Image via Warner Bros.
The late 90s to early 2000s were a pretty blurry time for horror fans. Caught between the teen horror boom of titles such as Scream and Faculty and the looming wave of porn torture, some films have struggled to find audiences. Steve Beck’s remake of the 1960 film in 2001 13 ghosts was one of those movies.
Horror flick stars Tony Shalhoub just a year before he rushed into public consciousness as Adrian Monk, Shannon Elizabeth – fresh off the set of the disgusting comedy american pie, and most memorable, the sad, gangly eyed Matthew Lillard. The CGI-heavy film was determined to incorporate a lot of knowledge into its 91-minute runtime.
In fact a modernized haunted house tale, twelve evil spirits (or are they?) F. Murray Abraham the character Cyrus Kriticos bequeathed his mysterious fortune and twisted his house to his estranged nephew Arthur Kriticos (Tony chalhoub). With many bloody deaths and some shocking early deaths, Thirteen ghosts you might have missed it – but it’s certainly worth a reassessment, removed as it is now from the swirling vortex of shady horror that abounded at the time of the original release.
Although it grossed less than $ 70 million on a budget of just over $ 40 million and was not on many critics’ year-end lists, it ignited the hearts of horror fans around the world. With a choice of ghosts to choose from, perhaps a 12-part miniseries could emerge from the grave, spanning the brief stories of every ethereal foe featured in the film, or is it all about? ‘a tale better left locked in the basement?
