Fun Movie that Should Have Been Much Better
Added 11/2/2009
Considering this is a remake of the William Castle "gimmick" b-movie, "Thirteen Ghosts" is more entertaining than it should be, but not a good as it could have been.
What I mean to say is that while I love the William Castle original film, Castle's version was more of a comedy with a nifty 3-D gimmick thrown in. The basic story of a family inheriting a haunted mansion was pure sitcom at best. And while there are some chills sprinkled through the original film, the humor is what I remember most about the film.
The remake does away with all of the humor and attempts to go for the jugular as a pure horror film. The basic storyline remains the same in that a family inherits a haunted house from a ghost hunting uncle. And like the original, 12 spirits inhabit the house...so who is the thirteenth ghost? You have to watch to find out.
Tony Shalhoub turns in a solid performance as Arthur Kriticos, the widower and family man who inherits the haunted home from his uncle. Shalhoub was only 1 year away from striking gold with his TV show "Monk" when this film came out, and I find it difficult watching "Thirteen Ghosts" now, and not thinking of the Monk character obsessing about fingerprints all over the glass house?!?! The rest of the cast is solid as well, with F. Murray Abraham chewing up scenes as the ghost hunting uncle and Matthew Lillard still hunting ghosts here in his pre-Shaggy days.
The special effects are pretty good, and the make-up for the various ghosts looks great. The glass house featured in the film is pretty inventive, and adds a nice touch of atmosphere. There are a few bumps and jumps that will jolt you out of your seat sprinkled throughout the film, but there is nothing in the movie that will stick with you past the end credits.
If you enjoyed the remake of "The House on Haunted Hill", then you will probably enjoy this film as well. If you are looking for a spooky ghost story along the lines of "The Changeling", you will probably be disappointed.
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THE DVD WAS SCRATCHED AND UNWATCHABLE
Added 10/9/2009
GRANTED I ONLY SPENT 4 DOLLARS, BUT, I SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO WATCH THE CRAPPY MOVIE I CHOSE. IF U HAVE A DVD THAT U CAN'T WATCH YOURSELF YOU SHOULDN'T SELL IT TO MAKE A FEW DOLLARS.
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Unlucky '13'
Added 10/1/2009
Ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos (F.Murray Abraham) is on a mission to capture the souls of 13 ghosts so that he can unleash a hellish power on Earth. With the assistance of a psychic named Dennis (Matthew Lillard), Cyrus catches 12 souls before being killed on a hunt. Cyrus's nephew Arthur (Tony Shaloub) is a widower with two kids (Shannon Elizabeth plays the oldest) and a housekeeper (Rah Digga) to support. In financial trouble and in risk of being evicted from his apartment Arthur gets some much needed relief when a lawyer representing Cyrus's estate shows up at his door. He informs Arthur that he is the inheritor of his uncle's mansion. The mansion is a spectacular structure made out of glass that Arthur and his family are all too eager to move into. The only problem is that they also inherit the 12 souls that Cyrus captured. Dennis is also there looking for the money Cyrus owed him and together he and Arthur learn that there is a 13th ghost and only Arthur can catch him. This is the second Dark Castle (a film company created by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis that re-imagines the 50's and 60's horror films of director William Castle for modern audiences) film after 'House On Haunted Hill'. Both films start off very promising establishing a creepy vibe and the promise of genuine scares before tripping over complicated plot twists that cause the film to be boring and not frightening. This film starts off great beginning in an abandoned junkyard then moving to Arthur's claustrophobic apartment before finally settling in the mansion. There are some wonderfully ominous shots in the beginning but eventually overt gore wins out over any subtlety. The ghosts are definitely disturbing and horrific but they weren't utilized like they should have been. The explanation as to why Arthur is the only man capable of capturing the last ghost is a nice touch and at least provides one unexpected surprise. Shannon Elizabeth factors in the beginning but is absent during the middle act only to reappear in the film's final act. This lets Matthew Lillard, from 'Scream', steal the show. He sells every scene he's in with hyper energy and some good physical comedy. It's a disappointing horror film because it looks like it's going to be fun and scary but is actually little more than a standard gorefest.
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Scary Movie
Added 9/30/2009
Special effects of the ghosts in this piece are truly quite frightening. Definitely not for children.
