The Beast Must Die (1974)

What is not to love about a whodunnit murder mystery and even better one with who is the werewolf mystery than encourages you, the viewer, to be the detective.

This film opens with some marvellous swinging 70s music and we see a man being pursued through a forest with hidden camera and microphones, watched by another man on camera who advises soldiers of his location. The man is caught a couple of times but when the soldiers shoot there are no bullets. It ends when he exits the woods to a grand garden party before a mansion where the soldiers surround and shoot him promopting the garden guests to scream.
Turns out it's all a training exercise, this man is Tom Newcliffe, our protagonist and host portrayed by Calvin Lockart. He hired the man watching him, Pavel (Anton Diffring) because he is a hunter and wants to be top of his game whether out there in the jungle or in the office. This is all to help him hunt the biggest game of all, which for a moment we think is man as the camera zooms into his unaware guests on his cameras, giving a The Most Dangerous Game vibe. 

Whenever a banquet is about murder there must always be candlesticks

We come to learn the basic plot of the movie, Tom is a millionaire game hunter hosting a party with his wife Caroline (Marlene Clark) at their marvellous mansion, the twist- one of them is a werewolf.
Tom advises his guests they all have death in common before he introduces them all with comments on their murky, death filled pasts..
Our players include diplomat Arthur Bennington (Charles Gray) who had two people up and die in shady circumstances for which he was exonnerated, he says to Tom 'I don't have to take that kind of talk' and Tom, my new fav, retorts with 'you just did'. Next is pianist Jan Jarmokowski (Michel Gambon) who is no longer welcome in cities where there were nasty killings, people with their throats torn out where he went. Caroline's friend Davina Gilmore (Ciaran Madden) is next on Tom's suspect list because when she's at a party it ends up one short, with someone quite dead and half eaten. Then there is Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon) who went to prison for eating human flesh (werewolf or not that's a freak) and more disturbing he started out as being a doctor and with nine others they each ate a piece of flesh (eww) out of apparently curiosity or bravado. Then there is Professor Christopher Lundgren (Peter Cushing) an archaelogist with an interest in the loup-garou.
Tom, not a man to mess around, advises them immediately that one of them is a werewolf. Poor Caroline probably won't be hosting another party any time soon.

I'd pull that face too if my husband ruined by dinner party by accusing the guests of being werewolves

Tom advises Caroline in the bedroom that he is deadly serious about his accusation as he smokes a cigar because he's rich and fabulous. Caroline is unimpressed and attempts to use some feminine wiles to dissuade him but Tom is too eager to hunt something no man has hunted before. I actually love how they've turned the whole 'big white hunter' trop right on its head with Tom. Caroline asks what if she's the werewolf and Tom points at her with one finger and yells 'POW', seriously Tom is way too underrated.

First suspicious character is the pianist Jan attempting to escape in his car (honestly if you love Michael Gambon watch for his hippie appearance alone). Tom immediately gets in his truck to pursue, Jan obviously did not pick up Tom's big badass hunter vibe. The car chase includes some more of the glorious seventies swag soundtrack. Jan tries his best to evade Tom and eventually fails. The car chase goes on for a fraction longer than necessary and lacks some real action but I suppose if Jan died in a car crash it would be eliminating a suspect too soon. Jan tells a flimsy lie of wanting to go to the village before offering to stay if the others can go, Tom asks if he's trying to protect Davina before escorting him back in his car leaving Jan's car for the wolves.

Tom assures his minion Pavel that he will know tonight who the werewolf is, full moon I assume? Apparently Pavel's country was full of werewolves but he says he escaped the country to escape the stories, guess he's a sceptic. Apparently Jan got sick and Davina dropped everything to run back to Jan, so they're a couple then. Tom quips to Pavel that maybe she prefers meat, raw, Tom has no time for subtlely. He explains that Paul was in a place where a man turned up half-eaten and Paul was there for the summer painting a man getting attacked by the devil and the man had the face of the victim. Paul claimed he copied it from a newspaper and hey, maybe our doctor/painter/cannibal is telling the truth.

Next Tom treats his guests to banquet where he says they need a full moon. The doctor talks about lymphatic glands which secreted a hormone into the bloodstream (science) and this apparently is linked to creating a werewolf. Lol Tom has served up a bloody, meaty feast for the evening- HE IS NOT KIDDING WITH THIS. The doctor says the beast has no choice and cannot deny the urge to feast on human flesh. The doctor emphasises that the werewolf is a victim before stating their symptoms- there's itchiness of the skin and the werewolf changes identity, the eyes turn red and the flesh feasting begins before the werewolf will die pitifully from its condition eventually. He states the werewolf can regain human shape at will but the blood will become unstable (while he says this a gravy boat of blood is poured) and they'll die. Davina is understandably put off her food by this and so is Caroline.

The doctor says he hasn't been able to catch a werewolf and Paul suggests he do it by gathering a group of suspects on a full moon. Tom advises them that his estate has been electrically bugged and talks bout hunting the werewolf with a rifle. Jan says a simpler way to kill a werewolf would be with silver as he lifts a silver candlestick. The doctor confirms the touch of silver is poisonous to a werewolf and would be absorbed by the skin making it fatal. Jan suggests they play pass the candlestick. Paul hilariously calls this a 'classy Russian roulette' before accepting and kissing it.
Arthur downs his wine before stating that he loathes party games but he reluctantly grasps the candlestick. Paul asks the hostess to do it. She does so, accuses Tom of wrecking dinner and departs for a drink. Paul states 'if that was dinner I can't wait for the cabaret'. Paul is rather comical for a psychotic cannibal.

The doctor says pollen from the plant Wolfbane needs to be in the air for the experiement to have worked. Oh right. So the silver is only poisonous with the full moon and Wolfsbane, bloody hell finding a werewolf is hard. Apparently the pollen is a trigger. The doctor insists everyone is safe because Wolfbane doesn't grow in Great Britain and only pollinates during the autumn. This is such a weird niche to be an expert in considering the doctor has never actually met a werewolf. We see Tom out in his greenhouse revealing that oh ho ho he's growing Wolfsbane! Fun fact- Wolfsbane is pretty toxic to people too. Tom hears someone and gives pursuit but we don't see anyone, just an axe being tossed from a shady looking cabin at Tom.
Tom runs about in the shadows in a barn where he is attacked by a garden hoe. Tom survives this too, is he the werewolf or does the werewolf just have appalling aim? Undeterred, Tom returns to his plant.

