13 Ghosts Review
by David N. Butterworth (dnb AT dca DOT net)November 16th, 2001
THIRTEEN GHOSTS
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2001 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
You might wonder, at first, what the likes of F. Murray Abraham ("Amadeus"), Embeth Davidz ("Schindler’s List"), and Tony Shalhoub ("Big Night") are doing in a just-in-time-for-Halloween schlock horror flick like "Thirteen Ghosts" (or "Thir13en Ghosts," to give the film its official on-screen title). Yet the longer you watch the film--an update of a 1960 William Castle creepie--the clearer it becomes: this is a halfway decent horror film and these halfway decent actors felt comfortable being associated with it.
In actual fact, "Thirteen Ghosts" is surprisingly good. Of its type, for sure, but good nonetheless. It serves up a fair number of genuine scares; it’s well written, with occasional--and much-needed--bouts of humor providing a nice counterbalance to the yucky stuff; and it’s well acted (by the afore-mentioned learned thespians for one thing) and nicely put together (by director Steve Beck).
But most of all it’s truly creative.
Not so much from a plot angle but in terms of that ghoulish baker’s dozen and the haunted house that’s positioned as the film’s living, breathing centerpiece.
The ghosts themselves are not your average wraith-like figures hidden under burlap and floating from room to room causing mischief and sometimes chaos but a terrifically creepy roster of ticked-off spirits with such names as the Jackal (picture Charlie Manson with his head in a steel cage) and the Torso (precisely that!) and the Angry Princess. The haunted house, too, is not your typical gothic mansion with tall towers, spiraling staircases, and crumbling brickwork but a remarkable achievement in terms of both vision and production design. This is a bizarre glass house, a modern see-through mansion that takes on a life of its own and in which our hapless protagonists find themselves imprisoned early on in the film.
What’s worse than being trapped in a house with an angry ghost? Trapped in a house with thirteen of them.
A stylish set piece in a junkyard sets the film’s no-nonsense tone as a master ghost hunter named Cyrus (Abraham) puts the final touches on a trap for Ghost No. 12. Shortly after this ill-advised venture, Cyrus’s nephew Arthur (Shalhoub) receives a
downloaded message from his late uncle explaining that his family is now heir to a vast fortune in the form of a magnificent custom-built residence about two hours outside of New York. Kathy, his teenage daughter ("American Pie"’s Shannon Elizabeth), younger son, and babysitter (to provide the wisecracks–two of my favorites include "Did the lawyer split?" and "Is that half the lawyer?") believe this to be the end of their financial problems, but money soon becomes the least of their problems. The house closes up on them, along with Matthew Lillard ("Scream") as a former associate of Cyrus’s and Davidz as another ghost chaser, who sneaks in through a gap during a shift in some continuum. Soon all six come to realize they’re part of some diabolical plot.
Apart from too many "The Shining"-like shots of the kid’s silver scooter scooting through endless corridors, and the spell-etched glass walls closing up with annoying frequency, director Beck keeps things moving apace while drawing nicely pitched performances from his sporting cast. Lillard’s character, especially, is a lot of fun. Unlike many films of the genre, a fair bit of thought--even a little intelligence--seems to have gone into this production.
This time of year can often bring out the frightful as well as the frightening at the multiplexes but in the case of the tricky, icky "Thirteen Ghosts," you’re in for a Halloween treat.
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David N. Butterworth
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