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Thir13en Ghosts; One of The Best Remakes of The Millenium
Added 8/5/2009
A few years back, I watched THIR13EN GHOSTS on the USA channel. I thought it would be nothing special but now I love it. SCREAM's Matthew Lillard, AMERICAN PIE's Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, Rah Digga, F. Murray Abraham, Embeth Davidtz, JR Bourne and MONK's Tony Shalhoub star in the movie. F. Murray Abraham plays Uncle Cyrus Kriticos and gets killed hunting the 12th ghost. Tony Shalhoub, Shannon Elizabeth and Alec Roberts are the family moving into Cyrus's prison of ghosts. Matthew Lillard and Embeth Davidtz are ghost hunters. Matthew Lillard is trying to help the family get out of the house after discovering how dangerous the ghosts still are. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.
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Fun Movie that Should Have Been Much Better
Added 11/2/2009
Considering this is a remake of the William Castle "gimmick" b-movie, "Thirteen Ghosts" is more entertaining than it should be, but not a good as it could have been.
What I mean to say is that while I love the William Castle original film, Castle's version was more of a comedy with a nifty 3-D gimmick thrown in. The basic story of a family inheriting a haunted mansion was pure sitcom at best. And while there are some chills sprinkled through the original film, the humor is what I remember most about the film.
The remake does away with all of the humor and attempts to go for the jugular as a pure horror film. The basic storyline remains the same in that a family inherits a haunted house from a ghost hunting uncle. And like the original, 12 spirits inhabit the house...so who is the thirteenth ghost? You have to watch to find out.
Tony Shalhoub turns in a solid performance as Arthur Kriticos, the widower and family man who inherits the haunted home from his uncle. Shalhoub was only 1 year away from striking gold with his TV show "Monk" when this film came out, and I find it difficult watching "Thirteen Ghosts" now, and not thinking of the Monk character obsessing about fingerprints all over the glass house?!?! The rest of the cast is solid as well, with F. Murray Abraham chewing up scenes as the ghost hunting uncle and Matthew Lillard still hunting ghosts here in his pre-Shaggy days.
The special effects are pretty good, and the make-up for the various ghosts looks great. The glass house featured in the film is pretty inventive, and adds a nice touch of atmosphere. There are a few bumps and jumps that will jolt you out of your seat sprinkled throughout the film, but there is nothing in the movie that will stick with you past the end credits.
If you enjoyed the remake of "The House on Haunted Hill", then you will probably enjoy this film as well. If you are looking for a spooky ghost story along the lines of "The Changeling", you will probably be disappointed.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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THE DVD WAS SCRATCHED AND UNWATCHABLE
Added 10/9/2009
GRANTED I ONLY SPENT 4 DOLLARS, BUT, I SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO WATCH THE CRAPPY MOVIE I CHOSE. IF U HAVE A DVD THAT U CAN'T WATCH YOURSELF YOU SHOULDN'T SELL IT TO MAKE A FEW DOLLARS.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Unlucky '13'
Added 10/1/2009
Ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos (F.Murray Abraham) is on a mission to capture the souls of 13 ghosts so that he can unleash a hellish power on Earth. With the assistance of a psychic named Dennis (Matthew Lillard), Cyrus catches 12 souls before being killed on a hunt. Cyrus's nephew Arthur (Tony Shaloub) is a widower with two kids (Shannon Elizabeth plays the oldest) and a housekeeper (Rah Digga) to support. In financial trouble and in risk of being evicted from his apartment Arthur gets some much needed relief when a lawyer representing Cyrus's estate shows up at his door. He informs Arthur that he is the inheritor of his uncle's mansion. The mansion is a spectacular structure made out of glass that Arthur and his family are all too eager to move into. The only problem is that they also inherit the 12 souls that Cyrus captured. Dennis is also there looking for the money Cyrus owed him and together he and Arthur learn that there is a 13th ghost and only Arthur can catch him. This is the second Dark Castle (a film company created by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis that re-imagines the 50's and 60's horror films of director William Castle for modern audiences) film after 'House On Haunted Hill'. Both films start off very promising establishing a creepy vibe and the promise of genuine scares before tripping over complicated plot twists that cause the film to be boring and not frightening. This film starts off great beginning in an abandoned junkyard then moving to Arthur's claustrophobic apartment before finally settling in the mansion. There are some wonderfully ominous shots in the beginning but eventually overt gore wins out over any subtlety. The ghosts are definitely disturbing and horrific but they weren't utilized like they should have been. The explanation as to why Arthur is the only man capable of capturing the last ghost is a nice touch and at least provides one unexpected surprise. Shannon Elizabeth factors in the beginning but is absent during the middle act only to reappear in the film's final act. This lets Matthew Lillard, from 'Scream', steal the show. He sells every scene he's in with hyper energy and some good physical comedy. It's a disappointing horror film because it looks like it's going to be fun and scary but is actually little more than a standard gorefest.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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