Haunted (Full Screen)

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Actor(s):

Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews, John Gielgud, Anna Massey

Director(s):

Lewis Gilbert (II)

Label: Lions Gate
Publisher(s):

Lions Gate

Studio: Lions Gate
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
Binding: DVD
MPN: 11484
Format(s): Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Rating: R (Restricted)
List Price: $14.98

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Professor David Ash (Aidan Quinn) is skeptical of the supernatural, yet he is invited by elderly Nanny Tess Webb (Anna Massey) to investigate paranormal goings-on at her country estate. When Ash arrives, he meets her three adult children (Kate Beckinsale among them, who becomes his future love interest) and the family doctor (John Gielgud), all of whom deny anything is going on and claim that Nanny Tess is merely hallucinating. Yet after spending some time there, the professor begins experiencing unexplainable visions that only Nanny Tess, and often only he, sees. Furthermore the ghost of his sister, who died as a child in a drowning accident, begins to roam the estate. Is he imagining it and going mad? Or is the house truly haunted? Adapted by Tim Prager from the James Herbert novel, Lewis Gilbert's highly memorable film is a brilliant haunted-house tale with chilling scenes and an exceptional plot twist. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews

Brideshead Underdeveloped

This is an odd movie. It's a fairly basic premise: a wealthy trio of dilettante siblings ask a cynical paranormal investigator (suffering from his own demons) to come and exorcise their beloved childhood nanny, who is plagued by ghosts and careening towards the boobyhatch. When he arrives at Stock Stately Home, things go (literally) bump in the night and suddenly the cynic is confronted with that which he has always decried. And et ceterah.

The first and most commendable thing about "Haunted" is that there's a very fine sense of creeping dread and several elegant scares to be had over the course of the first hour of this movie. Several scenes, not least the opening with its two very competent child actors, jump from the screen and speak to a very high standard.

Unfortunately, for every decent, well-filmed moment in "Haunted", there's a corresponding boring and/or unintentionally funny moment to counteract the sense of terror. Director Lewis Gilbert's lack of consistency is as confusing as it is detrimental to the overall effectiveness of "Haunted" - witness the mounting dread of David's (Aidan Quinn) first night in Edbrook House completely undermined by the appalling special effect sequence of his second night: it looks more like a commercial for some sort of salt-based floor cleanser than anything else. A wonderful set-piece involving a piano playing in an abandoned music room is similarly undone by David's positively gymnastic leap from a car towards the film's end... ...confusingly, "Haunted" seems to be saying, "Look, I know I can be great, but you're just going to have to sit there and put up with mediocre. Boo!!".

The acting here suffers from the same bipolarity of standard: on one hand, Quinn and Kate Beckinsale have a believable chemistry together and neither of them does much wrong - but on the other hand, the grinning foolishness of Alex Lowe and the downright laziness of Brideshead Reunited (Anthony Andrews and a surprisingly underused John Gielgud) make for tiresome, vanilla viewing.

This movie lacks a basic sense of direction. When it's good, it's excellent: when it's bad (and it is more bad than good: the end is tired and predictable, the visual effects laughable even for 1996, and there are LOTS of continuity goofs, in addition to the plain sloppy scenes) it's pretty unwatchable.

Great alternatives include 1989's "The Woman In Black", 1963's "The Innocents" and, of course, "The Others". Each of these movies delivers something in spades that "Haunted" fatally lacks: quality. Avoid this one unless you choose to see it on TV.

Haunted - Very Predictable, but enjoyable.

I guess these movies with the twist on them is becoming old news, because I guessed from only a few minutes into the plot what the outcome was going to be, and I guessed it right. And my suspicions grew stronger as the movie unveiled a few more clues to it's final outcome.

However, even tho I predicated what was going to happen in the end, there was a few twist and turns that I could not work out, and kept watching to find out where it was going, and that was enough to keep me interested from start to end of this story of a writer who is invited to a house to meet an elderly woman who was the nanny of of the house's 3 children. (The people who owned the house, not the house itself)

She claims she has been seeing ghosts and the house is haunted. Yet the 2 brothers and daughter she has helped to raise all there lives think she is just crazy.

So this man who has written many ghost stories based on the facts, who has never really encountered a ghost and claims they are non existent, stays with them in the house for a couple of days, to investigate and discovers there are in fact strange things happening in this house.

He suspects there may be someone behind it at first, but discovers much more then he ever expected to by the end of this film.

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As I said, I worked out very early in the film the outcome result of who certain characters and there story really where, but there are a lot of other things I did not predict, and it keeps you guessing to the end if your thoughts are right, or if it's something else.

If you care, I thought it was going to turn out that 2 of the characters where married and lying about there status etc.. but I guessed that one wrong. So if your someone who easily works out outcomes before they happen like I sometimes do, then I'd urge you to check this one out as it can confuse and trick you into one belief throwing you off the track your think it is going to in some aspects of the plot.

