The Uninvited (1944) Review

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(More customer reviews)Neatly playing light-hearted daytime fun against unsettling nighttime hauntings, THE UNINVITED is very much a traditional ghost story. When Ray Milland and sister Ruth Hussey buy a house on the Cornwall coast the purchase seems ideal--particularly as Milland is attracted to the seller's granddaughter, beautiful Gail Russell. But once settled in, Milland and Hussey soon find they are not quite alone in their new home.
The film is particularly notable for an "every day ordinary" style: there are no manipulative camera angles or unexpected editing tricks; there is no foreshadowing soundtrack; there are precious few special effects--and by refusing to use such time-honored elements, the story's ghostly elements seem all the more disturbing by comparison. The strong cast, which also includes Donald Crisp, Alan Napier, Cornelia Otis Skinner, is first rate and plays expertly, and Lewis Allen directs with restraint but never allows the pace to drag. THE UNINVITED is not a horror movie by any stretch of the imagination, and viewers who expect to rocked, jolted, shocked, and shuddered will probably be disappointed. But as a traditional ghost story with a mysterious and truly creepy plot it has more than a few chills, THE UNINVITED more than holds it own.

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The Messengers (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Most people have probably heard of the idea that babies and young children can see and hear things that older people can't, or have lost the ability to. That a baby in a crib gurgling and laughing at the ceiling, for example, is actually talking to a spirit there. It's a fascinating premise, whose application to a horror movie is a stroke of genius.
In "The Messengers" a family moves into an old farmhouse where something very bad once happened. Only Ben, the little toddler of the family, can see the supernatural prescences in the house, and he appears more delighted with them than afraid. When his teenage sister Jess also starts encountering unusual occurences - this time of an apparantly non-benevolent nature - she also begins noticing Ben's unusual behavior as well and realizes that he too is experiencing something out of the ordinary; the hard part after that is getting anybody else to take her seriously. The movie utilizes much more atmosphere than action, and the cast has to carry off a lot the show by reacting to very subtle (Most of the time), slow-paced, occurences, in a way that makes it feel real and frightening. The actors and actresses were well picked for their parts, and Kristen Stewart as Jess and twins Evan and Theodore Turner as Ben, playing the characters who experience most of the strangeness in the movie's early, slower-going, parts, are especially impressive. All the production values necessary to make this kind of atmosphere work - the light and shadows, the subtle use of sounds, the camerawork, etc. - are all handled very well too.
In the last one third or so of the movie, as things start to speed up and secrets come to light, I guess you could say that there were too broad directions it could have gone in, that it had to choose from. Myself, I would have chosen the route the movie didn't take, but it handles the path it chooses so well that it avoids slumping into a letdown. (I am still curious, though, what it would have been like if they had gone that other way) It's worth noting that when it ended I was rather taken aback that it was over so quick. Its running time is something like 85 minutes, but it felt like it came it at under an hour - and that's even in light of the slowly building pace it maintained. It must have been doing something pretty right to make time fly like that (on the other hand, I've seen other movies of about the same length that seem to drag on for hours). "Messengers" could have actually been quite a bit longer without hurting itself one bit; and as good as the ending turned out to be it may have been even better if it had gone on that different turn, but there's no point in complaining with something this good. Highly, highly recommended for fans of "Dark Water", "The Eye", "Haunted", "The Sixth Sense", "Pan's Labyrinth" and other atmospheric horror movies. "Red Rover" is another, far less known, movie that also fits great in this vein that you might want to check out.

