The Haunting | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jan de Bont |
Screenplay by | David Self |
Based on | The Haunting of Hill House 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson |
Produced by | Donna Arkoff Roth Colin Wilson Susan Arnold |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Karl Walter Lindenlaub |
Edited by | Michael Kahn |
Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Production company | Roth-Arnold Productions |
Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $80 million |
Box office | $180.2 million |
The Haunting is a 1999 American supernatural horror film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, and Lili Taylor, with Marian Seldes, Bruce Dern, Todd Field, and Virginia Madsen appearing in supporting roles. Its plot follows a group of people who gather at a sprawling estate in western Massachusetts for an apparent volunteer study on insomnia, only to find themselves plagued by paranormal events connected to the home's grim history. Based on the 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, it is the second feature film adaptation of the source material after Robert Wise's 1963 film adaptation of the same name.
Development for The Haunting originally began as a collaboration between filmmaker Steven Spielberg and writer Stephen King, who together began writing a new adaptation of Jackson's novel, largely inspired by Wise's 1963 film version. After creative differences, the project was aborted, with King retooling his screenplay to form the 2002 miniseries Rose Red . Spielberg meanwhile commissioned a new screenplay for the project, written by David Self, to be produced under Spielberg's studio, DreamWorks Pictures. Filming of The Haunting began in the fall of 1998, with some location shoots occurring in England at Harlaxton Manor and Belvoir Castle, though the majority of the film was shot in specially crafted sets in Los Angeles by Argentine production designer Eugenio Zanetti.
The Haunting premiered theatrically in North America in July 1999. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics but was a financial success, grossing $180.2 million worldwide against a production budget of $80 million.
Eleanor "Nell" Vance, an insomniac, has cared for her disabled mother for 11 years, sharing a Boston apartment with her. After her mother dies, Nell's sister Jane and her husband Lou inherit the residence and eject Nell to prepare for a sale. As she faces homelessness, Nell accepts an invitation to participate in an insomnia study by Dr. David Marrow at Hill House, a secluded manor house in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. At the house, she meets Mr. and Mrs. Dudley, the eccentric caretakers. Two other participants arrive: goofy Luke Sanderson and glamorous Theodora ("Theo"), along with Dr. Marrow and his two research assistants. Unbeknownst to the participants, Dr. Marrow's true purpose is to study the psychological response to fear, intending to expose his subjects to terror.
During their first night, Dr. Marrow relates the story of Hill House: Its original owner, Hugh Crain, a 19th-century textile tycoon, constructed the rambling home for his wife Renee, hoping to populate it with a large family. Unfortunately, all of Crain's children were stillborns, and Renee, devastated by the multiple losses, killed herself, while Crain became a recluse. Marrow's assistant is wounded in a freak accident and the research assistants leave for the hospital. Supernatural events begin happening, and Nell sees ghosts of children. A large portrait of Hugh Crain is vandalized with the words "Welcome Home Eleanor" written in blood. Theo and Luke accuse Nell, claiming she is seeking attention.
Nell becomes determined to prove that the house is haunted. She finds Crain's hidden study and learns that he extensively used child labor in his cotton mills. He tortured and killed orphans in his home, then burned their bodies in the fireplace. She surmises that these children's spirits are trapped in the house, providing Crain with an "eternal family". Crain had a second wife named Carolyn, from whom Nell is descended. Dr. Marrow is skeptical and reveals the truth of his fear study to the group, but after a statue tries to drown him, he realizes Hill House is haunted. Nell reveals that she is related to Carolyn Crain and must help the children move on to the afterlife.
The group tries to leave Hill House but Hugh Crain's ghost traps them inside. Luke defaces a portrait of Crain, enraging his spirit to decapitate Luke. When Crain manifests, Nell realizes that he thrived on the fear he created in children and declares that she is not afraid of him. Her declaration weakens the ghost and he is cast into a decorative bronze door depicting the distressed children in purgatory. He drags Nell with him, but the benevolent spirits release her and she dies. Nell's soul, along with those of the freed children, rises to heaven.
The following morning, Dr. Marrow and Theo meet the Dudleys at the front gate in silence and leave Hill House behind.
