Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost

2019

Action / Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy / Horror / Mystery

60
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 42% · 2 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 42%
IMDb Rating 6.3/10 10 2241 2.2K

vincent price friendship talking dog friends curse ghost

Plot summary

Mystery Inc. withdraws from solving crimes after botching a case. When Vincent Van Ghoul contacts the gang about an unfinished investigation from Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby's past, the gang springs into action to finish the job that involves catching the 13th Ghost that escaped from the Chest of Demons and is still at large.

Director

Cecilia Aranovich Photo
Cecilia Aranovich

Top cast

Matthew Lillard Photo
Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers
Grey Griffin Photo
Grey Griffin as Daphne Blake
Frank Welker Photo
Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo / Fred Jones
Noshir Dalal Photo
Noshir Dalal as Benny / Flim Flam
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
697.73 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 22 min
Seeds 11
1.31 GB
1904*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 22 min
Seeds 12

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by alexander009 6 / 10

Forgets about the original TV series main purpose... THE GHOSTS ARE REAL, NOT FAKE!

Reviewed by andrewroy-04316 6 / 10

The humor and homages to the original series are absolutely spot on, but the ending and character disappointments hold it back

The first half of the movie had it on track to be one of the best Scooby Doo movies ever. The intro with Van Ghoul recapping the captures of the ghosts in the original show in poetic form was really cool. There were a great many small references to the show that worked so well - I was thrilled when I saw the rubber ducky come out, really liked how they dealt with Flim Flam, and the consistency of the backstory with Fred and Velma being away at camp was all so satisfying. The humor in the episode was also a high point, with a bit more self-awareness and referential humor that worked well. Now, for that pesky third act. The biggest problem with the film overall is that the twist disregarded the darker realism of the monsters from the show, and gave a horribly weak explanation for what actually happened to the 13th ghost. Velma's hand-wavy claim that the Sanskrit was translated wrong and he just wanted redemption which he got through Van Ghoul is unequivocal garbage and runs counter to all the lore of the demon chest. I get they wanted a mystery rather than just the capturing of a real ghost, and the lack of actual mystery was a flaw of the show, but the bait and switch in this case given the backstory is a bad decision, especially with the terrible execution of the explanation. The solution itself was fine and plausible if quite cliche and derivative, but it was a letdown given the lore of the 13th ghost and also didn't make complete sense (how did Asmodeus fly and breathe fire and all that if he was just the dude? He may have been a powerful magician, but he couldn't have kept up the appearance of the most powerful demon of all time, or stifle Van Ghoul's magic). In addition, in the second half of the film Fred and Velma's characters were both too absurd and too one-dimensional. All of Fred's moments were focused on his identity crisis -> accepting that he's a cheerleader, which (while amusingly built up with subtle hints at that earlier in the movie) relegated him in value for the mystery and wasn't really consistent with his character historically. Similarly, all of Velma's moments were her going way too over the top in refusing to believe in ghosts. This at least does have precedent, but not only was the execution of it poor (a ski lift picked her up? Seriously??), the reveal at the end reaffirmed her incorrect belief instead of the realism the show is steeped in. Velma was unlikable for her unwillingness to listen to other's experiences with the ghosts and general insistence, and Fred was just so over the top in this bizarre and unprecedented character shift as to be unbelievable. I did quite like Daphne and there were plenty of humorous moments in the role reversal between her and Fred. Shaggy and Scooby were consistent as always, and I appreciated their willingness to call out the other characters for their absurdity. Van Ghoul was just as great as I hoped. A final minor flaw of the movie was the avalanche sequence. It was quite out of place and also physically impossible. At various points, the avalanche would've physically overcome them and they would end up beneath the snow, not on top of it. The sliding on the snow was not well animated, and it was drawn out much more than needed.While I've focused on the negatives here, I do believe it's an average to above average Scooby Doo movie and a good one. When considered in the context of the show, so many elements are excellent and satisfying, especially early in the film, and it is a fun and exciting one to watch that does feel like it has real stakes. But considering the context of both the show and the characters, the ending is a major let down. For a movie with some great highs and some bad lows, it ends up as a solid but forgettable movie - and that's a real shame for the potential it had.
Reviewed by geislekm 9 / 10

Excellent end to the series

Finally, the Daphne we deserve, and a wrap up to a series that maintains the integrity of the team, and also satisfies the narrative. Those who gave this low ratings are nuts.
Read more IMDb reviews

15 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment