Following up Dark Castle's flagship release of The House on Haunted Hill in 1999 came another reimagining of a William Castle film, this time out it was Thirteen Ghosts. Keeping the same sort of tongue in cheek supernatural mayhem fun of the previous film, this one had a bit more of a mixed result. Still, the pluses do outweigh the minuses for me on this one, so it's still worth taking a look back at.
Arthur Criticos (played by Tony Shalhoub) has been having a hard time of it since his wife died tragically in a fire that claimed their house and most of their belongings. Trying to make the best of it, he's cramped in a small apartment with his children Kathy (played by Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (played by Alec Roberts), as well as their live in nanny Maggie (played by Rah Digga). When a lawyer, Benjamin Moss (played by JR Moss), visits and notifies them they are the sole heirs of the estate of Arthur's late uncle Cyrus (played by F. Murray Abraham), they are overjoyed and soon make their way to Cyrus' very unique house in the countryside. They quickly discover the house is no ordinary house but a glass walled structure with etched glass designed specifically to contain a group a of the nastiest, most mean spirited ghosts Cyrus could find. As they arrive at the house, they encounter Dennis Rafkin (played by Matthew Lillard), a powerful psychic that helped Cyrus collect ghosts and was trying to get into the house to retrieve the money Cyrus owed him. Soon enough, they group find themselves locked in the house as the mechanics of the house spring into motion and the machinery inside begin winding up towards something, leaving our characters to scramble to stay alive while they try to figure out what the house was designed for as the titular ghosts are released from their containment one by one. Ghosts they are only able to see through special sets of glasses.
The film was directed by Steve Beck and written by Neal Marshall Stevens. They manage to craft a reasonably fun haunted house flick that moves at a brisk pace and doesn't over stay it's welcome. One of the main things the film has going for it is the house itself. It is eye candy from the viewer with all the walls made up of large panes of etched glass, covered in symbols that are meant to contain the movie's many ghosts. It's all lit and shot incredibly well and makes for a unique setting for the film. It is unlike any other haunted house seen in movies before or since. Alongside the house, the filmmakers also craft a grouping of some of the gnarliest, meanest and most memorable ghosts I've seen in a film. Each one has their own clear cut identity and all are memorably brought to life both by the actors portraying them and the memorable makeup designs by Gregory Nicotero, Norman Cabera, and Don Lanning. It's also a nice touch that a gimmick from the original film, where the audience can only see the ghosts through a special set of glasses, was incorporated into the plot of the movie itself this time around.
Tony Shalhoub leads the cast as the caring father of his fractured family and does a lot with the fairly standard role. He does a great job showing the stress and worry his character goes through but also remains sympathetic throughout. Matthew Lillard carries a fair amount of the exposition of the story and manages to keep it engaging in his own uniquely idiosyncratic way. Wisecracking his way through the film, it's not hard for the audience to love his character, even if he is at least partially responsible for their predicament. Rah Digga also provides a good amount of comic relief as the family nanny and often times is the only one speaking any sense, even if often times it falls on deaf ears. F. Murray Abraham is clearly having fun chewing the scenery as the human villain of the film and is fun to watch in the role.
Overall, Thirteen Ghosts is nothing earth shattering in terms of the horror genre, but it can be a fun late night horror movie romp when you're not looking for something too heavy or too deep. The strengths of the film are definitely in the visuals, both in the absolute eye candy of the house itself and in the unique designs for each of the ghosts. The concept of the house and what it does when fully activated is a unique concept, and the filmmakers do pull off a couple surprises in the process. In the end, it probably doesn't amount to much, but when you're in it the movie is a lot of fun and I can't help but enjoy the movie every time I've seen it in that same spirit. It's cinematic junk food, but that doesn't mean it isn't good cinematic junk food.
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