Haunted

A modestly effective supernatural thriller based on the James Herbert novel, and directed by veteran Lewis Gilbert. Weakness is the over lighting of many scenes that would have been much better in low key, but there are moments of shock that work well, especially in the early sequences. Quinn is somewhat wooden, and its left to Kate Beckinsale to add zest and glamor, which she does effectively, with several nude scenes and some moments of steamy sex. Lewis Gilbert directs without enthusiasm, though at times can we see traces of his earlier and better screen work. Finally the plot which has a major twist at the ending, is full of red herrings and pot holes, which makes it less than believable. A precursor to "The Others" which handles a similar situation with more classic flair, better cast and direction.

I think the summary about says it all. It has twists and turns and has you guessing all the way through it. And in the end, you find out you were possibly fooled all the time. It was scary at times and I would rate it as an excellent film of this genre. I must admit, that I am a real fan of this type of film.

Haunted is directed by Lewis Gilbert, who co-adapts the screenplay with Bob Kellett and Timothy Prager from the novel written by James Herbert. It stars Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews, Alex Lowe, John Gielgud and Anna Massey. Music is by Debbie Wiseman and cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts.

Following the accidental death of his twin sister when they were just kids, David Ash (Quinn) has grown up to be a parapsychologist determined to debunk the existence of ghosts. Receiving an invitation from the Mariell family to investigate supernatural activity at their family home, Edbrook House, David accepts and quickly finds his life flipped upside down…

It's from the old fashioned school of horror, a period piece of some worth, but not one for anyone looking to be scared out of their wits. Actually the novel by the late great James Herbert was becalmed when judged by his superb standards, so it really will help any potential first time viewer to go into this expecting a more ethereal chiller than anything else.

There's an air of romanticism constantly hanging in the air, and with Gilbert nodding towards the likes of The Haunting for his scares and Don't Look Now for the meditation on grief angle, it's a film of mixed blessings. Also nice to see very good period design for the 1920s setting, while Roberts' photography skilfully brings beauty to the English countryside and murkier tones for the inner workings of Edbrook House.

Cast are fine, with Quinn and a perky Beckinsale creating good sensual chemistry, and Andrews and Lowe are suitably odd as the clearly off- kilter Mariell brothers. Massey, however, is not challenged by her role and Gilegud is only really filing in for an easy money cameo.

It gets away from itself a little in the final stretch, where it's not helped by some shoddy effects work, but there's good value to be had in the picture. With grief, guilt, redemption and incest bubbling away thematically, and the spectral visage of David's dead sister haunting the edges of the frame, film never lacks for literate effort or a sense of unease. The book is much better, mind. 7/10

I first saw this a couple of years ago, when it was released on video, and since then i must have watched about two or three times more. Surprisingly for a mistery movie, this doesn´t loose it´s appeal even when we are watching it for the second time. Even when we already know how it´s going to end.

The first time we see it, it´s great and we spend the whole movie trying to guess what is going to happen next, even if the ending might be a bit easy to guess from a certain point in the movie, if we pay atention to some details.

Anyway, this is an excelent movie, the atmosphere is perfect. Very intriguing and misterious, but at the same time set in very normal locations. Normaly ghost movies are associated to lots of scenes in the dark, but this movie is a very bright movie with most of its story set in very iluminated places, contrary to the classic ghost storytelling. But at the same time even during normal scenes whe can feel that there is something wrong in the air, and this is what makes this movie so atmospheric. It realy feels like the whole movie is haunted. We can watch it again, and again and keep finding new small details, that we missed the first time.

But what ghost story would be without scares and chills. Well there are a couple of scary moments in here also and some very good chilling sequences. Most of them is actualy in our minds, because ther aren´t many special effects in, but that´s the way a good ghost story should be presented. The atmosphere in this is so good, that if the few flashy special effects that are present were removed, it wouldn´t make a diference. But fear not, this is not a Spielberg effects film, the atmosphere is what counts here. And it has loads of it.

Overall this is at least a very diferent ghost story, and originaly presented. Don´t skip this movie if you like ghost stories.

Excelent.

Young David Ash and his sister are playing beside the lake on their family estate. When his sister falls, hitting her head on a stone and drowns in the lake, David is unable to save her. Blaming himself for her death, David becomes a Phd in Paranormal studies. Years later, after a successful career of exposing fraudulent mediums, David is recalled to his former home by an old woman who writes to say the home she works in is haunted.

David is met at the station by Christina (Beckinsale), a bewitchingly beautiful woman, who drives extremely dangerously and thinks nothing of stripping her clothes off and swimming in the nude in front of Dr. Ash, though she has just met him. When one of her brothers also swims nude, David is still more surprised.

The older brother is barely tolerant of David and wants him to do his job as rapidly as possible and not get involved with his sister. David talks to the elderly woman, referred to as Nanny, learning of the tragic death of Christina's parents. During his attempts to understand what is going on David has several very frightening moments. The Special effects are outstanding by the way.

While making his investigation, David comes across a shocking family secret and sees the ghost of what may be his own sister, near the lake. He then has several more strange experiences which cause him to doubt his sanity. The only person who seems to understand his confusion is the elderly doctor who is the family physician. David visits the old man at his home in the village which helps him realize he is not insane, but still leaves him with unanswered questions.

The shocking conclusion will completely twist everything you think you know about ghosts and reality. This film may be the seminal influence in a new era of ghost stories on film, which was lately added to by the talented director, Alejandro Amenabar, who gave us THE OTHERS, starring Nicole Kidman. If you like ghost stories HAUNTED is a must see.