13 Ghosts (1960).

Review #1071: 13 Ghosts.

Cast: 
Charles Herbert (Arthur "Buck" Zorba), Jo Morrow (Medea Zorba), Rosemary DeCamp (Hilda Zorba), Martin Milner (Benjamin Rush), Donald Woods (Cyrus Zorba), Margaret Hamilton (Elaine Zacharias), John van Dreelen (Van Allen), with William Castle (Himself), David Hoffman (Messenger), and Roy Jenson (Dr. Plato Zorba's ghost) Directed by William Castle (#369 - House on Haunted Hill)

Review: 
Oh my, look what today is. So why not do a film with "13" in it? Also, I figured that it was time to do a William Castle film again, seeing how it was in April of 2013 that I last reviewed one of his films. Enjoy Friday the 13th, and if you miss out it won't be too bad since the next one is in July. 

What is there to say about a haunted house horror film? Quite a bit, actually. This is the kind of movie that tries to have fun with its premise with a few frights and a charming nature that permeates throughout its 84-minute run-time. Who can give this movie criticism for wanting to showcase a tight story and a few thrills that doesn't lie about its intent? One of my favorite lines in the film happens nearly an hour in: "I met a lion". Said line is stated by Herbert, who provides a fairly sincere performance for a twelve-year-old, being fairly adept in his environment that never cloys over the others. The rest of the cast prove to be fairly decent, never overplaying their hand nor going too much toward ridiculousness, with DeCamp and Woods being fairly useful parents for the film. Milner does fine, never too assuming or obvious in his role. Hamilton is also pretty fine to watch, having a strange aura around her that is watchable without being overt. On the whole, the movie is never boring, mostly because the cast plays along with the plot without being tongue-in-cheek or too serious, having a fine line of energy to it. The movie doesn't have too much of a great plot, but it manages to have a few twists and moves that actually seem riveting.

This was Castle's fourth film (with the others being Macabre [1958], House on Haunted Hill [1959], and The Tingler [1959]) to utilize a gimmick to promote the movie, with this gimmick being dubbed "Illusion-O". As stated by Castle himself in the beginning, whenever there were scenes involving ghosts, the viewer had a choice (through a cardboard square with blue and red tint celluloid) to see the ghosts, since the footage for the ghosts was shot so that the viewer would see them if they saw through the red lens, while the blue would result in not seeing the ghosts. It takes roughly a third of the film for the first ghost to appear, and it's certainly an interesting gimmick - sure you can see the ghosts even without the glasses, but it doesn't detract too much from what is an interesting idea to see play out. It may not be very scary, but it at least is somewhat interesting to watch play out. This is a movie with vast showmanship, never betraying its principles of entertainment for a cheap force-out, having a fine time with its thrills (and gimmick) that will certainly prove satisfactory for most.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Chinatown.

Review #631: Chinatown.

Cast
Jack Nicholson (J.J. "Jake" Gittes), Faye Dunaway (Evelyn Cross Mulwray), John Huston (Noah Cross), Perry Lopez (Lieutenant Lou Escobar), John Hillerman (Russ Yelburton), Darrell Zwerling (Hollis I. Mulwray), Diane Ladd (Ida Sessions), and Roy Jenson (Claude Mulvihill) Directed by Roman Polanski.

Review
Chinatown is a movie that basks in the past with much originality, with a high crafted story by Robert Towne. Nicholson is fun to watch here, he makes for a interesting character that is fun to watch in any scene. Dunaway seems like she's playing a femme fatale, but in reality she plays anything but that, and her emotions are very expressive, you get to feel for this character, and in a way also pity her as well. It's amazing how John Huston (a director who I've covered a few times before) can be so effective as a villain when you realize his soft demeanor hides his dark side, which is evident in the end scene. Speaking of which, the end scene is probably the most memorable aspect of this movie (that, and Nicholson's bandaged face), Towne originally had written a happier ending, but it was changed by the director to make for a more cynical, but still a better ending. It's a perfectly sad ending, a way to make the movie more than just a detective story, and more importantly, a classic story. The movie has its thrills and most importantly its chills, which make for a very well-rounded movie that's heartbreaking, but also very entertaining. Take the ending for what it's worth, or don't, whatever you want.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.