If you missed my movie review of Queen Of The Damned, you can find it here.
Just a FYI, there are spoilers here.
Thir13en Ghosts (2001) stars Tony Shalhoub as Arthur Kriticos, Matthew Lillard as Dennis Rafkin, Shannon Elizabeth as Arthur’s daughter, Kathy, Alec Roberts as Arthur’s son, Bobby, and Rah Digga as the nanny, Maggie. There is another movie, 13 Ghosts, that premiered in 1960 that the 2001 version is loosely based on. Many details were changed. Even the names of the family are different. They kept the glasses, though.
The story is about Arthur Kriticos and his children, Kathy and Bobby, who were devastated by fire and the loss of their wife and mother. They are in a cramped apartment with bills piled up. They have a nanny (how?) named Maggie who lives with them, too. By a stroke of good luck or another tragedy, depending on how you look at it, Arthur and his family are given a huge, beautiful house because he was the beneficiary of his Uncle Cyrus’s estate.
The fact that there are violent and deadly spirits in the basement is completely hidden from Arthur. Dennis, who helped Cyrus capture the ghosts, tries to warn him, but is too late. If you’re wondering about the glasses I spoke of earlier, you have to wear special glasses to see the ghosts. They can still vanish from your sight sometimes, but they give you an edge.
Cyrus collected twelve ghosts for his machine that was “designed by the Devil, powered by the dead.” It was these twelve he captured and locked up who would be the ones to run it. The blueprints were very specific about what spirits he needed. Cyrus had Dennis capture the firstborn son, the withered lover, the bound woman, the juggernaut, the hammer, the torso, the torn prince, the angry princess, the pilgrimess, the great child and dire mother, and the jackal. Cyrus provides the funding and equipment, and Dennis uses his psychic ability to find the ghosts.
This movie does have quite a bit of blood and some gruesome deaths. One in particular is as gross as it is cool. The film also does pretty well at building tension for the jump scares. It isn’t an overly scary movie, so this is pretty good if you want horror without the big scare. Or maybe it’s just me. The ghosts themselves were suitably creepy-looking, and I would hate wearing the makeup they had to wear. The house? It is stunning. The furnishings are luxurious. I would hate the amount of light. I could happily live in a cave, but it doesn’t stop me from appreciating a beautiful house. I do wonder, though, how do they have a nanny. They have overdue bills, so how can Arthur afford a nanny? Do tell me how.
I adore Matthew Lillard. He is one of my favorite actors, and it probably helps that he has been the voice of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. You know me, my favorite cartoon is Scooby-Doo. Tony Shalhoub is a stellar actor, too. I love him in Monk. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is pretty forgettable. The whole cast seems to overact in this movie, but I can with it. I love this movie. I have watched it over and over again since 2001. I wholeheartedly recommend this movie.
Have you watched Thir13en Ghosts? What are your thoughts on it? I would love to read them, so put them in the comments below. Did I miss anything in my review? Let me know that, too. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
