What's wrong with contemporary horror movies?  Sure, they pump in money for slick CG effects, but there's just no mood, no atmosphere, no scary feelings.  And this one is no exception.  We have a family, struggling to meet ends since the mother died in a fire (although they have enough to spend on a nanny/cook/pain-in-the-ass).  Anyway, an estranged old uncle passes away, and they inherit his bizarre glass home.  Oh, did I forget to mention the old man hunted ghosts for a living, and was keeping them in his basement as some sort of creepy zoo?  Needless to say, the family, and some other hangers-on visit the haunted house, only to be trapped inside it. Turns out, the house is really a machine, built from architecture designed by the devil (or something like that) and powered by ghosts (I wish I could make shit up like that!).  And for the rest of the movie, the main characters run around, chased by ghosts they can only see with glasses, and trying to figure out how to stop the house from killing them all and opening the eye of hell...

So, what didn't I like about the movie?  Well, the plot was a little simple, with some gaping holes, and the ending was disappointing to say the least.  The acting was pretty horrendous - I didn't like Matthew Lillard to begin with, and I see why when I watch his annoying performance in this movie.  Not to mention the token black (i.e. "hip") nanny, and the little ethnic kid.  At least Shannon Elizabeth is easy on the eyes.  As for the special effects, some of the CG was just cheesy looking, but  some of the monster/ghost effects were pretty good.   A little overuse of the jerky ghost movement, similiar to a Marilyn Manson video.

That's not to say that I didn't like anything in the movie.  The design of the house was interesting, and the gimmick of having to wear special glasses to see the ghosts was cool.  There were some unique and gross death scenes. And one of the female ghosts was naked.  So, overall, I'd say don't go out of your way to see this one, but if you have nothing else to do, and it happens to be on, and you're a horror fan, you might want to give it a shot.
 
 

Quality: 3.0  Visuals: 5.5  Intensity: 2.5  Gore 6.5
OVERALL RATING: 4.4