The full moon is out and just as Paul states 'shame no one thought to order-' Tom enters to conclude 'Wolfbane' and shows off his fancy plant. Caroline is unimpressed, stating they've played pass the candlestick but Tom points out the lack of Wolfbane then. The doctor states if the werewolf is young and in the early stages they may ward off the change for a few hours but not for the whole night.

Tom insists they wait, pointing out the full moon lasts three days. He also says they'll be alone as they've given the staff a rest and that Caroline will look after them. Caroline does not look impressed.

Paul is doing 'agroart', something about convering a canvas in paint and beating it. Arthur advises he's a landscape man. Despite having Charles Grey in the role, Arthur really gets the least to do or say in this flick.

Tom goes to check the cameras and sees that four people are missing, so much for the spy network, wtf were you doing Pavel?! We find Jan and Davina pacing the garden where Davina suggests Tom is drunk. Davina reveals she shared a flat with Caroline before she married and that Tom is stinking rich. An omnious wolf howl follows. Jan advises to Davina that it's the dogs, restless because of the full moon. Davina states she doesn't believe, Jan remarks he's agnostic, maybe they exist or don't. Then they kiss, ah young love. Jan suggests they return lest Tom come after them with a gun.

Tom making all his guests feel comfortable

 

They enter the house and Jan starts playing the piano because he's a pianist you know. The doctor and Arthur are playing chess. Caroline is reading. Paul shows up when Arthur goes for the brandy. Arthur observes that the backs of Paul's hands are covered in hair. Paul says 'you know what they say' and Arthur states 'no I don't know what they say or who they are'. The doctor remarks he sees no signs yet. Paul states he's off to bed and the doctor cautions him to lock his door. Paul asks if this is if someone should eat their way through the guest list and advises they'll get food poisoning.

The cameras follow Paul on his way to bed. He flicks his whip as he swaggers up to bed to the haunting tune of Jan's melody. He pauses at the door to inspect his hairy hands and then it's off to bed where yes, there are cameras, because Tom and Pavel are perverts. Paul heads for the bathroom and Pavel admits he didn't consider cameras in there, apparently perversion has limits.
We get to see Paul contemplating shaving his hairy hands before staring at his reflection pointedly and then retreating to the room where he disrobes right in front of the camera to reveal a hairy chest. Thankfully, he keeps his trousers. Tom admits he can't remember if Paul's hands were always hairy.

Back to the others and Caroline is apologising for her husband. We see them all heading up to bed as Arthur comments about Tom being off his head. Pavel remarks that evesdroppers rarely hear anything good about themselves, ha ha, sarky git. Tom says he's no voyeur and won't evesdrop on them in bed before he strips and puts on a rather kinky, shiny, black leather jacket. He grabs a rifle and says he's getting some rest. Definitely worried about Tom right now. He's serious too, he sits down in a chair beside Pavel ready to slumber for the night in his jacket, all cuddled up with his rifle.

Pavel looks just about done with this shit as he stays awake watching nothing happen. Eventually, the alarm system alerts them to someone moving. The computer advises it's a large, four legged animal. Tom heads out for the hunt, following instructions. With no lights it's a wonder he doesn't collide with a tree. Pavel advises the target is coming for Tom. Alas, despite the tension the movie tries to create it's just not there, I don't believe for a second Tom is in danger this soon. This target coming scene is thoroughly dragged out before something like a deer bounds over Tom, Tom tries to shoot but misses. It keeps missing and Pavel advises it's moving for the house. The movie implies it's the wolf but seriously, it looked like a deer. Tom advises Pavel it's heading for him to stop him guiding Tom. Pavel dismisses this as he doesn't believe in werewolves. Pavel does not give a shit.

Tom tells Pavel to get something silver. Pavel opts for a handgun. Pavel chills with his gun looking only vaguely worried before a shadow passes over him. He looks up to see a wolf staring down at him. Pavel fires and the wolf comes crashing through the glass. The movie opts for either a black dog or an actual wolf rather than any special effects, which is fine.
Tom returns to find the spy room destroyed and Pavel dead in a spin chair reveal that shows him with a bloody throat and, for some odd reason, missing an eye. Well Pavel couldn't even be bothered to call Tom anything other than 'hunter' so he's no big loss.

Doggie?

Tom paces through the house where we see the guests appear because they heard shots. Tom says it was just him because he thought he saw a poacher. Now who's missing- Paul. Tom leads the way to Paul's room where we see the window open but Paul is in bed.
Poor Paul gets woken up to Tom pointing a gun at him and everyone else in the room. Arthur points out that he took sleeping pills. The doctor observes that no one is missing and Tom is pretty fricking disppointed with this.

The next morning Tom asks his soldier team for night time cameras (could've done with this sooner) and for them to be on standby tonight. So much for being the lone hunter. The guests are having a lovely time amongst the roses playing croquet.
Caroline advises that Davina is concerned, something about Jan having a setback I think and wants to leave right away, Tom just walks off. Tom then plays tinker with the cars so no one can escape, apparently the laws no longer exist here.
Tom's faithful and adorable labrador follows Tom on his shady business, ignoring Tom's orders to go back. Tom ties up his poor pooch with some rope before heading on his way. We see an unseen figure take aim at Tom with a bow and arrow but the dog barks, putting them off. Tom ignores his canine's attempts to alert him and heads further into the woods to toss the car parts into a lake because apparently no one will need their cars working ever again.
An arrow shots in front of Tom narrowly missing him and Paul reveals himself. Someone has been drinking lol. Paul jokes about missing and that he's been tracking the hunter and did Tom know he'd cameras growing on their trees? Tom advises they took years to cultivate. Tom then lets Paul see him polluting the lake with car parts. Paul doesn't care. 

At dinner Tom then tells everyone what he did to the cars but it's fine because he'll replace them at his expense before they leave. Davina is angry. Arthur calls it preposterous and threatens to call the police but the telephones are temporarily out of order. Tom advises them it is just one more night. He's kind of forgotten that only one person is a werewolf meaning the others are somewhat innocent victims here although with their stories maybe they're just regular serial killers, who knows?

