Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson) brings three insomniacs, Nell (Lili Taylor), Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and Luke (Owen Wilson) to a mansion for a psychological study. What he doesn’t tell the others is that he is really studying fear. What he doesn’t know is that the house is really haunted.
Quick Review: This is a case of style over substance, but when style wins with such gusto, why complain? Based on a Shirley Jackson novel that made it to the big screen in 1963, this version takes the opposite approach to the first’s less-is-more philosophy by indulging in spectacular sets and flashy FX. The story is a simple re-telling of the standard ghost story, with a few gaping holes. As long as you don’t look too closely, it’s a good ride. The characters are multi-dimensional, but never coalesce into anything sensible. Wilson plays the easy going one of the group and is the closest to appearing like a real, if clownish, person. Zeta-Jones is beautiful and sexy and plays a character who is beautiful and sexy (hey, sometimes casting isn’t tricky). Taylor’s Nell is dangerously close to being annoying, but manages, just barely, to invoke sympathy.
The real star is the impressive English manor used for exterior shots, and the colorful, elaborate, haunted house interiors. This is a beautiful, velvet blanket of a film that feels great to roll around in. In the end, it has the depth of a blanket, but who doesn’t love that feel?