The Haunting (1999)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Jan de Bont

Writers (WGA):

Shirley Jackson (novel)
David Self (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Some houses are born bad

Plot:

When Eleanor, Theo, and Luke decide to take part in a sleep study at a huge mansion they get more than they bargained for when Dr. Marrow tells them of the house's ghostly past.

Plot Keywords:

Fear | Experiment | Mansion | Insomnia | Haunting

Awards:

2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Lili Taylor	...	Eleanor 'Nell' Vance
Liam Neeson	...	Dr. David Marrow
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Theo
Owen Wilson	...	Luke Sanderson
Bruce Dern	...	Mr. Dudley
Marian Seldes	...	Mrs. Dudley
Alix Koromzay	...	Mary Lambetta
Todd Field	...	Todd Hackett
Virginia Madsen	...	Jane
Michael Cavanaugh	...	Dr. Malcolm Keogh
Tom Irwin	...	Lou
Charles Gunning	...	Hugh Crain
Saul Priever	...	Ritchie
M.C. Gainey	...	Large Man
Hadley Eure	...	Carolyn Crain

Also Known As:

La maldición (USA: Spanish title)
The Haunting of Hill House (USA) (trailer title)
The Legend of Hill House (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense horror sequences.

Runtime:

113 min | Switzerland:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36806) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England, UK

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Several of the sets depicting Hill House were built in the hangar that housed The Spruce Goose, the mammoth airplane built by Howard Hughes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Theo and Nell are taken into their room for the first time Theo does a front flip onto her bed, but lands facing backward.

Quotes:

Eleanor "Nell" Vance: HE KILLED THEM. Hugh Crane. It's just like you said; He wanted to fill the house with the laughter of children. He took from mills and brought them here, but he wouldn't let them go. HE WOULD NEVER LET THEM GO.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Wes Craven (#1.4)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

The Carousel

Creepy, but could've been creepier.

The Haunting is a film that boasts a really creepy house, good effects work and sound work, a cast that seems to believe that everything around them is real and that house. There are scenes that make you jump, and the sinister aspects of what went on at Hill House in the past, I found interesting. There are genuinely creepy moments in the film and I liked the way the ghosts manifested themselves in sheets, curtains and the house itself. Jerry Goldsmith's score gave it the right atmosphere and the sound design had voices popping up around you. What I wish could've happened is for something a little more intense. Jan De Bont had a PG-13 rating to contend with and I think that he held back a little too much. Poltergeist scared me silly when I saw it many years ago, and it still holds up. The Haunting could've used a few more scenes of pure terror. The ending was for me, a little anticlimactic. Overall, I enjoyed it. The acting is good and there are moments that make you jump. I just wish it scared me more.