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg approached horror author Stephen King in 1996 about making a haunted house film, and the two agreed that Robert Wise's 1963 film The Haunting was a benchmark of cinematic house horror. After collaborating on a screenplay partly based on Wise's film (an adaptation of the Shirley Jackson novel The Haunting of Hill House ), Spielberg and King ran into creative differences, and the project was ultimately aborted. [1] Spielberg pushed forward with the project, commissioning first-time screenwriter David Self to write a screenplay for the film. King went on to retool his rendition of the material into the 2002 miniseries Rose Red , which shares some elements of both Wise's 1963 film, as well as Jackson's source novel. [1]
While Jan de Bont was working on post-production for Twister , Spielberg offered to take over directing duties on Minority Report in exchange for directing The Haunting. De Bont did not want the film to be a remake of the 1963 version, as he wanted to focus more on the book that it was adapted from. [2]
Principal photography began on November 30, 1998, and ended on April 9, 1999. Harlaxton Manor, in England, was used as the exterior of Hill House while its Great Hall served as the games room scene where Marrow comforts Nell after seeing the bloodied "Welcome Home Eleanor" writing and where Nell reveals of Hugh Crain's crimes, with the kitchen and pantry scenes done at Belvoir Castle. [3] Spielberg stayed at Stapleford Park Hotel, the actors were at Belton Woods Hotel, north of Grantham, and the film crew were at the Swallow Hotel on the A607 junction on the bypass, and the Olde Barn Hotel in Marston, Lincolnshire. [4]
The majority of the interior sets were built inside the dome-shaped hangar that once housed Hughes H-4 Hercules, near the permanently docked RMS Queen Mary steamship, in Long Beach, California. [3] The handcrafted interior sets cost an estimated $8–10 million to construct, and were designed by Argentine production designer Eugenio Zanetti. [5] [6]
The film was burdened by reshoots, in part because cinematographer Caleb Deschanel left over creative differences one week into filming. The studio also demanded a new ending be shot, which was completed in June 1999. [5]
Following principal photography, the film's elaborate visual effects were completed by Phil Tippett, who had previously provided effects work on Jurassic Park (1993). [5]
The Haunting opened theatrically in North America on July 23, 1999, screening in 2,808 theaters, and earning $33,435,140 during its opening weekend, ranking in first place ahead of Inspector Gadget , American Pie and Eyes Wide Shut . [7] [8] It was overtaken by Runaway Bride during its second weekend, falling into fourth place behind the latter film, The Blair Witch Project and Deep Blue Sea with a 54.4% decline and a gross of $15.2 million. [9] The film remained in theatrical release until November 1999. [8] It ultimately grossed $91,411,151 in North America, and $85,900,000 in international markets, making for a worldwide gross of $177,311,151. [8]
At the time of its release, The Haunting was met with negative reviews from film critics, who criticized its screenplay, reliance on horror clichés, and use of CGI effects, but praised its art direction, production design, and sound. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 17% based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Sophisticated visual effects fail to offset awkward performances and an uneven script". [10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 28 critic reviews, indicating “mixed or average reviews”. [11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. [12]
Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review, awarding it three stars out of four, and praising the production design in particular: "To my surprise, I find myself recommending The Haunting based on its locations, its sets, its art direction, its sound design, and the overall splendor of its visuals. The story is a mess, but for long periods that hardly matters. It's beside the point, as we enter one of the most striking spaces I've ever seen in a film." [6] Similar sentiments were echoed by The New York Times's Janet Maslin, who deemed the film "a lavish illustration of how to take a fairly modest black-and-white horror film from 1963 and amplify it so relentlessly that the sight of the flying cow in Twister would not be all that amiss... the film's spooky tricks are orchestrated by top-notch behind-the-scenes talent, who augment Mr. De Bont's tireless efforts to keep things moving." [13]
Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
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Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Donna Arkoff Roth, Colin Wilson, Susan Arnold | Nominated |
Worst Director | Jan de Bont | Nominated | |
Worst Actress | Catherine Zeta-Jones (also for Entrapment ) | Nominated | |
Worst Screenplay | David Self | Nominated | |
Worst Screen Couple | Lili Taylor and Catherine Zeta-Jones | Nominated | |
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards [14] | Worst Sense of Direction | Jan de Bont | Nominated |
Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100M Worldwide Using Hollywood Math | David Self | Nominated | |
Worst Remake | The Haunting | Won | |
Least "Special" Special Effects | Nominated | ||
Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Film Awards | Best Sound Mixing | David John, David Macmillan, Gary Rydstrom | Nominated |
Best Visual Effects | Scott Farrar, Craig Hayes, David Rosenthal, Phil Tippett | Nominated |
The Haunting was released on VHS and DVD by DreamWorks Home Entertainment on November 23, 1999. [15] Following Paramount Pictures' acquisition of DreamWorks, Paramount reissued the film on DVD in October 2017. [16]
In October 2020, Paramount released the film on Blu-ray featuring a new 4K restoration under their "Paramount Presents" Blu-ray line. [17] On February 27, 2023, Scream Factory announced a forthcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray release scheduled for May 30, 2023. [18]
Twister is a 1996 American disaster film directed by Jan de Bont, and written by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin. It was produced by Crichton, Kathleen Kennedy, and Ian Bryce, with Steven Spielberg, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, and Gerald R. Molen serving as executive producers. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, and Cary Elwes. It follows a group of storm chasers trying to deploy a tornado research device during a severe outbreak in Oklahoma.
Scary Movie 2 is a 2001 American supernatural parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is the sequel to Scary Movie and the second film in the Scary Movie film series. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, as well as Tim Curry, Tori Spelling, Chris Elliott, Chris Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, David Cross and James Woods. The film was the last in the series to feature the involvement of stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans, and director Keenan until the upcoming sixth installment. Marlon would eventually go on to produce a similar horror-themed parody, A Haunted House, and its sequel, both starring himself. In the latter film, Wayans pokes fun at the Scary Movie series' decline in quality after his family's departure.