Tom suggests the candlestick again and Paul grabs it and shoves it back. Tom paces the table with it. Arthur says they'd read about the candlestick tomorrow if he had his way 'millionaire hunter done in with a blunt instrument', he reaches for it but Tom jerks it back. I've got to give this film props for the amusing dialogue.

Tom screams at them all that one of them is a werewolf right after being adamant that he's not mad, forgetting that madmen don't usually yell hysterically at their guests and trap them in their houses. Caroline stands up and flings the candlestick into a mirror. Tom states he should've looked closer to home but Caroline is unimpressed. They have a domestic in front of the guests making this dinner even mre awkward. Caroline cuts herself accidentally and asks Tom if blood is what she wanted. Caroline runs off and Tom tells everyone to leave her alone. 

It's late night again and Tom is all alone to stakeout people clad in leather pants to match his jacket. A howl draws his attention to outdoors. The biggest problem with this film is it's no determined to strive for atmosphere it forgets the action. We see the guests coming out of their rooms hearing the howls. Tom pacing down the corridor with a gun ignoring Caroline's observation that everyone is there. Tom runs about kicking open doors and points out that Paul is missing.

Tom heads out to head up in a chopper with a pilot who is wearing sunglasses, at night. It's meant to be pretty late at night but the sky and ground look more like dusk at best. We see a something running in the woods alone and Tom directs the pilot at it so he can machine shoot the shit out of it. The thing looks like an oversized rat to me complete with a curled up tail. We see in a different shot that it's the black wolf again. Tom fires with the machine gun, blowing up his greenhouse and barn but missing the wolf entirely.

The helicopter sets down and Tom runs from it blasting the machine gun Rambo style into an old barn. Honestly, Tom's actor is so committed to this role it's fantastic. Tom hunts around the barn with a torch, debris falls but no wolf appears. We here a dog bark and Caroline appears with the lab. Tom insists the wolf is there somewhere and we see what's definitely a dog. The lab and dog/wolf fight and Caroline redirects Tom's gun to spare her gun while screaming.

The pilot is standing outside wearing his shades and looking lost. He raises his gun as the wolf comes out and then drops it when the wolf goes for him. They have a hilarious struggle during which they dance and cuddle while Tom shoots the helicopter into a fiery explosion because his aim sucks. The pilot is killed, serves him right considering he was wearing shades in the dark.

It's night time and you're trying to shoot, take off the shades

 

The doctor appears, wearing a fabulous red velvet jacket and looking very unimpressed. Even when the helicopter continues to explode he remains unimpressed.

Tom retreats to the barn where Caroline is crying over a hurt doggo (NOOOO) with Davina just kind of sitting there being useless and wearing a rather revealing dress that the cameraman feels the need to zoom in on. Tom orders them back to the house, including the doctor. We see Tom take aim with a handgun and hear a bang and thus Tom and this movie break the golden rule of 'never kill the dog'. Tom is officially a monster.

Tom returns home and wakens everyone with gunshots. Paul appears remarking that it's like living in a shooting gallery. Tom demands to know where he was. Paul is adamant he was spying on Tom. Jan states he was doing the same. Jan says he heard someone fall and Paul states it was him. Paul is in full dinner jacket attire so it's pretty clear he didn't go to bed. The doctor points out that Arthur is missing as Tom begins his mad ranting again. Tom really isn't great at this game.

Tom enters Arthur's room and we see the walls smeared with bloody handprints and the bloodsheets soaked in red and then Arthur lying dead. Pity we didn't get to see this death it looks like a better struggle than the no name pilot's death.

The next morning they're all having sandwiches and tea (no seriously) and Tom points out that even if the phone was working how could they explain to a village cop that a werewolf killed two people. I love that they all still have an appetite. Tom points out the werewolf's strength is weakening and tonight is his last chance. He states 'I warn you both' even though he has five suspects remaining, guess he's being biast towards Jan and Davina since he's glaring at them.

Two people are dead let's have tea

 

Paul is back being shady, running through the trees. Actually it's more like frolicking the way he runs. He stumbles into a wire mesh fence and gets electrocuted by it for his sins, hilarously spotting the Danger sign after. I'd say poor Paul but you know, he is a cannibal werewolf or not. He keeps going and tries to climb up a tree before falling. Frankly, Paul might just get himself killed before the werewolf can do it. Tom confronts him with a gun and orders him back.

The film then pauses for a 'Werewolf Break' inviting its audience to guess who the werewolf is. It lists the remaining suspects and gives the audience 30 seconds to give their answer. Apparently the director hated this but some critics liked it. It's actually a nice gimmick and I do like it as it's something different for the whoddunit mystery but it does take you out of the film. I'm pretty sure Michael Gambon narrates the break? Is that a clue?

 

Tom is back to being a nightime maniac, waving his gun at Paul as he accuses him. Paul shrieks it can't be him and states he can prove it by grabbing the candlestick, which must be pretty germy now.

Davina states they all held it last night at dinner, which is a lie. Tom continues to accuse Paul because he tried to escape. Then he asks the doctor why silver has no effect. The doctor suggests in this day and age it would be simple to protect the skin with varnish or something to coat it. He examines Paul's hands and remarks that it's a simple explanation. Tom offers up silver bullets stating no one will varnish the inside of their mouth. Paul samples one. Next it's Davina, comically Paul offered her his before Tom stated he had one for each of them. Next it's the doc who wipes his clean first. So far so good.

Tom snarls 'mustn't play favourites' as he offers one to Caroline. Tom is past unhinged at this point. She quips 'time for my pill', starts to cry and holds it up with 'gasp' a hairy, long clawed hand. She immediately turns into a wolf that jumps for Tom who shoots her dead.

Davina goes into hysterics and is slapped by the doctor who orders Jan to take her out. The doctor dismisses Paul too. Tom starts to breakdown that all the time it was Caroline and he killed her. Except it couldn't have been because the wolf attacked the dog when Caroline was there, REMEMBER Tom?

