Review of Thir13en Ghosts

Introduction

This is basically a re-make of the 1960 film 13 Ghosts, the change of title to Thir13en Ghosts is really to try and be trendy and keep up with the illiterate younger generation who seem to like replacing letters with numbers when writing. The original film was one of those quirky cinema films, in that you had to wear special glasses when watching certain scenes of the film. This was called "Illusion-O".

No such device is required here, and special effects take over the job of bringing ghosts to your eyes. What this gives us is a modern version of a classic tale of a haunted house, except this house isn`t a old creaky mansion with lots of dark passageways. More about the house later. You can read the basic plot up above.

Video

An excellent 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, which is full of colour and detail and free from blemishes. This is excellent news, since this film has so much going on visually that you really don`t want to be distracted.

Let`s start with the house itself - it looks absolutely amazing, a brilliant set combined with some great graphics. It`s like a giant glass maze with some truly mad things going on. It really is excellent.

And then we have the ghosts, who all have a very modern look to them. Some of them will probably stay in your mind for a little while, as they can be quite disturbing. And some of them look like extras from a Korn video.

Audio

An all action, booming and banging DD5.1 soundtrack, which is utterly perfect for the film. It has plenty of loud moments to try and encourage you from your seat, and then it will go all quiet and atmospheric. In amongst all this mayhem the vocals can always be clearly heard, as well as the "screaming child/heroine in distress" moments. You might just be looking over your shoulder a few times when watching....

Features

And if you enjoyed watching, you can watch all over again, listening to a commentary featuring director, production designer and creator of make-up effects), all of whom bring their unique perspectives to how this film was made. It`s quite technical, but it`s the perfect commentary for the film.

There are also a selection of featurettes, one "making of" which is the standard PR fluff, and then one for each of the ghosts in the film, which gives you some good background on the ghosts themselves.

You`ll also find trailers for this film, as well as other DVDs and cinema releases. There`s also a biography section which includes information on William Castle, director and producer of the original film.

Conclusion

An enjoyable film on an enjoyable disc. Whilst it`s never going to win any Oscars for content, it`s a nicely-paced modern take on a good horror story. There are so many haunted house stories out there that the market does seem a little flooded at times. But there`s definitely room for this film which is well worth watching if you like films that are billed as scary. Whether it`s actually scary is up to the individual viewer. There are certainly images which might disturb...

The disc is great, with excellent picture and sound to enhance the viewing experience, and the right selection of extras given the nature of the film. A highly recommended rental and if it`s your thing you might find yourself buying it too.