The Haunting

The Haunting was distributed in 1999 remake of the 1963 horror film of the same name. Both films are based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, published in 1959. The Haunting was directed by Jan de Bont and stars Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor. It was released in the United States on July 23, 1999.

It is about a woman Eleanor Lance which is called to meet at Hill House for Dr. Marrow's sleeping disorder studies, along with three other people. The owners of the house tell them that no one will be around and that they won't be able to hear them. The first night they all sit around and talk. Eleanor tells them that her sleeping disorder is different because she can sleep it is just that she wakes up because she thinks her dead mom is still living with her. Now she is woken one night in the Hill House bedroom by talking children’s voices asking her for her help. At first scared by the voice, she learns to avoid them. Later, the group finds out that Dr. Marrow is not using them for sleeping disorders but a test in fear. The fear is first thought to be unreal but eventually turns real when loud noises are heard and objects start to move. Now they must try an escape the house before they are all killed.

In my opinion I could recommending "The Haunting" only based on the locations, its sets, its art direction, its sound design,  but also the beautiful  visuals. The story is a mess, but for long periods of time that hardly matters. It's beside the point, as we enter one of the most striking spaces I've ever seen in a film. But the special effects are original and effective, evoking a haunted house in unexpected ways. Scenes set in a huge old conservatory are creepy in the way they use dead vegetation, and there's a nice scene on a spiral staircase. The movie often moves so close to being truly scary, the movie does not, succeed as a horror film in my opinion but it succeeds as a film worth watching anyway, and that is no small achievement.