Revisiting THIR13EN GHOSTS: Impressive Action, Less Horror

Films about haunted houses such as Thir13en Ghosts are so classic that, especially in our times, they are almost laughable. They have their mood of mystery and horror; however, nowadays special effects and masses of blood are more important. In 1999 the master of tension Jan de Bont, the creator of the excellent Speed and the very good Twister, made The Haunting – a remake of a horror film from the 1960s. The film earned some money, but lovers of genuine scares were disappointed, because De Bont focused not on atmosphere but on special effects.

In the same year the newly established studio Dark Castle Entertainment also produced a remake of an old horror film, this time by William Castle, entitled House on Haunted Hill. The film, produced by Joel Silver, Gilbert Adler, and Robert Zemeckis, may not have enjoyed as much popularity as The Haunting, yet the gentlemen decided to continue their adventure with renewing Castle’s horrors and chose Thir13en Ghosts as their next project.

Similarly to House on Haunted Hill, it involved a haunted house and a small group of people trying to survive an encounter with ghosts. In the United States alone, the film earned some forty million dollars, which may not be a staggering sum, but for a horror film it is not bad.

Arthur (Tony Shalhoub), together with his daughter Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and his son Bobby (Alec Roberts), lives very modestly. After the great fire in which Arthur’s wife died, things did not go well for him, which brought him to the brink of poverty. However, fate smiles upon him as well, for one day Ben Moss (Jr Bourne)—the lawyer of the recently deceased Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham), Arthur’s uncle—knocks on the door of his apartment. It turns out that Cyrus has left his nephew a large house, which, apart from being made almost entirely of glass, does not differ greatly from others.

Arthur, together with his family, the lawyer, and the maid Maggie (Rah Digga), goes to the new residence to see what kind of house good old Cyrus has left them and at the same time to sign the documents. At the entrance the new owners are greeted by a certain power plant worker (Matthew Lillard), who in fact turns out to be a former associate of Cyrus. Only a little later does Arthur learn that his uncle had his own brigade of ghostbusters and that currently in the basement of the house there are twelve not particularly entertaining ghosts.

The lawyer, meanwhile, thinks only of Cyrus’s fortune and, while robbing the house, accidentally opens all the cages from which the ghosts escape. A struggle for survival begins, a very difficult one, because the specters cannot be seen with the naked eye, and the only chance to see them lies in special glasses.

It may not be very clever, but it is really great to watch. A lot of action and blood, perhaps a little less tension. The atmosphere of a haunted house story has of course completely dissolved, but sometimes something has to be sacrificed.

There are few directors who are able not only to satisfy the viewer on the technical side, but also to create a film with atmosphere. If someone wants a film with mood, they should see The Others, and if someone seeks strong sensations in the cinema brought about by sharp editing and excellent makeup, they should see Thir13en Ghosts .

Personally, I liked the film, perhaps not as much as the previously mentioned House on Haunted Hill, but still. The visual side makes a truly strong impression, and besides, on the screen we can watch actors who are well known and popular.

Arthur is played by Tony Shalhoub, that is, the memorable Antonio Scarpacci from the television series Wings. He also appeared several times in films by Coen brothers (among others in Barton Fink), in the thriller The Siege, the science fiction comedy Men in Black and its sequel.

Matthew Lillard, who plays Rafkin, is the crazy Stu from the first part of Scream, while Shannon Elizabeth is a star of comedies such as American Pie, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. In addition, we also have Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, whom we saw in the period drama Amadeus, the action comedy Last Action Hero, and the horror film Mimic.

Therefore, if someone does not particularly like horror films, they may go to see Thir13en Ghosts precisely because of its excellent cast.