THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001)

MORGAN'S RATING

This is a remake of the 1960 horror film from the king of horror gimmicks, director William Castle. When Dr. Zorba dies, he leaves his house to his broke nephew, who moves in with his family. With the house comes two unexpected pluses (or minuses): the house has 13 ghosts which can only be seen with a special pair of glasses, and there's a fortune hidden somewhere in the house...and someone wants it.

F. Murray Abraham (Cyrus), Tony Shalhoub (Arthur), Shannon Elizabeth (Kathy), Matthew Lillard (Rafkin), Embeth Davidtz (Kalina), Kathryn Anderson (Jean), JR Bourne (Ben Moss), John DeSantis (The Breaker), Rah Digga (Maggie), Matthew Harrison (Damon), Alec Roberts (Bobby). GHOSTS: Kathryn Anderson (Jean), John DeSantis (The Breaker), Herbert Duncanson (The Hammer), Shayne Wyler (The Jackal), C. Ernst Harth (Big Baby), Mikhael Speidel (Boy With Arrow), Daniel Wesley (Headless Torso), Shawna Loyer (Suicide Woman), Laura Mennell (Bound Woman), Xantha Radley (Pilgrimess), Craig Olejnik (1950s Teenage Boy), Laurie Soper (Little Woman).

MISERY LOVES COMPANY. TERROR HAS MULTIPLIED.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Steve Beck (Ghost Ship). WRITERS: Richard D'Ovidio, Robb White and Neal Stevens. PRODUCERS Dan Cracchiolo and Gilbert Adler. CO-PRODUCERS: Terry Castle and Richard Mirisch.  EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Joel Silver, Steve Richards and Robert Zemeckis. ORIGINAL MUSIC: John Frizzell. DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"A nice nasty Halloween treat." -- Michael Atkinson, Mr. Showbiz

"Like most horror movies that try to cash in on the mood of the Halloween season, this one has more corn than scares." -- James Berardinelli

"Ghosts is too distinctive-looking to dismiss out of hand, but it would help to be able to look through a magic viewfinder (or maybe magic eraser) and make its script disappear." -- Mike Clark, USA Today

FACTS

RELEASE DATE: October 26th, 2001 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: April 4th, 2002 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $15.1 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $41.8 million (USA) BUDGET: $20 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: October 2000 -- December 2000 - The original 13 Ghosts (1960) is playing on the television in the apartment during the first scene following the credits. - There is a reference to Demi Moore and "Unchained Melody". - The original trailer for this film counts up to 13 as did the original trailer for Friday the 13th (1980). - The elaborate mansion which houses the ghosts took 40 construction works five weeks to build. More than 45 tones of steel and 2,500 individual pieces of glass were used to make the house and many of its rooms are made entirely of sheets of glass, with Latin engravings on the panes to enhance the eerie mood. - The special effects and sound mixing were so elaborate in this film, that many people claimed that the movie was physically painful to sit through. - The budget, opening weekend box office gross, and box office gross overall for this film are all virtually identitical (within one million dollars) to that of House on Haunted Hill (1999), which opened almost exactly two years earlier. Both films were adapted from stories written by Robb White.

"The experience of watching the film is literally painful. It hurts the eyes and ears." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

"Beck directs a script so damaged it's a wonder that the Kirticos family and their annoying nanny (Rah Digga) don't escape through plot holes." -- Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

"Gruesome, loud, but unsatisfying haunted-house thriller." -- Jonathan Foreman, New York Post

"Tries to combine humor with ghostly horror but excels at neither." -- Desson Howe, Washington Post

"Spectacularly stupid." -- Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News

"All in all, the technical credits outshine the characters, which is never a good idea." -- Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

"More bark than creepy bite." -- Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle