Haunted (1995 film)
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| Haunted | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Written by | Lewis Gilbert Bob Kellett Timothy Prager |
| Produced by | Lewis Gilbert Anthony Andrews Ralph Kamp |
| Starring | Aidan Quinn Kate Beckinsale Anthony Andrews John Gielgud Anna Massey |
| Cinematography | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
| Edited by | John Jympson |
| Music by | Debbie Wiseman |
| Distributed by | October Films |
Release date | 1995 |
Running time | 108 min. |
| Country | Template:FilmUK |
| Language | English |
Haunted is a 1995 British film, by veteran director Lewis Gilbert and starring Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews and John Gielgud. It is based on a novel of the same name by James Herbert. The film was produced by Andrews and Gilbert.
Plot
David Ash (Aidan Quinn), an American professor, enters into the field of parapsychology and has spent a majority of his life disproving the existence of ghosts, in order to deal with the untimely death of his twin sister, Juliet, for which he blames himself. He receives an invitation from the Mariell family to investigate the alleged hauntings at their home, Edbrook House. At the train station, he is met and is immediately smitten by the beautiful Christina Mariell (Kate Beckinsale), who informs him that she and her brothers actually hired him to try to calm the fears of their aging nanny. Christina reasoned that due to nanny's declining mental health since their mother's death, Nanny Tess (Anna Massey) has convinced herself that Mrs. Mariell's ghost returns every evening to haunt Edbrook House.
As David begins his investigations, he becomes aware of a presence in the house which goes against everything he believes thus strengthening his determination to expose the paranormal activities as nothing more than a hoax perpetrated by joker, younger brother Simon (Alex Lowe). His initial ideas regarding the afterlife is shaken by the increasingly vivid visions of the Juliet from his youth, freely prowling the halls or the grounds of Edbrook. Unable to sleep from the strange nightly disturbance, David wears down and begins to hallucinate, causing him to start questioning the state of his own sanity.
Further complicating the investigation is Christina's continuous flirtations with David, a distraction David gladly welcomes but older brother, Robert (Anthony Andrews), is adamantly against. When David decides to finally leave Edbrook, he asks Christina to come away with him. Although she refuses, they engage in a passionate kiss and end up in bed together. In the morning when David wakes, the wind is gusting through the house, which is now cloaked in black drapes and littered with fallen leaves. He searches for Christina but instead sees his twin sister's ghost who leads David to a cemetery. Juliet calls his attention to a specific tombstone which states that Robert, Christina and Simon Mariel all died in a fire at Edbrook.
A very confused David returns to the house and confronts Nanny Tess. She confirms that the Mariel siblings are indeed dead and their ghosts will do anything to keep Nanny Tess and David from leaving. Nanny Tess also reveals that the siblings' mother, Mrs. Mariel, drowned herself after discovering a drunken Simon and elder brother Robert in their parent's bed with Christina. Robert's ghost appears and forced Nanny Tess to confess to their murder by locking the siblings in bedroom, then setting fire to the house.
The Mariel siblings reveals that seeing as they have David now, they no longer need Nanny Tess to torment. After killing Nanny Tess, Christina asks David to die for them, but when HE escapes to the upstairs bedroom, the siblings set the room ablaze, trapping David. While Robert, Simon and Christina cackle mockingly within the flames at his imminent death, Juliet suddenly appears and walks through the flames, takes David by the hand and rescues him from the inferno.
After the harrowing experience, David returns home and is greeted by his assistant, Kate, as he steps off the train. A few steps behind the unsuspecting couple, Christina steps out of the shadows and follows them through the fog as they leave the platform.
Cast
- Aidan Quinn - Professor David Ash
- Kate Beckinsale - Christina Mariell
- Anthony Andrews - Robert Mariell
- John Gielgud - Dr. Doyle
- Anna Massey - Nanny Tess Webb
- Alex Lowe - Simon Mariell
- Victoria Shalet - Juliet Ash
- Peter England - Young David Ash
Reception
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The film received mixed reviews from critics receiving an 80% fresh rating of five critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.2 out of 10 on IMDB. The films main praise is towards the performances of Quinn and Beckinsale (in the roles of David Ash and Christina Mariel respectively). Its back-to-basics setting of a period haunted house where "things go bump in the night" was subjected to some of the films main failing points. Being how it hearkened back to the traditional haunted house films such as, The Haunting or House on Haunted Hill, it lacked any style or suspense as the films preceding it had and was also criticised for being too basic on elements such as rattling door knobs and wispy, weeping shadows.