On the scare factor, I don't think it's on the creepy or spooky side of film making at all. It's more of a mystery film surrounding the supernatural then anything else really, don't expect blood and gore and terrifying scares from the walking dead, it's a clean mystery that slowly unravels as it proceeds with interesting twists and tales, yet very predicable for some like me, but even with that said, I still think it was a very enjoyable movie.

If you see it for rental, check it out, it won't kill you.

An under-rated horror movie!

Yes, this is definitely one of the under-rated horror gems that is not your typical gorefest that is so characteristic of horror movies these days. A thrilling, subtle adaptation of James Herbert's novel - Aidan Quinn plays David Ash, a debunker of supernatural phenomena. David himself had a tragic incident in his life, losing a beloved twin sister when they were both very young.
At the behest of an old lady who previously worked as a nanny in an old country manor in the English countryside, Davod goes there to help her resolve the question of whether or not there are spirits haunting the manor.The strange happenings lead him to doubt first his own skepticism, and eventually his sanity. Things get further complicated when David finds himself falling for Christina [an alluring and enigmatic Kate Beckinsale] who is a member of the family that owns the house. Christina's and David's mutual attraction to each other face the disapproval of Christina's brothers, especially the older brother [played by Anthony Andrews].
David also finds himself being haunted by visions of a young girl who looks very much like his deceased sister. Is he really seeing supernatural entities or is he going mad? This is a first-rate supernatural thriller that has some genuine jump in your seat moments, and a credibly eerie atmosphere. Highly recommended!

No ghosts please, we're British

I first saw this in 1999 when it was shown on TV and I taped it, mostly on a whim. At that time I had no idea who Kate Beckinsale was, and I'd never heard of Aidan Quinn. To be honest reading the film description of a guy who investigates a haunted house made me expect some kind of silly Poltergeist/ Nightmare On Elm Street type horror schlock movie.

So it was something of a surprise to see the first moments of the film, with an Edwardian lady seated at a piano playing a melancholy yet moving piano piece. Further in it became apparent that this certainly wasn't a blood and gore shocker. For anyone thinking of renting or buying this I don't want to give the plot away too much, but if you're expecting any blood or gore, move on immediately. This film is made of many parts. It has elements of a period drama (1930s English manor- very Agatha Christie) ghost story, and psychological drama.

David Ash, played by Aidan Quinn, is a paranormal investigator who finally agrees to visit an elderly woman (Nanny Tess , playedby Anna Massey) at a country estate after she has sent him many letters asking him. He meets Christina Marriell (played by Kate Beckinsale, then virtually unknown) and her two brothers, suave but smarmy and artistic Robert (Anthony Andrews) and the irreverant Simon (Alex Lowe). Nanny Tess is obviously in a state of fear, yet Ash is seemingly unbale to find anything to help her. In the end Ash becomes as shaken and disturbed as Nanny Tess by events in the house, and a vision of his long dead sister leads him to discovery that unwravels a surprise ending.

Overall the film manages to sustain our interest throuhgout. The early 1930s ambience is authentically done. The scenery in Sussex, England looks stunning in autumn colours. The acting is uniformly well done. And the soundtrack by Debbie Wiseman is wonderful. ( I even bought it on CD a few days ago!)

On the negative side though, the special effects are rather poor. And although I praised the acting, there is a certain conflict of styles. Aidan Quinn is an excellent actor, but his distinctly American "method" style of acting seems strange when he's having a conversation with the very English "Agatha Christie TV drama" style of the other cast. And although it's billed as "horror" I can't really think of any places where it's actually *scary*. (Although I admit I don't believe in anything supernatural) There's a sense of tension and unease, even creepiness, around, but anyone expecting to hide behind the sofa is going to disappointed.
The main fault with this film though was the awkward script. Lines like "There was a peculiar scratching at my door last night. When I went to see what it was I was prevented from opening by someone pulling from the other side. Someone as strong as I am" and "So...you're from the colonies" make you wonder who actually gave the go ahead with the script. Did anyone actually realise how bad some of this dialog actually is?

So I can't really say this is a 5 star movie because it certainly has some faults. Although not quite on the same level as Robert Wise's 1963 classic The Haunting, Haunted is an intelligent and well crafted story. The Haunting and Haunted- now there's a good double bill!

PS Drooling Kate Beckinsale fans please note- that's a body double in the film. :p

Enjoyable film -- surprise ending . . .

Let me say this first: I usually do not like films starring Kate Beckinsale. It's not that I don't like her, I don't even know her, but I've never found her convincing as a "dark" type of character; nevertheless, while her acting is good in "Haunted," even here she is a little too peppy for me, although her numerous nude scenes are probably the reason why many men like this film. To sum up things up, I did like this movie, as it played on aspects of reality and unreality quite well, and I really didn't see the ending coming, which is a nice change. Aidan Quinn does a great job acting here, and his character is believable. He is another one of those actors I'm not really fond of, but he's great here.

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