THIR13EN GHOSTS

A nearly penniless family inherits a magnificent and rather bizarre house from an eccentric uncle, where both the exterior and interior walls are all made of glass. However, there is a small detail the new tenants do not know: the house is nothing more than a huge trap that holds the damned souls of thirteen terrible ghosts... Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver reunite for this new production of the "Dark Castle," but the result is not one of the most exciting. As with "The Mystery of the Haunted Mansion," once again the tradition of William Castle's horror cinema is revisited. The film is actually a remake of the 1960s feature "13 Ghosts" by the same Castle, unreleased in Italy, but this time the direction is entrusted to Steve Beck, former artistic director of visual effects with successful films like "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "The Abyss." In this case, it is another ghost story set in a hyper-technological trap house where thirteen (actually twelve, as you will understand by watching the film) restless and angry ghosts of as many damned souls wander; a group of fierce, original, and excellently made characters from a technical point of view (digital and makeup effects blend and integrate perfectly together) that, however, never really succeed in making you "jump out of your seat." Although blood spills copiously, there is not even a shadow of suspense or tension; the blame is to be attributed to the inappropriate choice of toning down the most horrific and anguishing situations with dialogues and "jokes" worthy of the worst comedies. As if that were not enough, at the end we are also given the usual happy ending with good feelings, definitely out of place for a horror film. In conclusion, a half-disappointment for a still decent horror that, however, given the good budget available and the excellent box office results at home, seemed to promise much more and was eagerly awaited by genre enthusiasts. Trivia: among the objects contained in the display cases of one of the rooms in the house there is also a copy of Dylan Dog, a tribute to the Bonelli comic that is beginning to have a certain following abroad.