Halloween is coming up quick, so now’s the time to break out all those comfort horror movies! My favorite part about watching throw-back horror flicks is realizing how awful they must have been when they premiered. There’s a certain charm around millennium b-rated horror films—maybe the unnecessary amount of fake blood, or perhaps the overabundance of quippy humor. Whatever it is, it’s entertaining when we look back on it now. And I will unabashedly throw Thirteen Ghosts into this category because, while it may not be hair raising or scream inducing, it’s certainly an adventurous watch.
The film follows the Kriticos family, comprised of Kathy, Bobby, their father Arthur, and Bobby’s nanny, Maggie. Arthur’s wife tragically lost her life in a house fire shortly before the film takes place, and he is down on his luck financially. So, Arthur is delighted to hear that his long lost relative, Cyrus Kriticos, has passed away and left the entirety of his estate and fortune to him. The family packs up and heads off to their new home, which turns out to be a spectacle made entirely of glass. It doesn’t take long before the late Cyrus’s colleague shows up at the house and explains that everyone is in danger. Cyrus was, essentially, a ghost hunter, and no one knew exactly what happened to the ghosts he managed to actually catch. Everyone quickly discovers that the ghosts trapped in the house with them are not in the least bit friendly, and things continue to roll downhill as the story progresses.
Now, for a 2001 movie, these graphics aren’t bad. In fact, they scared the absolute sh** out of me when I was a kid, and I’ve only now been able to get my hands on a copy to try watching again (baby me ran out of the room a quarter of the way through the first time). The only issue I had with this movie was that there wasn’t enough of a jump scare factor. But the costume designs were fascinating and made up for that. And combined with the rest of the film’s design, I was definitely not disappointed.
Overall, it wasn’t a terrifying movie. But if you’re looking for a good flick to put on between blitzes of trick-or-treaters this Halloween, this ghostly, ghastly, and gorey movie should be at the top of your list! Check it out, and check back in to let me know how you liked it!