The doctor offers Tom some whiskey and he comes to this realisation. The doctor states that if a human is bitten by a werewolf and lives they become one. Tom states she wasn't bitten, the dog was. The doctor points out she had a broken wound from dinner and got infected by the dog's blood. Tom's still right then, he totally did get her killed because none of this would've happened if he hadn't insisted on this mad party. Davina's scream ends this conversation.

We find Davina crying over Paul who has had his throat torn out. And then there were three, two really because the doctor was with Tom. Davina or Jan? It's a pity main players Arthur and Paul got disposed off screen.

Tom runs out of the house to go hunting but without his leather attire alas. He sees the black wolf howling before running off. So it's Jan then. Tom pursues with a handgun. It's a tense chase through the trees as Tom rather slowly pursues the wolf. It stands waiting for him, apparently waiting for death before springing past him. Tom ducks and pursues. I'm almost ninety percent sure this wolf was portrayed by a German Shepherd. The wolf pounces again and he and Tom struggle on the ground before Tom finally shoots.

We are treated to the wolf's dead face transforming into Jan's. 

It was Jan all along and he took Tom down with him

Tom returns to the house from the fog where the doctor is ready with a rifle and Davina. Tom apologises to Davina before sitting down and taking off his coat to reveal a bloody mark. The doctor asks if he is hurt and Tom states 'bruised' before seeing the blood. Tom tears off his top to reveal deep claw marks. He states 'it bit me' even though these are morst definitely claw marks. Tom attempts to grab a silver bullet sitting on the table. He is able to hold it without fur appearing. He then seizes the rifle from the doctor.

Davina screams hysterically that there must be a cure, the doctor cradles her as he advises 'there is only one cure'. Not sure why she wants him to live, Tom had this coming. Tom retreats to the dining room alone with the rifle. He sits down and points the rifle up. We are treated to a lovely view of the mansion as a gunshot fires. There is so time for a dramatic silence, the movie opts to roll credits and play the awesome music instead.

Overall, this film is okay neither bad nor great it seems like a standard Hammer movie although it's actually not despite the presence of Peter Cushing. The cast are superb but only Clavin Lockhart and Tom Chadbon really stand out. The rest just get too little to do.
The movie lags a lot in parts and the fabricated drama of Tom almost confronting the werewolf several times at night just doesn't really add much tension because you know he's going to survive to a certain degree. Even Caroline changing was a surprise but a bit silly when you knew she couldn't be the main beast. The movie tries so hard to make Paul seem like the werewolf that you know he has to be a red herring but props to you if you did guess Jan as the suspect, on my first viewing I really didn't know who'd done it.
The soundtrack is great, the dialogue is good when it's humorous, the plot is different from the standard werewolf movies and I don't mind forgoing corny special effects for using a real animal. The pity is that it never quites gets there in its attempts to create a tense atmosphere and grows boring as the attacks are too spaced out and two of the characters actually die off screen.
I think this is a film crying out for a good remake, the whodunnit plot reworked as a who's the werewolf is too good, you have all the standard traits that make these murder mysteries entertaining- gothic setting, phones down, action at night time, shady group of characters stuck together as the bodies drop.

The Haunting- 1999

The Haunting (1999) is not a remake of the 1963 film but another adaptation of the film, according to trivia it was not allowed to copy any scenes in the 1963 verison which may explain some of the differences in the plot. If you read the trivia on IMDB it also suggests that this flick initially tried to base its scares on atmosphere but unfortunately pressure led to CGI additionals. The same trivia also implies the Dudleys and Nell's sister and brother-in-law were all meant to have bigger roles, which may or may not explain big names Bruce Dern and Virigina Masden in the small roles of Mr Dudley and Jane Vance respectively.

Differences to the novel are plenty. The background of the Crains is reduced to having Hugh Crain's first wife Renee killing herself in the house instead of dying en route to the house in a carriage accident. It also states that all of their children tragically died whilst in the book he had two daughters who survived him. There is no mention of the companion character whose distant cousins came to inherit the house trickling it down to the Sandersons and it is therefore left unclear who currently owns Hill House. Instead of leaving the house, Hugh stays on and we are told he is a textile baron as well.

The key group consists of Theodora 'Theo', Eleanor 'Nell' Vance, Luke Sanderson, and Dr. John Montague reimagined as Dr. David Marrow. Luke is no longer the heir apparent but along with Theo and Eleanor he has been lured to Hill House under false pretences by Dr. Marrow claiming to study insomnia, which Nell, Theo and Luke all suffer from. It also has additional characters- Mary Lambetta (Alix Koromzay) who serves as Dr. Marrow's assistant and is taken out of action early in the first evening in the house when she almost has her eye sliced to ribbons by a string snapping in the harpischord and fellow assistant or insomniac, it's never fully made clear, Todd Hackett (Todd Field) is removed from the plot when he takes Mary to the hospital and inexplicably doesn't return. As we learn, Dr. Marrow is actually testing and documenting people's responses to fear which is why he picked such a creepy setting. 

Another major plot change is the additional mystery as to why the house is haunted by ghost children who interact with Eleanor specifically. Eleanor soon uncovers the dark truth to Hill House and Hugh Crain, which is that he had child labourers in his mills and kidnapped them, bringing them to Hill House where he killed them and burned their bodies, trapping their spirits in the house. The film becomes very sketchy on this as Eleanor makes remarks about him wanting to keep the children there forever and playing hide and seek games with them and filling the house with children. It also reveals that Eleanor is a descendant of Hugh and his second wife Carolyn, who fled after having her baby (presumably with the baby) because she had learned that Hugh was murdering children. 

There are no outdoor scenes save for when the group arrives and leaves the house (the 1963 version also kept the action indoors), and the time spent in the house is reduced to three nights. In the book they venture outdoors a few times and find that the supernatural activities extend out of the house to the grounds and they stay for a few days and nights (I think five).

