The Haunting

Robert Wise's original 1963 film based on Shirley Jackson's novel, The Haunting of Hill House, put a human face on terror, with the scares and menacing malevolent spirit mostly left to the increasingly unnerved imagination. This remake unleashes an assault of in-your-face special effects that only call attention to themselves. Hill House is the star here ("It's like Charles Foster Kane meets the Munsters," one character notes) and the film is an awesome triumph of production design and computer-generated wizardry. Cool. But the dialogue is a hoot, more campy than creepy. Early on, for example, a sinister housekeeper who makes Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca look like a candidate for "Up With People," ponderously informs her guests that "in the night...in the dark" no one will be on the premises to help them. Director Jan De Bont (Speed, Twister) knows where his bread is buttered--action--and he will never be accused of being an actor's director. In fact, only indie-queen Lili Taylor escapes unscathed as the repressed and withdrawn Nan, one of three people recruited by psychologist Liam Neeson for what they think is an insomnia study, but is in fact research into "the dynamics of fear" (When challenged by a colleague over his ethics, Neeson replies, "You don't tell the rats they are in a maze"). The supernaturally beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jone co-stars as Theo, a pointlessly bisexual artist, with Owen Wilson as the cynical, wisecracking Luke. This is the season of the "Witch" (as in Blair), and The Haunting's not-so-cheap scare tactics pale in comparison. Not recommended. (K. Lee Benson)