Barnes & Noble

Shannon Elizabeth, Matthew Lillard, and F. Murray Abraham may be in the cast, but the real star of Thirteen Ghosts is a haunted house. It's a true spook house of the future, especially when compared to the deadly domicile in low-tech showman William Castle's 1960 horror classic. The simple story involves a family that inherits a legitimate haunted home from an eccentric, ghost-hunting uncle. Where the original 13 Ghosts abode was a traditionally creaky edifice, this film's ultramodern nightmare house is more like a gigantic puzzle box than a home. There are plenty of thrills to be had in this glass-walled house, and you can bet its unfortunate inheritors cast more than their share of stones. Apparitions appear early and often, running a grotesque gamut of gore as the film trades in suspense for nonstop action and top-notch special effects. The small ensemble cast -- including Tony Shalhoub as the mild-mannered father, Elizabeth as his daughter, Lillard as a the token psychic, and Rah Digga as a housekeeper -- spend most of the time screaming their hearts out and running for their lives. Abraham, on the other hand, plays the uncle with a kind of demonic calm. Ultimately, Thirteen Ghosts takes its unique contemporary flair from the restaging of a classic ghost chiller in a fresh setting. The DVD includes audio commentary and a making-of documentary. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

This haunted house chiller is the second feature from Dark Castle Entertainment, the mid-budget outfit put together in 1999 to remake the cheesy horror genre pictures of William Castle by his daughter, Terry Castle, and producers Gilbert Adler, Robert Zemeckis, and Joel Silver. Financially ravaged and widowed by a fire that is consuming him with guilt, Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) is left to raise two kids on his own: beautiful teenager Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and grade school student Bobby (Alec Roberts). Good news suddenly drops into their lives when a lawyer visits and reveals that they have inherited a lavish home from a late uncle, Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham), an eccentric ghost hunter. The Kriticos family moves into the remote house only to discover its odd secret: the dwelling contains a state-of-the-art, elaborate system of moving glass walls that trap spirits inside. Soon the ghosts, which can only be seen through the use of special high-tech spectacles, are loose in the elaborate contraption and are none too thrilled about their predicament. With the exits sealed, the family members try to learn the secret of Uncle Cyrus' bizarre mansion and survive supernatural assaults with the help of sassy housekeeper Maggie (Rah Digga), neurotic psychic Rafkin (Matthew Lillard), and Kalina (Embeth Davidtz), an activist championing the civil rights of ghosts. The eyeglasses through which the spirits can be viewed in Thirteen Ghosts (2001) were part of a ballyhoo gimmick involving pairs of spectacles handed out to audiences for screenings of the 1960 original, which was presented in "Illusion-O." Karl Williams

Los Angeles Times

Thirteen Ghosts is in essence a classic haunted house story, given some terrifically ingenious and grisly twists, in which a decent family man, already afflicted with tragedy and loss, finds within himself the courage and selflessness to save his family from evil. Kevin Thomas

Product Details

• UPC: 085392208326
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 1:31:00
• Sales Rank: 4,417

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Dark Castle Horror Collection

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