13 Ghosts
This was a fun film that was worth seeing, but it could have been better. (13 Ghosts was brought to you by the same folks who brought us the remake of "House on Haunted Hill" which was also worth seeing.)
Perhaps because I had been seeing excellent previews for the flick, my expectations were unreasonable. Or perhaps they had given too much away in those previews... I found myself seldom surprised. Or perhaps I fancy myself as knowing just a little too much about ghosts... but whatever the reason, it didn't draw me all the way in as I had hoped it would.
However, for a more balanced view, Nurse Spasm enjoyed it thoroughly and said that she had several very satisfactory jolts. She did admit that she figured out a key plot point early into the movie, and felt it was a bit too obvious... but not too obvious for me, it seems, since I was taken by surprise. We did agree on another plot point flaw that was not well explained, but to discuss it here will give too much away.
The ghosts were well done, and Nurse Spasm felt they were one of the best parts of the film. I, on the other hand, had issues with the idea that these ghosts could do a person physical damage, at least not without a significant external power source. Nurse Spasm suggested the House could have supplied that power, but I pointed out they had been killing the living before being incorporated into the house... Anyway, it will give you much to debate with your date.
The effects were way cool, the house was a gadget-freak's dream, and the ghosts can leave some very lasting impressions. There is not a whole lot of gore per se, but you are left with the impression that there is a lot of it going around.
On an interesting side note, I am told that this is a remake, and that when the original was released in the theaters in the 60's, they gave you special glasses. If you believed in ghosts, you wore the glasses and could see them. If you didn't wear the glasses, the ghosts stayed invisible. That sounds like a cool way to shoot a flick... I'd go back twice just to see it both ways.
Oh well... not everything gets better the second time around...
Chills...
Scuttles