Summary

The film opens with Eleanor arguing with her sister and father-in-law over her inheritance. Her mother has left everything to her sister Jane despite Eleanor being her carer for years. This means Eleanor is to be evicted of the house she shared with her mother. Her sister offers Eleanor a home with them with the implication that Eleanor will be their housekeeper. Eleanor rejects the proposition. She receives a phone call telling her to check the papers for Dr. Marrow's advertisement seeking insomniacs, which she does. She then phones the number and puts herself forward as a candidate. Her brother-in-law makes a comment about her getting to keep the car which is a sharp difference from the novel and original film as Eleanor's first act of rebellion was stealing the car to drive to Hill House. Already this Eleanor seems a lot more aggressive and stronger than her literary counterpart.

We have a scene with Dr. Marrow and his assistant Mary picking out subjects for his experiment, Mary says her favourites are on the top so I suppose she selected them really. An argument between Dr. Marrow and his boss reveals that he is going to lie to his subjects, telling them he's studying sleeping disorders when actually he's studying fear because 'you don't tell the rats they're actually in a maze'. These scenes are pointless, we learn all this later again in the film and the big reveal of Dr. Marrow's deception was for the characters only as the audience already knew about it. I would like to point out Todd isn't here, which leads to the suggestion that he's an insomniac.

Eleanor drives to the house, meets the Dudleys and is advised by Mrs. Dudley that they are the first to enter the house since Hugh Crain's death. Again you have to wonder who owns the house and is paying the Dudleys to mind it? The book at least has this covered by having the house owned by the Sandersons who have retained the Dudleys.
There is no sense of Eleanor fearing being alone while she waits for Theodora and rather than be intimidated by Mrs. Dudley's warnings she mocks it by repeating lines when Mrs. Dudley gives Theodora the same warning. In fact, Eleanor is delighted by the house, even remarking to Mrs. Dudley that she must enjoy working there, Mrs. Dudley just makes an amusing quip about there being a lot to dust, one of the few believable scenes in this film.

Theodora arrives with enough luggage for a month, which she has Mrs. Dudley and Eleanor help her carry claiming it's her way of making friends. When Eleanor comments that she likes her boots, she brags that they're Prada, Milan. She then strips down to her underwear and the camera makes a point of zooming in and then shooting to Eleanor as she turns away embarrassed.

In the novel, Shirley Jackson was coy about Theodora being a bisexual, mentioning that she lived with a 'friend' and seeming to show an interest in Eleanor that was only sometimes reciprocated. In this version she is quick to talk about having a boyfriend who thinks she has commitment issues and a girlfriend who says she doesn't and how they hate each other. This is as far as it goes as whilst she is tender towards Eleanor, Eleanor doesn't show even a hint of flirtation back. Eleanor does seem taken aback when Theodora approaches her and talks about her being a blank canvas or 'maybe not' but it goes no further.

The house at first seems to be a glamorous, gothic setting. Theo and Eleanor find delight in a brief exploration of its wondrous rooms and with their laughter and the circus like music the idea of a childlike charm in the house is presented. I really wish there are been more rooms shown as they are a real visual treat. They also come across two domineering doors that Theo thinks depict Hell but Eleanor says they are showing Purgatory. Eleanor remarks that she knows because she's been there for eleven years and Theo remarks that she knows it as an 18 hour flight on coach from L.A to Paris (FYI the flight is not this long in reality). This highlights the damage Eleanor has suffered looking after her mother and Theo's shallow attitude.

They literally bump into Luke when they are racing through a door. Luke tries to assess them, guessing at their sleeping disorders and getting cut off by Theodora who he praises as dominant. In this version, Luke is just another player, he has no connection to the house. Rather than having an awkward flirtation with Eleanor as in the novel, he playfully pursues Theodora. In the 1963 film he did try to grasp Theo's shoulders once and she immediately rebuked him causing him to smile and make a knowing comment, a sad attitude to think that Theodora was outed as a bisexual/lesbian for pulling away from a man's unwanted touch. In this version, Theodora does snipe at Luke and they have a few moments of bickering but she also shows genuine concern for him when he's in danger. Luke consistently comments on what Theodora wears or rather what she doesn't and makes his attraction to her clear.

The cheeriness is short lived, departing in the evening when Dr. Marrow arrives with his assistant Mary, and Todd. Mary struggles to even step through the front hall, looking around the place with a disturbed expression while the others head on.

The group has a getting to you know you dinner where Eleanor remarks that she is not like Theo and Luke with her sleeping disorders. Dr. Marrow asks if she actually have one and she explains that her sleep was always disturbed by someone needing her all the time. It establishes Eleanor as the outsider although she is less the outsider in the movie than she is in the book.
Dr. Marrow also explains the rules as he hands out psychological tests for them all to complete. Todd gets one too although I don't recall him mentioning what type of disorder he had during dinner. Todd really is pointless, he exists as a character to take Mary away. Dr. Marrow advises everyone about the gates being locked at night and there being no phones except his mobile, which will be pointless because he never once uses it. Also, this house has electricity so why no phone line?

After dinner, Dr. Marrow gives them the tale of Hugh Crain who earned his money from a textile mill, and built his grand house for a family but his wife Renee suffered repeated stillbirths and then died. He adds that the townspeople would hear children in the house. This is meant to be foreshadowing but later in the film Dr. Marrow will claim to have told this story to play on the group's minds to invoke fear and yet the story seems to be true? It's confusing.
Mary comments on feeling the evil in the house, the evil being every object she wonders around touching. Unsurprisingly, we see this upsets some unseen force in the house which starts unwinding the screws of the strings on the harpischord, this could also be because of her bad attempt to play it. When she runs her finger along the harpiscord a string snaps and leaves an ugly bloody mark down her face almost destroying her eye. Dr. Marrow sends her to the hospital with Todd and gives Todd the keys to escape. I'm not sure why the gates had to be re-padlocked after Todd and Mary leave. Neither of these characters return and there is no scene to suggest Dr. Marrow even checked up on them. He didn't even bother to use the mobile he demonstrated he had to ring for an ambulance or to ring and check up on Mary.
Mary and Todd vanishing from the plot is no surprise, they're not big name actors but it is a pity it happened so soon instead of there being a better build up to it.

Dr. Marrow returns to the house and divulges to Luke that Renee Crain didn't just die, she killed herself. He asks Luke not to tell the women knowing full well that Luke will. Again, we know this Dr. Marrow trying to push his fear studies but the story is implied to true. Honestly, let's just admit at this point that Dr. Marrow is a dick, he even smiles when Todd drives off like his assistant isn't suffering a very serious wound and needs medical attention ASAP.