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Desperate for a fresh start after a tough two years in Chicago, the Solomon family retreats to a desolate sunflower farm in North Dakota. But the calm of farm life is shattered when 16-year-old Jess (Kristen Stewart) and her 3-year-old brother Ben begin to see nightmarish apparitions throughout their new home – visions that nobody else can see. As the visions grow darker, they become fear-inspiring experiences and Jess’ parents (Dylan McDermott and Penelope Ann Miller) start to question their daughter’s sanity. Now, Jess must find a way to save her family and win

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The Haunting (1963) Review

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(More customer reviews)The story has, by now, been imitated endlessly. Four people on a haunted house just to study it. But this is just the premisse.
The great Robert Wise sets up the most perfect, most classic haunted-house film ever made. The screenplay is built on the principle that you don't have to see it (the gore, the blood, etc.) to feel the fear. So, this is one of those great films where the tension is constructed upon the things you hear... the things you know are there.
In the pre-CGI era, you really had to create something out of what you had. So, Mr. Wise had a great script (years ahead of its time), great characters, great actors, a great cameraman, and settings that are a wow!
This is what makes this film so much better than any other (not to mention its remake - who clearly goes for the predictable cheap-trick CGI effects).
The story is told in the most perfect classic form. From beginning to end, you follow the story in the most careful pace. Beat by beat. From the prologue to the conclusion, the story is peerlessly told.
The characters and actors are great to watch: Julie Harris is the perfect troubled woman haunted by inner ghosts, while Theodora (the beautiful Claire Bloom) is the perfect icy clairvoyant who may or may not be a lesbian (everything is constructed with such taste...). Richard Johnson is great as the Doctor who must keep control of the experiment. Russ Tamblyn is also great as the non-believer who's in just for the adventure. As we will discover, all of them have weak points the house will explore. So it is possible to say that this is one film where the set (in this case the house itself) is one character just like the others.
The house has personality. It's not that unbelievable-monumental-lifeless-overdone-cathedral we see in the remake. This one is more realistic. We all know (and are fascinated by) houses like this one. It has style, visual integrity, proportion and it also puts into the film a nice touch of claustrophobia. As long as the characters are there, they are at its mercy. This "house character" is always present. Trying to get in. Banging at the walls and doors, trying to make itself graphically visible through the shots...
...This is where we get to the camera work - certainly one of the best ever made. In a house so rich with character, the distorted wide-angle lenses (let's not forget that Wise worked with Orson Welles) add much to the final effect. Corridors, statues and other objects are always there to remind you the house is present. They actually keep surprising the characters as if they were saying "we are here". This is why this film is so much superior than its sequel: you don't have to see the statues move... for you know they do when you are not there. In fact, this film constructs a state where you know the things that happen when you don't see them happen. That's pure film magic.
I wonder why nobody does films like this any more. Why do they always go now for the CGI obviousness...
I just love the wide-angle lens that smoothly move through the rooms... the time we are allowed to see those beautiful sets. and all the uncontrolled fear that invades the characters. The soundtrack is another great element. The film is constructed in an almost silence (which is very confortable at the beginning). So much that the noises made by the hauntings are almost unbearable when the things get rough.
This is one of those films that were meant to be seen ONLY in widescreen, for the compositions inside the shots make great use of it (in fact I never saw it in a Pan&Scan version - I cannot imagine how awfull it must be). This DVD edition has a great commentary audio track by the actors and director but lacks any kind of documentary about how it was made (which I'd love to see). But we can't have it all...
If (like me), you love the genre, you will love this film, which is a one-of-a-kind effectively constructed cinematic work. Just don't watch it alone... in the dark... in the night...

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A group is introduced to the supernatural through a 90-year old New England haunted house. Be prepared for hair-raising results in this classic horror film!

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The Others (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't want to write too much because I don't want to spoil the surprises for the spectators, but I highly recommend this movie if you like an atmospheric, spooky, intelligent, highly suspenseful, involving, beautifully crafted, acted movie with a story that will leave you quite amazed, satisfied, and wanting to see it again. Trust me, this is not your typical ghost story. Spanish director Amenabar should get the Oscar for this thrilling thriller. It's beautiful and even moving. I was not expecting to see a film in the same vein as The Sixth Sense that's better than The Sixth Sense. To use a Hollywood equation it's The Sixth Sense meets Turn of the Screw. Nicole Kidman is awesome. The rest of the cast is superb. The fog-drenched cinematography adds the right touch of mystery and horror. And get ready for one of the scariest quick-cuts in movie history when you least expect it! Have fun!

