This is the tawdry, illogical, monotonous, never-ending, pointless, lame, ridiculous, underwhelming, needless, stupid, patience-testing, senseless, unnecessary, time-stealing, joyless, obnoxious, oh-God-oh-God-Im-going-to-die-in-here Jan de Bont movie that isnt Speed 2: Cruise Control, but if you enjoy watching good actors run away from special effects for 2 hours, knock yourself out. Note to gullible idiots: you should never trust a doctor who conducts an insomnia study in a haunted house, even if he is played by Liam Neeson. After statues come to life and staircases collapse, hell reveal he really lured you there for a study of group fear and hysteria. Most critics wondered what Shirley Jacksons novel (or Robert Wises 1963 adaptation) had done to deserve such treatment. The Austin Chronicle called it about as tantalizing as a desicated Gummi Bear, while James Berardinelli, writing for Reel Views, noted that the only thing disturbing about The Haunting is how discouraging the end product is.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
