Very Cool!!!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Good acting in a tired and predictable story. Great performance from Aiden Quinn, invited to a Gothic manor to investigate supposed ghosts lurking within. A hokey attempt to sex-up the story with an incestuous triangle between Kate Beckinsale and her two brothers. The story, set in the 1920's, has all the appearance of the wholesome, lackluster British family movies made in the 1950's. You almost expect Heidi to come tripping over the lush green hills. Recommended as one of the spookier movies around, the performances are all good, by actors who know their craft, but the movie is directed like a Hallmark Hall of Fame love story, devoid of any tension and wholly derivative in its execution. A complete lack of pacing that leads to a conclusion you can see coming a mile away. Tired and predictable are the words that apply. A shame as the actors could have done so much more with a more innovative director. A waste of good talent looking for direction.

This is a very good, scary, old-fashioned ghost-movie. In fact it was so creepy that I got goosebumps all over my body (for REAL, not as a figure of speech!). Also, I several time had a feeling that someone was behind me, so that I had to glance over my shoulder! The story is excellent with an astonishing twist at the end, the exteriors and interiors are exquisite, and the actors are excellent!As I have ticked the "spoiler" box, I can discuss the twist here, can't I..? My only reservation, is that the type of ghost in movies with this twist in the end - the "the person I have been associating with was really a ghost all the time" - goes against the normal Western European notion of ghosts. We do not think of spirits as solid bodies that can eat, drink, move around objects in the real world, and even have sex with humans. We think of them as ethereal, transparent... and emitting a cold, which would make it very unpleasant to sleep with them! :-) So, every time you watch a movie with this kind of plot, you have to buy into the foreign "solid, human ghosts" notion - that are more like zombies really.

As a long-time ghost story fanatic, this is the kind of story which gives the other gently terrifying stories of the same genre, such as The Others, a real run for their money. Thrill-seekers who want a good ghost story are after A-bump-a-minute scenarios which, thankfully, this film does not have, instead garnering a slow but natural and steady pace which involves wonderful hints and twists throughout and a wonderful, touching and ultimately, creepy conclusion.I have never been a great fan of Aidan Quinn or Kate Beckinsale, though their chemistry here makes the film very watchable, and Quinn is acceptable as a hapless if not quite lovable hero. Beckinsale is also on generally good, charming form and, to be fair to both actors, there are several points in the script where the dialogue is so shallow and blunt, that Laurence Olivier and Gielgud himself (who appears and is wonderful as the local doctor) would have struggled to bring any more life to them without making the words seem silly and unrealistic.The show-stealer, as per usual in almost everything he is in, is undoubtedly Anthony Andrews, as the understatedly creepy yet charmingly alluring elder brother. Andrews is a very-much underrated actor as it is, but his performance and changes in attitude towards Quinn as the guest in their sprawling home, very much makes the film and most of the tension therein.Anna Massey too is wonderful as the housekeeper/nanny and creates a very sorry character with whom one instantly feels sympathy, playing out her pivotal role right until the very end with her usual grace and unabashed talent.To one who knows the ins and outs of modern twists and turns in movies and stories such as these, the ending is not altogether unpredictable, but the well-disguised yet compelling hints throughout make it all much more exciting, and the scenes of ghostly appearance are, for a change, nicely inserted without too much musical decoration or unnecessary special effects, making the whole thing very watchable. The sets and locations are stunning and elegant at all times, bringing up both the believability and charm of the story. This film, overall, falls into the category of a sadly overlooked, but wonderful fireside story, which deserves more publicity than it gets.

I remember seeing this film when I was only little, around 6 years old and I always remembered it to be a crappy horror film. Years later when I got it on DVD to re-watch it, I found myself completely wrong. The film is about a supernatural skeptic called David Ash who tries to debunk fake paranormal events. He is summoned to a house called Edbrook where an old lady named Nanny Tess is convinced that her house is haunted by spirits.The film itself is a return to the slightly cliché but still effective ghost themes, with creaking doors, bumps in the night, etc. The film's story and narrative from Frank Herbert's novel is absolutely brilliant and there are enough twists to keep anybody entertained. Aidan Quinn is brilliant in his role, and Kate Beckinsale shines in one of her earliest roles.I feel though that this film has been marginally overlooked and ignored by many and it does deserve a watch for anyone interested in psychological horrors. The film itself is out of distribution but copies are still available as Dutch imports (with English audio). All in all, a fantastic film!