Watch Haunted For Free

the audience applauded

Great Film overall

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Haunted is an atmospheric, valiant yet frustratingly uneven ghost story effort, in the tradition of stuff like The Awakening and The Haunting. If the plot seems close to last year's Crimson Peak, it's because it is, and I'd bet that Del Toro had this forgotten entry in mind when he embarked on that journey. I say frustrating because there's a certain few absolutely terrific moments of Gothic horror that truly shiver your timbers, but they're hopelessly mired in a mucky moor of a plot that unfortunately is not as effective as those key scenes. You David Ash is rough housing around wit his sister in the English countryside when she hits her head on a rock, and drowns in the pond below. He grows up soaked in guilt, dedicated to disproving the existence of paranormal phenomena. As an adult he's played by Aiden Quinn, who is an average dude with slightly wild looking eyes who is always effective in the sense that he seeks out challenging, odd projects which test his everyday aura nicely. In the early 1900's he is summoned back to rural Britain by an elderly woman (Anna Massey) who is convinced that she is surrounded by ghosts. He is greeted there by the luminous, attractive Christina (Kate Beckinsale), a friendly young thing with a distinct untrustworthy vibe and a penchant for getting creepy close with her two strange brothers (Anthony Andrews and Alex Lowe). She lives out there in isolation with them as well as their disturbed mother, and one gets the sense right off the bat that something is wonky. I suppose that's the point though isn't it? Beckinsale has carved a path of playing either somber, distraught women or tough, silent warrior chicks. This is the most animated work I've ever seen from her, and the most radiant she's ever looked as well. It's also to date the only nude scenes she's ever put forth, and I don't use the term lightly... she really bares it all here. The middle portion of the film meanders around with these characters, not revealing enough to push the plot forward enough, until the curtain is whisked away jarringly in the third act, cementing it's pacing issues for good. It's a picturesque enough journey, I just wish we had something to latch onto besides that, some substance and a consistency in the creepiness factor to keep us invested. Alas. It's got a spookily wonderful beginning, and an electric, full blooded ending, the only two instances where it shows true feeling and commitment. The rest is, well... stale. It's worth a peek for a few reasons though, including Beckinsale's solid performance and that one uber-scary scene in the opener.

Hey, I just want to say I have watched this movie 10 times and never get tired of it. Kate Beckinsdale back in her early prime was and so beautiful. The acting is great! It took me many years to find a DVD but finally own this movie:) I remember seeing this for the very first time on some cable channel back in 1995...I couldn't tell you which one? Very well written movie and very well produced. I wish they would make more like these.This movie is about a Professor at a British university who is requested by an older maid/servant to come to a mansion out in the suburbs of Great Britain. The Professor has written a book trying to convince everybody there are no ghosts or paranormal true events on this planet. He is in for the surprise and shock of his life. Professor Ash decides to take a visit to this historic mansion at the request of the aging maid/housekeeper and encounters events he would have never envisioned.My roommate, God bless her soul, saw this with me 9 years ago just before she died. She said this was one of the most scariest but adorable movies she had ever seen. Myself? One of the most underrated Mysteries/Thrillers/Paranormal/Love Story movies I had ever seen and loved it. A must see and one of those movies that will keep your attention throughout. A lot to like about this one. I don't care what the current rating say about this movie...I adored it. I gave it a 10 out of 10. Very picky about movies and consider this a winner in my book:)

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 down…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

"Haunted" provides many of the same joys as reading a Miss Marple mystery--a Miss Marple mystery where most of the dramatis personae get naked, that is.Mostly set in the 1920s, it features an outsized English manor house, a professor from "Camberley" College, dressing for dinner, tea at 5pm, a possible ghost, bumps in the night, and lots of family secrets--some of them a little too shocking for Agatha Christie.The performances are top-notch. I've always loved Kate Beckinsale, and it's nice to think that people who only know her from those awful "Underworld" movies may see this and discover she's an actress. Aidan Quinn is also a favorite; even though he tends to be somewhat wooden, I forgive him because he's such an appealing presence. Anthony Andrews is amazing: one of those actors that inhabit a role, as they say. And can John Gielgud give a bad performance? I don't think so.The story is great, if a little thin here and here. I won't spoil the plot twists, but at the end you're likely to be left with nagging questions about why certain characters did certain things in light of certain facts that are now known.But don't let that stop you from watching it. In fact, it'll probably encourage you to watch it again. It does me: this is one of those movies I'll watch any time it's on cable.btw, of all the movies people have compared this to, nobody's mentioned the similarities to "Angels and Insects." A&I is not a ghost story, but it shares with this movie the setting, the atmosphere, and some of the more interesting plot elements.