Liam Neeson: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

5 That Sucked

5. Dr. David Marrow - The Haunting (1999)

Neeson is so talented that he is capable of giving a decent performance even when given a bad script, but there are some times that it's hard to remember the good of the performances thanks to the frame they're in.

The Haunting is a pretty scary film, but not intentionally or because of its traditional horror cliches. It's just awful. Additionally, the fact that Neeson plays a half bad guy was a major let down. All his psychiatry and ulterior motives are a little annoying, which exist only to motivate his being eerie and ominous and to push the plot forward. There's a good long while that you think he's going to snap and start killing some folks, but alas the film turns away from suspecting him and becomes much more supernatural. He's creepy but not in a believable way. His relationships and interplay with the other characters is awkward and stiff and unbelievable, especially with Lili Taylor.

As far as Haunted House stories go, it tried so hard to be like the old school classics from the 50's and 60's that it got lost. Neeson's performance, as a result, seemed unmotivated and as if he knew he wasn't very jazzed about what he was saying.