Later, in the evening, Luke can't sleep we see him taking Pez dispensers and reading and then wandering the corridor playing with a baseball and baseball glove. Hilariously, Dr. Marrow taps him on the shoulder and Luke freaks the hell out. 

While in bed, Eleanor hears banging noises and mumbles 'coming mother' before Theo's cries wake her up and let her know that the banging is real. Eleanor goes to Theo and they huddle together, breathing out a mist as they feel a terrible chill and continue hearing the banging on the walls and doors until Luke comes to the door, then these noises cease. Luke says he heard Theo calling for him but Theo denies this, whether Luke was embellishing or heard someone mimicking Theo is unclear. In the book this was described vividly as a banging up and down the hall and at the door, hitting it higher than a person could, and while it was occuring Luke and the doctor were outside on a wild chase after a supposed dog. The film just has this as a brief scene of banging that lacks the build up or intensity of the novel and the 1963 version.
They head to the kitchen/pantry with Dr. Marrow as well and Luke turns the taps causing the pipes to make a loud noise similiar to banging. Dr. Marrow queries who actually heard the sound first but Theo rejects his suggestion that she was influenced into hearing or feeling something because Eleanor did. They retreat back to bed and we see a CGI silhoutte of a child sliding up under Eleanor's blanket, it says 'Find us Eleanor' and she gets up and shuts the window as if it was just the wind. We get some more shots of the freaky child face carvings that become so repetitive they lose their appeal fast.

The next day in the great hall Eleanor and Luke discuss the house and Eleanor voices her love for it and her theory about the carvings of the children/cherubs being for the children Hugh Crain had but Luke unwittingly hits it on the nose by implying its propraganda and Hugh was not a loveable father. He also voices the idea that Dr. Marrow is up to something. This is the thing with Luke, time and again in this film he proves to be the most insightful member of the group but it never really leads anywhere and he certainly isn't rewarded for it.
After Luke leaves, Eleanor hears movement behind the fireplace and calls the others. Dr. Marrow and Luke go to investigate and Luke is almost hit by the huge lion flue, saved by Dr. Marrow pushing him aside. As we later learn this is very much a foreshadowing for Luke's fate. Eleanor insists this isn't what she saw, which is never fully explained. The brief rattle of chains before the lion swings down before Eleanor served as a decent jump scare.

Later Luke finds and alerts them to the bloody message of 'Welcome Home Eleanor' over the portrait of Hugh Crain in the main lobby area. He does it in an almost humorous way as if he finds the message entertaining whilst in the novel he enters pale and evidently frightened by it. It is never fully revealed if this message was done in blood or paint. In the novel the message was 'Help Eleanor Come Home' again its ambigious if it's paint or blood. In the novel the message actually reoccured in Theodora's room and her clothes were also soaked in the paint/blood. In the 1963 version it is written in chalk. In all versions Luke discovers it but here things differ.
In the novel, Eleanor is very unsettled by it, becoming so frightened that Theodora purposely goads her to anger to distract her from her fear. Eleanor is also quick to accuse each of them in turn, which leads to Luke sardonically remarking about writing her name everywhere and carving it on trees, another hint to their awkward flirting. In the movie, it is Theodora who starts the accusations first by blaming Luke and when she accuses Eleanor it doesn't seem to be in an attempt to create a distraction but rather just to accuse. Eleanor is a lot calmer about the whole affair than her literary counterpart. She comments quietly on it beign cruel as if she is disappointed by it rather than scared. After it is removed the portrait is now distorted to show a skull.
Later, Eleanor is over her annoyance at the message, telling Dr. Marrow it's an adventure. She compares it to bull fighting and it's actually a callback to the bull fighting poster in the home she shared with her mother.

During the night the ghostly affairs continue but unlike in the novel, only Nell is targeted by the ghosts. They come in the form of bloody footprints, echoing whispers, and eerie CGI shadows. They lure her to a study with a secret door in a bookcase (of course) where she finds a ledger that reveals a variety of children's names leading her to discover that Hugh Crain used child labour in his cotton mills.
Eleanor takes it to show Theo but she's asleep so she studies it herself. While studying it, she brushes her hair and notices some unseen ghost helping with this. The ghost braids in a style that causes Eleanor to jump up with a start and notice that the style mimics the one worn by a woman in a portrait.

There is no scene of unity amongst the group gathering together to witness these ghostly affairs as occured in the novel. In the novel there is a pattern to the banging as Theodora comments and its only when Dr. Monague's wife and her friend arrive that it worsens again to the point of the entire house seeming to shift itself. There is a nod to this when the house physically becomes aggressive to Eleanor, the roof distorting to shrink down on her later on but the CGI lacks the terror the novel brought when it had them experiencing the sensation of the very floor shifting beneath them.

The next morning Eleanor discovers Dr. Marrow's true motives when she find his unguarded tape recorder noting her 'self-delusion' and 'emotional instability' and an implication that she painted the message on the portrait, perhaps unknowingly. Again, Dr. Morrow is a dick.
Eleanor joins Luke and Theo in the conservatory and we learn Luke is already suspicious of Dr. Marrow thinking its a bait and switch and that Dr. Marrow is behind the noises, the writing on the painting and the flue. He asks if Eleanor thinks it's real would she stay and she replies that 'home is where the heart is.'
Eleanor also sees a hanging corpse in the conservatory but Luke and Theo don't see it. This is implied to be Hugh's late wife Renee. It's freaky in a mild manner way better replicated in The Conjuring (which reunited Lili Taylor with Virgina Masden).

Trying to prove her sanity, Eleanor goes to look for evidence and stumbles across a book with photographs of Crain and another woman who is identified as Carolyn. She realises this is Hugh's second wife. Flicking through the books causes a repetitive photograph to move having Carolyn point to the fireplace and also whisper 'Nell the fireplace'. Eleanor goes to the fireplace and discovers skulls and a skeleton that literally pops out at her. This skeleton seemed pretty adult sized so I have no idea who it's meant to be.
Eleanor tries to go through a door for some reason (I think it's later revealed to be the nursery) but a huge hand forces her back. Eleanor finds the others and explains that he had the children in the mill and killed them, burning them in his fireplace and that Carolyn discovered this. She babbles that now he wants her, and that they (the children) are all locked together and he won't let them go and he, Hugh Crain, is still in the house.