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Screen sensation Nicole Kidman (MOULIN ROUGE, EYES WIDE SHUT) delivers an utterly unforgettable performance in this scary and stylish suspense thriller. While awaiting her husband's return from war, Grace (Kidman) and her two young children live an unusually isolated existence behind the locked doors and drawn curtains of a secluded island mansion. Then, after three mysterious servants arrive and it becomes chillingly clear that there is far more to his house than can be seen, Grace finds herself in a harrying fight to save her children and keep her sanity. Acclaimed by critics everywhere, the unpredictable twists and turns of this compelling hit will keep you guessing as it keeps you riveted to the edge of your seat!

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The Orphanage (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)O.K. first of all I have to say that there were plenty of great reviews for this film on other websites, some calling it one of the best horror films of the year and scariest film ever and blah, blah etc. So was this film worth all the hype? I would definitely say yes!. The Orphanage is the latest supernatural thriller/horror film from Spain, its a slick and quietly chilling piece of work blending traditional scares with modern touches. The way this film works is that it manages to get under your skin and makes you think about it for a while after its ended, the ending was quite moving, sad and horrifying at the same time. The film also had a great storyline which tells a great ghost story that was very original and it was beautifully directed by Juan Antonio Bayona which also happens to be his directorial debut and in my honest opinion he did a wonderful job, the film was also produced by Guillermo Del Toro so you can see how influential his films were to The Orphanage so if you liked Pan's Labyrinth or any classic haunted house films like The changeling, Burnt Offerings and The Haunting then your going to love this.
The acting was phenomenal especially from Belen Rueda as Laura who was very distraught but still strong as the mother looking for her missing son and she showed a wide range of emotions its no wonder that she won several awards for her performance in this film. The plot deals with a woman named Laura (Belen Rueda) who purchases her beloved childhood orphanage with dreams of restoring and reopening the long abandoned facility as a place for disabled children. Once there she discovers that the new environment awakens her son's imagination but the ongoing fantasy games he plays with an invisible friend quickly turn into something more disturbing, check out the knock on wood game the kids play during the beginning then the following similar scene that happens during the course of the film that has got to be one of the scariest scenes I've ever seen and once you've seen the film then you'll understand why I'll just leave it at that, I never thought that a kids game could be so damn scary I thought it was very clever. Laura's son Simon also happens to have a fatal illness he seems to be HIV positive and frequently requires some medication, his actions later on begins to worry his mother his erratic behavior and the fact that he seems to have more imaginary friends becomes even more bizarre and at one point during a party with the disabled kids he vanishes and Laura is simultaneously attacked by a mysterious child in a sack mask, she imediately suspects Simon's 'new friends' and to make matters worse Simon needs his medication before its too late. Laura becomes frightened and increasingly more paranoid as it is very hard for her to explain these things to people especially her husband Carlos played by Fernando Cayo and she even brings in a medium to find out where her son disappeared to.
The film had some great drama as well as some nice intense moments and the use of locations in this film was terrific, first of all you have the huge and creepy mansion thats been used many times in these type of films but was still quite effective then theres this cave near the beach as well as others so the film uses different locations utilising some great cinematography. The director has fantastic use of mood and setting as the ghosts are used to creep out the viewer and doesn't have to get messy doing it which is something that Hollywood needs to learn when making a horror film, it doesn't have any gore but there is a horrific car accident and plenty of scares which catches you off guard like the Knock on wood game and it has a very ominous and eerie setting that was very well shot and the characters are very well developed and I'm not going to over analyze the characters cause I've noticed that other reviewers have done that already I'm the type of person who enjoys a film without questioning what the main character's motivations are or why they did this particular thing in the first place unless it was a dumb blockbuster and besides I'm not a snobby critic ;-).Anyway The Orphanage is a very unique Spanish horror film and one of the best I have ever seen, an entertaining and great horror film thats guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat and I highly recommend this so what are you waiting for GO WATCH THIS NOW!.

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Academy-Award nominated filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro (director of Pan's Labyrinth) presents The Orphanage, a chilling ghost story about a woman who discovers dark and horrific secrets hidden within her cherished childhood home and her desperate attempt to rescue her family from the nightmare into which she unwittingly led them.

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