[Film Review] Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

As the ‘90s came to a close, Dark Castle Entertainment was conceived to remake the popular horror works of famed director William Castle. While they eventually diverted from this plan, their first two movies, House on Haunted Hill (1999) and Thirteen Ghosts (2001), ensured that modern audiences were introduced to amazing ideas and gimmicks of Castle’s classic horror movies. 

Thirteen Ghosts only retains the smallest resemblance to the original 13 Ghosts (1960), including a nephew inheriting a house from a rich uncle, a bunch of ghosts, and special glasses that need to be worn in order to view the ghosts. The story itself is very different, and the ghosts are now clear-cut villains, each of which has been lovingly designed to stand out from each other.

The film opens with psychic Dennis (Matthew Lillard) assisting the eccentric and very rich Cyrus Kriticos (F. Murray Abraham) as he hunts for a ghost in a junkyard. Dennis is able to home in on the ghost’s energy to aid in its capture, and Cyrus has constructed glass cubes etched with containment spells to ensnare the ghost, known as the Juggernaut. In the panic that follows, the Juggernaut kills many members of Cyrus’ team, including Cyrus himself, before it is eventually caught.

In his will, Cyrus leaves all his money and his beautiful house to his nephew, Arthur (Tony Shalhoub) and his children, Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (Alex Roberts). The family have been struggling since they lost their house and their mother, Jean (Kathryn Anderson), in a terrible fire, so this news could not have come at a better time. Accompanied by Cyrus’ lawyer (J.R. Bourne) and their nanny, Maggie (Rah Digga), the family head out to Cyrus’ remote property to explore.

Dennis is waiting for them, disguised as a repairman, hoping to recover the money Cyrus owes him, while everyone soon heads inside. The set design for this entire movie is beyond impressive, as Cyrus’ house is almost entirely made of glass, with Latin spells engraved on every surface. The walls shift and slide on their own, blocking off paths and rooms in an instant, and at the centre of the house is a large, spinning platform engraved with a number of symbols. We soon find out the house is not all it seems and is actually part of a larger machine that Cyrus created in order to give himself a huge amount of power. The house is powered by the ghosts he and Dennis collected, who are currently stored in the basement. 

When the lawyer tries to make his escape with a bag of money, he triggers the large machine at the centre of the house, which starts to release the ghosts one by one. With all of them having died in horrible circumstances, most of them only know pain and rage and are therefore keen to kill as many people as possible. 

The effort that went into designing each of these ghosts is a huge part of what makes Thirteen Ghosts such a fantastic film. Each ghost is said to represent a sign in the Black Zodiac, so with twelve different designs to create, you would think some would end up less terrifying. However, this isn’t the case, with each ghost given a distinct look and personal backstory (which you can view on the DVD special features). Some ghosts get more screentime than others, but we get to spend a little time with each of them as they do their best to murder Arthur and his family. 

The added complication of the spell-inscribed walls and the ghost glasses means that it’s hard to know when to feel safe from the ghosts. You might not be able to see them, but they are always lurking and waiting to get you. And with the walls deciding the shift on a whim, characters are often thrown from safety into danger without a moment's notice. All of this adds up to lots of jumpscares and a feeling of tension that never goes away as we wait for a ghost to pop up. 

The characters we spend the most time with are Arthur and Dennis, with both men carrying their fair share of pain and trauma. Arthur desperately wants to protect and provide for his family, while it’s clear Dennis has trouble forming human connections due to the complications from his psychic ability. Dennis is a complex character because he was involved in Cyrus’ plan, but it’s clear he didn’t know the full extent of it. He wanted to believe Cyrus was his friend and was just happy that someone accepted him and his powers, even if Cyrus was clearly using him.

Arthur also has to deal with the news that he may need to become the thirteenth ghost in order to stop the machine and save his children. Arthur and Dennis make a great team as they put aside their differences to do what’s right and stop Cyrus’ plan from coming to fruition. We care deeply about these characters and want them to survive the horrible situation they’ve both been forced into because of Cyrus’ greed. Horror movies can fall apart when you don’t care about the fate of the main characters, but this definitely isn’t the case here.

Everything about Thirteen Ghosts is beautiful to look at, from the house to the ghosts, to the way certain shots are framed. The junkyard scene at the start of the movie is the perfect introduction to this world, and the scene where all the ghosts stand in a circle spinning around Kathy and Bobby is something I could look at for hours. It would be such a shame for Thirteen Ghosts to get written off as a cheesy remake because it’s so visually stunning.

Even twenty years after its release, the effects still look great, the ghosts are still creepy, and I feel like the jittery visuals and the intense screaming echoes that signal a ghost is near have become quite common in haunting horror movies because they were just done so perfectly here.

Thirteen Ghosts took the core of the original movie and turned it into something far better and far scarier. Without losing the family drama at its heart, it gave us creepier lore, standout villains, amazing death scenes, and a film I just never get tired of looking at.

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