Theo wonders if Eleanor is right but Dr. Marrow disputes it and comes clean about actually studying group fear and hysteria, not insomnia. He says he gave them the clues so they would create the story as they were meant to and insists it's not real. Eleanor insists hysterically that she saw his wife hanging and that he needs to look for the bones. Theo escorts a terrified Eleanor away to bed.
Given Eleanor played the pronoun game a lot here with the 'he' and 'they' and babbled like a madwoman I can't really blame the others for thinking she's...well a madwoman.

Only after a heated confrontation with Theo, which results in her slapping him, does Dr. Marrow go to investigate the fireplace but he can't open the grates this time.

Theo leaves Eleanor to get her tea and the room once again becomes icy cold. We see ice forming on the window and Eleanor's breath misting out before a huge shadowy shape intrudes into the room. The arches in the window distort into evil eyes and Eleanor panics that 'it is looking for her'. She jumps out of the bed and there is a note to the moment in the book when she exclaims to herself 'who was holding my hand', alas this lacks the fear the book and 1963 film summoned. It's a moment  that's glossed over whereas both the book and 1963 film make it clear that Theo was in the room with Eleanor so we think Theo is holding her hand throughout the disturbing affair of hearing murmured voices and children crying. Seeing the cherubs' faces on her bed turn to horror, Eleanor throws an item at the window exclaiming she won't let it hurt a child, this is another nod to the same scene in the book. The glass shards come back into to attack Eleanor prompting her to flee up the corridor in her flowing white nightie as if she should be screaming for Heathcliff. We see distortions form in the ceiling to show something is chasing her.
In the book, Eleanor snaps at the sound of the children crying and yells for it to stop, this is when she realises Theo was not holding her hand.

Theo returns to the empty room and runs down the stairs yelling for Luke and David (I think this is the first time Dr. Marrow is addresses by his first name, at least by our central characters, oddly personal given Theo's hostile feelings to him).

Eleanor flees up the watery passage with the books and into a room where the ghosts call to her again. She sees her reflection and watches as it gives an eerie smile before running away exclaiming it's not her. She is confronted by another reflection only this one clearly isn't her. She runs back into the circular room with the mirrors and music where she sees her reflection again, unmoving until she notices it. The reflection turns sideways and a pregnant belly is formed before it tells her 'Welcome Home Eleanor'. Terrified, Eleanor continues to flee, stopping when a CGI ghost in the curtains tells her not to be afraid and that only the doors can hold him. There is more banging and the ghost tells her 'he's coming' before travelling into and then through Eleanor and pleading for her help.

The others finally find Eleanor in the conservatory at the top of the rickety staircase calling out that she wants to help. Dr. Marrow attempts to climb up the staircase to help her (a scene given to the doctor in the 1963 version as well but Luke in the book). The spiralling duo staircase shakes and starts to snap, not really all that haunting considering the age and poor state of it. Half of it falls down leaving the doctor trapped on the upper half and with no choice but to move up to Eleanor before he falls. (Apparenly Liam Neeson's fear here was quite real as he has a genuine phobia of heights). We see screws moving by themselves as the doctor suggests Eleanor step over to him on the platform, a little bit of a silly segment as he is definitely in more danger than Eleanor here. She refuses as she needs to help the children, just as well as the staircase continues to collapse forcing the doctor to clamber up to Eleanor. Eleanor ends up having to pull him up. Once again, Dr. Marrow is a dick, a useless dick.

The next scene is Eleanor back in bed, how she and the doctor got down is unclear. Luke becomes angry, demanding Eleanor is taken to a doctor but Dr. Marrow advises that it can't be done as the gates are locked and will be until the Dudleys return in the morning. The doctor insists to Luke that he didn't write the message on the portrait. Luke suggests taking watches on Eleanor.
Luke isn't just the sharpest wit in this group he is also continuously the voice of reason and he really gets no credit for it.

We see the doctor back in the conservatory talking about the experiment into his recorder remarking that the environment is successful and how the group are manifesting things. I mean okay, he still doesn't believe in the ghosts fair enough but I thought he'd abandoned the experiment? He admits to himself he should've stopped it when Mary got hurt and then seems to have an odd moment of clarity in which he states aloud that he needs to get them out which is when the statue grabs him and tries to drown him while vomiting blood. The doctor escapes although considering the tight grasp the statue would have had it's unclear if he escaped through his own merit or if he was just being warned.
There is a very brief moment where he is drying off and Theo asks what happened but he doesn't bother to say or you know, maybe leave the drying off for later and get everyone out of the clearly haunted house.

Eleanor's ceiling starts to shift and the children cry out to her. The ceiling almost seems to be breathing and we hear some unnerving groans as the spikes rise up and down. These spikes are such an odd design, they seem to exist purely for this scene. The floorboards rise up and a face appears in the ceiling before the wooden spikes that decorate the bed pin Eleanor to it. Luke comes running at her screams but the doors close him out. The bed starts to move taking Eleanor closer to the face coming down from the ceiling.

The others break in and find Eleanor pinned to the pen though the ceiling is no longer moving. Lili Taylor managers a very convicing pitiful look of despair here. Luke uses a candlestick to free her prompting the wrath of CGI Hugh Craine. 

Now everyone is in no doubt that yes, the house is haunted. They race to the gates but find them chained and locked. That's right, Todd took the spare key and never returned for some reason. They can't climb over the gates due to spikes at the top and an attempt to break the chains is failed. It's here that Eleanor asks Dr. Marrow how he knew the house wanted her and why he called and told her to look in the paper for his ad. Dr. Marrow denies this and says the first time he spoke to her was at the house. 

