All movies13 Ghosts

Rated:

R

Running time:

1:30 minutes

Release date:

January 1, 1975

Capsule review:

Boasting only a thrill or two, "Thirteen Ghosts," a remake of William Castle's 1960 exercise in schlock, will entertain those horror-film fans with low expectations. It revolves around the legacy left by a shadowy ghost-hunter (F. Murray Abraham) with dubious motives, which turn out to involve an amazing house with mystical powers. When the man's nephew (Tony Shalhoub) shows up with his daughter (Shannon Elizabeth), son (Alec Roberts) and family nanny (hip-hop Rah Digga), and they encounter not only an unscrupulous lawyer (J.R. Bourne) but a manic empath (Matthew Lillard), things begin to go lump. . . er, bump in the night. The problem isn't the special effects, which are as impresive as you might imagine. But there are just too many plot holes, such as where the kids disapper to and why the ghosts are so nimble except when it comes to killing the film's stars. This may be a remake of Castle but it's not much of an improvement.