saw this during its cinematic release, and I thought it was way cool, very dark, and very creepy. My hubby however, became bored.

Fast fwd 15 years. Just streamed it on Netflix. Any wonder hubby found it boorish the first time (what a trooper). Talk about cheese-fest. While the location(s), set designs, and ornamentation are excellent, the numerous shooting mistakes are obvious and laughable. And the cheap cartooish CGI's are Disney-ish. Any wonder critics rate it a 4.

They could have gone much further with this, and far greater than what was handed. If you're going to make a modern day creepy film about a psychologist conducting an overnight experiment on guests at a haunted castle, then by George keep it real. And take out needless Owen Wilson/Luke, who added zero value to the film, and was irrelevant to it overall.

Peanutlee33

[–] GunHillTrain 9 years ago

Some of the things Luke says and does seem to require responses from the other people that never come. When he says, "I definitely got a soft spot for Theo," I expect Eleanor to say, "How about me? What am I, chopped liver?"

[FWIW, in the novel Luke seems to be interested in both women. He even has a sort of awkward "date" with Eleanor at one point.]

It's also notable that he later crashes her car into the gate; I expect her to say, "Nice going - now you owe me a new one!"

[–] land-on-the-moon 8 years ago

I thought Eleanor was too downbeat to consider herself desirable, so honestly that reply would have been awkward

As for the car crash, things were pretty terrifying by then , so she could've understood his state of mind, also, that car was the one she used for years to carry her ill mother, probably a symbol of her lost youth...

[–] GunHillTrain 8 years ago

I meant my posting to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. However I have worked on an "alternative" script (really a piece of fan-fiction I guess) in which Eleanor does make comments of that nature. Among other things, Eleanor is quite a bit more assertive and Theo is more vulnerable than in other versions.

There is no car crash because the ghost-investigation of Dr. Marrow turns out to be something of a boondoggle - although some unexplained events do happen. Another detail is that Eleanor is fond enough of her car that she is a member of the American Motors Owners Association.

http://www.amonational.com/

[–] tolla36 8 years ago

Its fragmented, lame ass , lacklustre, lightweight, finished off with bad directing, terrible editing & effects, & last but not least, awful awful script.