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction action-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on H. G. Wells' 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise stars in the main role alongside Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins, with narration by Morgan Freeman. It follows an American dock worker who must look after his children, from whom he lives separately, as he struggles to protect them and reunite them with their mother when extraterrestrials invade Earth and devastate cities with giant war machines.
House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American supernatural horror film directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan. The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned insane asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an amusement park mogul if they are able to survive the night. Produced by Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver, it is a remake of the 1959 film of the same title directed by William Castle. The film marked the producing debut of Dark Castle Entertainment, a production company that went on to produce numerous other horror films, including additional remakes.
The Haunting is a 1963 British supernatural horror film directed and produced by Robert Wise, adapted by Nelson Gidding from Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film depicts the experiences of a small group of people invited by a paranormal investigator to investigate a purportedly haunted house.
Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 American science fiction horror film directed by Renny Harlin. It stars Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J. It is the first film of the film series of the same name. Set in an isolated underwater facility, the film follows a team of scientists and their research on mako sharks to help fight Alzheimer's disease. The situation plunges into chaos when multiple genetically engineered sharks go on a rampage and flood the facility.
Jan de Bont is a Dutch former cinematographer, film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the action films Speed (1994) and Twister (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockbusters and genre films, including Roar (1981), Cujo (1983), Flesh and Blood (1985), Die Hard (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), and Basic Instinct (1992).
The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and has been made into two feature films, a play, and is the basis of a Netflix series.
The Legend of Hell House is a 1973 British gothic supernatural horror film directed by John Hough, and starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill, and Gayle Hunnicutt. It follows a group of researchers who spend a week in the former home of a sadist and murderer, where previous paranormal investigators were inexplicably killed. Its screenplay was written by American author Richard Matheson, based upon his 1971 novel Hell House.
Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a 1971 American horror film co-written and directed by John Hancock in his directorial debut, and starring Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, Gretchen Corbett, and Mariclare Costello. The film depicts the nightmarish experiences of a psychologically fragile woman who comes to believe that another strange, mysterious young woman she has let into her home may actually be a vampire.
Paranoiac is a 1963 British psychological thriller film directed by Freddie Francis, and starring Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, and Alexander Davion. The screenplay, written by Jimmy Sangster, was based loosely on the 1949 crime novel Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey.
The Haunting or Haunting may refer to:
Dementia 13, known in the United Kingdom as The Haunted and the Hunted, is a 1963 independently made black-and-white horror-thriller film produced by Roger Corman, and written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars William Campbell and Luana Anders with Bart Patton, Mary Mitchell, and Patrick Magee. It was released in the United States by American International Pictures during the fall of 1963 as the bottom half of a double feature with Corman's X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes.
Dudley Do-Right is a 1999 American slapstick comedy film written and directed by Hugh Wilson, based on Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right, produced by Davis Entertainment for Universal Studios. The film stars Brendan Fraser as the cartoon's titular Mountie with supporting roles from Sarah Jessica Parker, Alfred Molina, and Eric Idle. The film was a critical and commercial flop.
Poltergeist is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor from a story by Spielberg. It stars JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, and Beatrice Straight, and was produced by Spielberg and Frank Marshall. The film focuses on a suburban family whose home is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct their youngest daughter.
David Christopher Self is an American screenwriter best known as the author of the screenplays for the films The Haunting, Road to Perdition and The Wolfman.
Full Circle, released in the United States as The Haunting of Julia, is a 1977 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Loncraine, and starring Mia Farrow and Keir Dullea. Based on the novel Julia by the American writer Peter Straub, it is the first film realisation of one of his books, and follows a woman who, after the death of her daughter, finds herself haunted by the vengeful ghost of a young girl in her new home.
The Haunting of Hill House is an American supernatural horror drama television miniseries created and directed by Mike Flanagan, produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television for Netflix, and serves as the first entry in The Haunting anthology series. It is loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. The plot alternates between two timelines, following five adult siblings whose paranormal experiences at Hill House continue to haunt them in the present day, and flashbacks depicting events leading up to the eventful night in 1992 when the family fled from the mansion. The ensemble cast features Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Victoria Pedretti as the siblings in adulthood, with Carla Gugino and Henry Thomas as parents Olivia and Hugh Crain, and Timothy Hutton appearing as an older version of Hugh.
The Haunting is an American television supernatural horror anthology series created by Mike Flanagan, and produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television for Netflix. The first series, titled The Haunting of Hill House, premiered on October 12, 2018, and the second, titled The Haunting of Bly Manor, followed on October 9, 2020. Both series star Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel and Carla Gugino, portraying different characters across the two seasons.
Violet Elizabeth McGraw is an American child actress. She began acting at the age of five, with her debut credited role being a recurring role in the 2016 television series Love as Nina, and her first feature film being in 2018's Ready Player One. In 2019 she was nominated for an OFTA Television Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Limited Series for The Haunting of Hill House. She is also known for her role as Cady in the 2022 horror film M3GAN.