Nobody. And then, "I won't let you hurt the children!"These two lines are perfect examples of how the movie fell apart in the second half. Mainly because there was no prompt for this iconic dialogue from the first film in the second one. No one was shown to be holding Nell's hand, or that her hand was in any position in which it would be 'held'. And secondly, she didn't hear the terrifying noises of child abuse in the dark. Being a remake of the 1963 classic, I don't think anybody expected it to be as good as the first. But still it was off to a promising start, with lonely, unwanted Eleanor against the glamorous have-it- all Zeta as Theo. Even Owen Wilson being Owen Wilson in Hill House was entertaining. Unfortunately, the second half nose-dived. They didn't keep up the motif of the desperate Eleanor with no home being hounded by society - except in that one scene in which Owen Wilson trashes her only legal possession against the iron gate (he gets his poetic justice). Instead of the house PREYING on Eleanor's weakened mind, the idea that Eleanor DID somehow legally belong with the house was pushed a bit too far (the woman wearing the necklace in the painting and Eleanor spewing a lot of ancestral details which no one can possibly verify there). That and the abundant use of CG takes away from all horror and leaves us with an adventure film with one horrible accident.Watch the original 1963 film for your dose of chills and terrors.

The Haunting (1999): Dir: Jan De Bont / Cast: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Bruce Dern: Remake of the Robert Wise classic about past incidents that stir horrid images. A group of individuals suffer from insomnia and are summoned to an isolated mansion for treatment. This mansion has a past as the heroine can hear the echoes and cries of children. The film contains an eerie soundtrack and startling images. Special effects are breathtaking with an ominous presence about to give the mansion its haunting appeal. Unfortunately the screenplay presents a formula story with a climax that becomes ridiculous. Director Jan De Bont allows it to get away on him. It is as if he was given all of the budget and he could not figure out what was needed. He made Speed, which is his one worthy film but this film is a tad better than his embarrassing Twister and Speed 2: Cruise Control. Of the ensemble cast Taylor seems interesting as she struggles to figure out the bizarre around her. She comes from a broken home only to learn that she has connections here that elevate to a laughable outcome. Liam Neeson passes as the doctor while Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson wander about as if bored. Bruce Dern plays the gate keeper who is suppose to look sinister and more or less over the top. Special effects are the one saver otherwise it is hauntingly bad. Score: 3 / 10

First of all the acting in this movie is just atrocious, it's awful. I like Catherine Zeta Jones's work but even her acting was bad. Owen Wilson was the worst casting choice in this entire movie, in fact, that might be one of the worst casting choices I've ever seen in any movie, is acting and here was just so bland and fake. Liam Neeson wasn't a horrible choice for the lead, although he wasn't great. What I don't like is this movie is not scary at all it's just not! Also the filmmakers overused CGI to where it looked cheap. I watched the original from the 1960's and I wasn't a fan, I didn't like it at all, but the remake is even worse than the original. I guess it suffices to say that I'm just not a haunting fan at all. Also the script and the dialogue in this remake is just so bland and boring. If you are a true horror movie thing and then this is not a movie you want to see. It's really just an insult to all horror movies because it's just not scary. I do feel bad for the audience that was really excited to see this, meaning the fans of the original, I feel bad that they were horribly let down. Now I know that the original from the 1960s is held up high as a horror movie classic, personally I don't get that, I did not like it at all, but it's just not my cup of tea I guess. The one word that comes to mind when I think of the haunting from 1999 is just plain boring. Do yourself a favor and watch insidious instead of this. Three out of 10 for the haunting 1999.

I hate brussels sprouts, I don't trust used car dealers, can't stand banks and this movie was lousy. That pretty much summarizes it. To pad the review let me add Owen Wilson should be forced to eat brussels sprouts while buying a used car with a loan from a bank. Lili Taylor should stay away from the front of the camera and maybe work as a grip or in the deli section. Zeta-Jones should have taken all of her clothes off. At least it would have been a distraction. Liam Neeson should simply go find the original negative and burn it. Jan de Bont should pal around with Owen Wilson and eat lots of brussels sprouts. Finally, if you're gonna make a movie and spend a ton of money on it, why not hire a scriptwriter instead of just asking the pizza delivery guy to come up with some 'hot' ideas.And the ending sucked.