The Haunting (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com Member: Online Film Critics Society
*** out of four
"No one lives any nearer than town. No one will come any nearer than that. In the night. In the dark."
Starring Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luke Wilson. Rated PG-13 (but I'd have given it an R).
The Haunting is a terrific thriller: scary, great-looking and satisfying; it's a shame to see that many of my colleagues dislike it so intensely. It may be a triumph of style over substance, but what a triumph! -- with eye-popping set design, convincing special effects and a surprisingly tense atmosphere, this is not only a strong contender for a Best Visual Effects Oscar but also a damn good movie in its own right; a not-so-guilty pleasure. The film opens with surprisingly effective character introduction. We see Eleanor "Nel" Lance (Lili Taylor, whom I mistook for Jamie Lee Curtis) in a family crisis: her mother, whom she has selflessly taken care of for nearly her whole life has just died, and her sister (the executor of the estate) threatens to sell their mother's house, which Nel is living in. The sister offers Nel an opportunity to go live with her as a housekeeper/nanny, to which Nel responds by ordering her and her husband to "get out of [her] home." Immediately following the incident, she gets a mysterious phone call telling her to look at an ad in the newspaper for an insomnia study which offers room and board and pays $900 a week.
She volunteers for the experiment and arrives at "Hill House", a gigantic old mansion where Dr. Jeffrey Marrow (Liam Neeson) has gathered three subjects for a study of his, but it's not what they think. An insomnia study it ain't; what it is, in effect, is an experiment to discover the nature of fear. He keeps this fact secret from his human guinea pigs because "you don't tell the rats they're actually in a maze." He wants to use the creepy mansion to create a suggestive environment so he can study the dynamics of fear. He slowly reveals the frightening history of the house (sweatshops, suicides, all kinds of scary stuff) and has the three insomniacs fill in the blanks to create a self-inflicted nightmare.
The three "rats" are Nel; Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a frisky bisexual; and Luke (Wilson), a hyperactive towhead. As the house (or whoever is haunting it) toys with Nel, the others begin to think she has gone crazy and needs supervision. Nel, meanwhile, begins to think that she was brought to that house for a greater purpose and is determined to find out her identity as well as the identities of those who lived in the house.
Director Jan de Bont, who proved that he was a talented action director with Speed before faltering with flops like Speed 2 and Twister, provides for a terrific ride with this no-holds-barred suspenser (so much so, in fact, that the film should have received an R rating of a PG-13, if only because of the scene where a guy gets his head knocked off). There are plenty of standard "boo" moments, some of which work rather well, while spectacular effects enhance other already suspenseful scenes.
As photographed by Caleb Deschanel, The Haunting looks terrific. The house itself is so richly defined that it becomes a veritable character in the movie. Brilliant camerawork only adds to that effect. With sweeping camera zooms, lush and vibrant colors, incredible set design and wonderful effects, even if you hate the movie itself you can still sit back and enjoy looking at it.
The performances seem irrelevant, but they serve their purpose; Wilson, Taylor and Zeta-Jones scream and panic very well. Only Liam Neeson fails to be believable: when he got really really mad at one point, I burst out laughing. An added bonus: the always delightful Marian Seldes (Home Alone 3, Affliction) as the creepy housekeeper.
I don't tend to warm up to outright special effects extravaganzas, but The Haunting worked for me, partly because the story was well thought out, especially compared to most other big budget blockbusters, partly because it contained many entertainingly intense scenes and partly because it was so much fun to look at. I liked this movie and I don't feel the least bit guilty. ©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
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