Welcome one and all to part 42 of my weekly blog, The 52 In 52. If you don't know by now the concept is simple, each week I pick a DVD or Blu Ray that has been gathering dust on my shelf and I review it. Last week I reviewed the relentless and gore filled fun of Rabid.
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This week I will be reviewing Thirteen Ghosts or Thir13en Ghosts to give it the 2001 name.
Released in 2001 Thirteen Ghosts is a remake of the 1960's film of the same name and was directed by Steve Beck and produced by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis. The story follows Arthur (Tony Shalhoub) dealing with the tragic loss of his wife in a house fire and piecing his life back together with his daughter Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and son Bobby. Arthur's mysterious uncle Cyrus (F.Murray Abraham) leaves his house to his nephew and when the family arrive they discover that the impressive house holds many horrifying secrets amongst its walls.
I must say whilst I enjoyed Thirteen Ghosts I did feel that it had a few problems and it really is a film of its era. I honestly think that the main problem with the film is that it never really establishes what type of film it wants to be. There are elements of dark humour laced through it, especially with the addition of Matthew Lillard who plays the role of snarky enemy to the scene chewingly over the top F. Murray Abraham.
I really liked the relationship between Arthur and his family but, I would have liked to have seen more about the tragedy that happens at the start of the film and how it has shaped them as characters. That is really the basis for my issues with the story. There are so many interesting threads throughout the story that could be explored but are either forgotten about or down played. I would have loved to have seen more of Kathy and Bobby, instead they are relegated to helpless characters that need saved. The relationship between Cyrus and Dennis is never fully explored either, leaving more questions than answers.
There are a few positives in Thirteen Ghosts. I really loved the set design. The house is so different and adds a magical quality to the story. The visual effects used to design the house are done well for the era it was made. It is really the practical effect work done in the creation of the ghosts that is great. They are gruesome and gory but, there is a fantastical quality to the appearance that I really loved. I loved the design of the device controlling the cells in which the ghosts reside, it is a really interesting concept.
Overall I feel that Thirteen Ghosts is a decent enough story but, I feel with a bit more time and development could have been told better. The real strength is visuals, character effects and set design are really strong and more than make up for the lack of story depth.
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