Haunted

1995

Drama / Horror

22
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 51% · 5 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 51% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 7857 7.9K

secret doubt based on novel or book professor supernatural haunting

Plot summary

Professor David Ash exposes false spiritulists and mediums. He is invited to Edbrook to resolve the fears and torments within its secretive family. Soon after arriving Ash begins to doubt his own senses, and watching the strange behaviour of its residents does not make his task any easier. In time, he finds there's more to Edbrook than even he can debunk.

Director

Lewis Gilbert Photo
Lewis Gilbert

Top cast

Kate Beckinsale Photo
Kate Beckinsale as Christina Mariell
Liz Smith Photo
Liz Smith as Old Gypsy Woman
Peter England Photo
Peter England as Young David
Anthony Andrews Photo
Anthony Andrews as Robert Mariell
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
989.28 MB
1182*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 1
1.79 GB
1760*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 10

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by hitchcockthelegend 7 / 10

The Edbrook Haunting.

Haunted is directed by Lewis Gilbert, who co-adapts the screenplay with Bob Kellett and Timothy Prager from the novel written by James Herbert. It stars Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews, Alex Lowe, John Gielgud and Anna Massey. Music is by Debbie Wiseman and cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts.Following the accidental death of his twin sister when they were just kids, David Ash (Quinn) has grown up to be a parapsychologist determined to debunk the existence of ghosts. Receiving an invitation from the Mariell family to investigate supernatural activity at their family home, Edbrook House, David accepts and quickly finds his life flipped upside downÂ…It's from the old fashioned school of horror, a period piece of some worth, but not one for anyone looking to be scared out of their wits. Actually the novel by the late great James Herbert was becalmed when judged by his superb standards, so it really will help any potential first time viewer to go into this expecting a more ethereal chiller than anything else.There's an air of romanticism constantly hanging in the air, and with Gilbert nodding towards the likes of The Haunting for his scares and Don't Look Now for the meditation on grief angle, it's a film of mixed blessings. Also nice to see very good period design for the 1920s setting, while Roberts' photography skilfully brings beauty to the English countryside and murkier tones for the inner workings of Edbrook House.Cast are fine, with Quinn and a perky Beckinsale creating good sensual chemistry, and Andrews and Lowe are suitably odd as the clearly off- kilter Mariell brothers. Massey, however, is not challenged by her role and Gilegud is only really filing in for an easy money cameo. It gets away from itself a little in the final stretch, where it's not helped by some shoddy effects work, but there's good value to be had in the picture. With grief, guilt, redemption and incest bubbling away thematically, and the spectral visage of David's dead sister haunting the edges of the frame, film never lacks for literate effort or a sense of unease. The book is much better, mind. 7/10
Reviewed by ma-cortes 7 / 10

Weird and outlandish ghost story with awesome acting by a nice British cast

A sceptic University professor called David Ash : Aidan Quinn is summoned to Edbrook House by dotty servant , Miss Webb : Anna Massey . Then David's drawn into the intrigues of its other three inhabitants , Christina : Kate Beckinsale , and the brothers Roberts : Anthony Andrews and Simon : Alex Lowe . Unsettled by the bizarre goings-on , the visiting American David begins to lose his grip on reality ; while Massey's twitchy , unhinged old maid sets the tone for what will follow , and Beckinsale's sexy Christina fuses childlike recklessness with adult manipulation . Along the way , various fantastic events occuring : pianos that play by themselves, fires that spring up from nowhere and housekeepers who see things . You will believe ...!This is a supernatural tale of love and mystery adapted from James Herbert's novel by veteran filmmaker Lewis Gilbert . An old-fashioned ghost story with convincing interpretations that benefits itself from craftsmanship , but lacks atmosphere and imagination enough . All is present and correct , from Edwardian pile where things go bump at the night , to the ghostly figures by a moonlit lake. Aidan Quinn brings an emotional dimension to the professional sceptic David Ash who like Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle unmasks trickery , false gurus , fake clairvoyants and whose rational beliefs are challenged by a confrontation with the spiritual world . Quinn's disintegrating professor holds things together, his splendid interpretation results to be the solid dramatic axis around which things spin wildly out of control . Along with Kate Beckinsale as the English rose heroine and an arch British supporting cast , such as : Anthony Andrews who's producer as well , Anna Massey , Alex Lowe , Geraldine Somerville and Linda Bassett as Madame Brontski . This one , though , does have an extra touch of class in the splendid form of John Gielgud who at 91 can still give the best acting in the movie . And there's some strong love scenes and nudism , just to remind us that this is 1995 and not some phantom from forty years before , though Kate Beckinsale has a body-double in her naked apperances.The motion picture was competently directed by Lewis Gilbert who was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry. Lewis has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie (1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie , 1966), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989). He was a successful producer and director , getting some hits , such as : Alfie , Operation: Daybreak , Shirley Valentine , H. M. S. Defiant , The 7th Dawn , Light up the sky !, Sink the Bismarck ! , among others . And directing three notable James Bond films : The Spy Who Loved Me , Moonraker , You Only Live Twice . Rating : 6.5/10. Above average . Well worth seeing .
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