The Haunting (1999) Movie Review

Starring: Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson

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"The Haunting (1999)"
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Review Summaries

"This is a remake of the 1963 classic, unfortunately not anwhere near as good. As with the original, a group of people come to spend a few nights in a haunted house. The Doctor tells them it's for an experiment for their insomnia, but he's really experimenting with fear. It starts off promising, playing off suspense and suggesting Nell was looney, but completely drops the ball when all the special effects explode on the screen. The house is so in-your-face after that point that it's completely impossible to even care about what's happening to the characters. "
sayruh, Resident Scholar

"A movie about a girl named Nell (Taylor) a girl named Theo (zeta) and a man named Luke(wilson) who are all brought to a haunted mansion by a doctor."
Morgan Jefferson, Resident Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzle - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%

**Fantasy or Science Fiction?** - fantasy story on present day Earth
Horror film? Yes
Kind of Horror Story - why do we stay in the haunted house?

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - unemployed
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Hair color? - brunette (Brown) - red
Hair type - (woman) medium/shoulderlng, straight - (woman) medium/shoulderlng, wavy
Body type - fat (woman)
Unclothed? - Full Frontal
Events of movie makes character more... - happy - sad
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor? - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Female
Hair color - brunette (Black)
Hair style - (woman) medium/shoulderlgn, straight
Body type - ample chest & buttocks (female)
Unclothed? - buttocks and chest
How much in movie? - 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality - Black

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - unemployed
Has special powers? Yes
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 80%
Hair color - blonde
Hair style - (man) short/standard straight
Body type - skinny (man)
unclothed? - full frontal
Ethnicity - White
Sense of humor? - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average Intelligence
Physical condition - average physique
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged - mean, arrogant

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century (1970's to Present)
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Big cities? Yes
Misc settings - fort/castle - mansion
Kind of city - Dirty, crime-ridden (like NY)

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Tone of movie - fearful
Comedy or somewhat funny movie? Yes
Sex/nudity in movie? Yes
What kind of sex: - vauge references only
Any profanity? - Occasional swearing
Kinds of F/X - Things that change shape/morph
If Soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE... - Orchestra/classical

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