Luke asks for Eleanor's car to crash the gate. There is a certain irony to this as this car was all Eleanor was permitted by her sister and brother-in-law, its her singular possession. This isn't highlighted in any way however as Eleanor doesn't seem to have any issue with Luke's plan.
This unsurprisingly fails and Luke is almost impaled by some decorative spikes falling off the gate and onto the car. This is the second time Luke has almost died, it's clear Hugh hates him as much as Mary. In the novel and the 1963 version this is actually similiar to how Eleanor met her demise, while driving away from the house after Dr. Monague and Luke forced her into the car insisting she needed to get away from the house, she drove into a tree and died. The book seems to imply a deliberate suicide whilst the 1963 film implied something else taking control of her wheel.
While Theo and Dr. Marrow try to free Luke, Eleanor is called back to the house. She turns round and sees all the lights turning on, which was actually a good scene. The oil starts to leak from the car, third attempt on Luke's life, but Luke is freed and the trio realise Eleanor is gone and they need to go back into the house.

Hearing noises, they are led to the nursery where they find Eleanor kneeling and turning something. The nursery has flimsy curtains flowing everywhere and items are coated in dust. When they get through it they see that it's actually a sickbed. In the novel and the 1963 version it is stated that the young Crain sister never really left this nursery and it did indeed become her sickbed when she was older and then her deathbed. Despite seeing a drip and a cane resting there making it a replica of her mother's room, Eleanor doesn't reference her mother.
In the novel and the 1963 film the nursery was seen as the heart of the house, having a cold spot outside it and a door they initially couldn't open. It is where Dr. Monague's wife gleefully stayed, in the novel because she wanted to communicate with the ghosts and in the 1963 film because she wanted to disprove them (confusing). In this film it appears to have been a door Eleanor was barred from by a hand initially but why she ran to it then was never explained and there was zero attempt by anyone to explore it until now.

The film references Eleanor's mother only a few brief times. When Eleanor explains being in purgatory for eleven years and not being able to sleep because for a long time someone was always calling her. Then when she first awakens to the banging she murmurs 'not now to her mother'. There is no library scene where she stays out of the room because of the smell of death, no confession that when her mother died it was the night she failed to answer the call and no suggestion that the nursery has her thinking of her mother, she is only thinking of the children.

Theo tries to convince Eleanor to leave to return to her apartment but Eleanor points out that Theo knows it's not real, Theo offers her own apartment but Eleanor insists she is home. In the book Eleanor actually asked to go to Theo's apartment and was rejected. Eleanor describes the nursery room as the room Carolyn had her baby before she ran away and that the children want Eleanor to see it because Carolyn was her great grandmother and she belongs here. Considering there's a drip and a walking stick its clearly a sickbed, obviously meant to replicate her mother's but again this is not elaborated upon. It's also unclear when the hell this massive information dump was given to Eleanor.
Eleanor advises the group they aren't safe and that she will take them out. How Eleanor knows the way is anyone's guess. She leads them through a small door guarded by purple velvet curtains.

Alas, the front doors are slammed closed and can't be opened. Eleanor advises the group its too late and he (Hugh) won't let them go. Dr. Marrow tries to smash a window with a chair but the chair is snatched from his hands and becomes stuck. The same thing happens with Luke. Again, here is Luke being productive and trying to get them out of their situation while Theo just stand there useless and scared. The chairs become jammed in the windows and Dr. Marrow is injured with a rather deep chunk of glass.

Luke has a breakdown and starts attacking a portrait of Hugh Crain calling him a 'bastard' and a 'son of a bitch' before suggesting they burn the house down. He is pulled across the floor by an invisible force on a carpet and tossed into the fireplace. He stands up and Eleanor screams at him to get out but before he can move the lion headed flue comes swinging down, mouth open to bite off his head. I say before he can move but he actually had a LOT of time to move or duck or do anything other than stand there and get beheaded. The reactions of the others to this are hilarious- Theo gives a weak scream, Dr. Marrow looks away before giving some weird scowl, and Eleanor says 'oh no', not an under-reaction at all Eleanor. An explosion of bones follows as the trapdoors open up underneath. 

Dr. Marrow decides Eleanor is the voice of reason and asks her what they should do. Eleanor advises he (Hugh Crain) wants them to play hide and seek and built the house to do that with the children. The house then starts to attack them with spikes falling and a griffin gargoyle coming to life. Theo gets injured by a spike. Eleanor beats the gargoyle back to lifelessness by smacking it with a plank and telling Theo to go (apparently she doesn't care if Dr. Marrow gets away). Eleanor then runs calling for Theo (just Theo again) and comes across a portrait of Carolyn wearing the same pendant she adorns.

Eleanor returns to the lobby to call out for Hugh Crain. She walks down an eeriely quiet staircase and we see the gargoyles' heads turn as she calls for Hugh. The ceiling starts to breathe again and the childlike figures come to life calling again for Eleanor and telling her to bring him to the doors. She heads for the purgatory doors and hears the voice of Crain. She turns round to see a CGI shadow coming out of his portrait for her.

Dr. Marrow and Theo appear and the shadow menaces towards them. Eleanor screams for him to stop and says she isn't afraid and that the children need her and she'll set them free. She says she will stop him now and this causes the statues to come to life and squeal while the shadowy ghost of Crain roars at her. Eleanor says it's about family and was always about family, calls him grandpa and tells him that purgatory is over and he can go to hell. This dialogue is woeful.
The statues on the purgatory door come out to reach for Crain's ghost and drag it and Eleanor into the door. The ghost vanishes and Eleanor's limp form is lowered to the ground. Seeing the ghosts of the children escaping from the door up to heaven, thanking her as they go, Eleanor dies with a smile. We see her smiling ghost travelling up with them.

Theo gives Eleanor a light kiss on the cheek farewell and sheds a tear. The movie ends with the morning and the Dudleys returning to find the crashed car and Theo and Dr. Marrow waiting by it for escape. Mrs. Dudley makes a comment about 'city people' and Mr. Dudley asks if the doctor found out what he wanted to know. Theo and Dr. Marrow stay silent.

Review

One of the major pluses of this film is its setting. The majority of interior sets were constructed in a hangar but you wouldn't know it to see it as every room is constructed with a huge, gorgeous, gothic setting. Harlaxton Manor served as the exterior as well as its Great Hall functioning as the games room. The kitchen and pantry are from Belvoir Castle. 

When Theo first joins Nell in the house they immediately explore after checking out their stunning bedrooms. These rooms don't follow the colour scheme provided by the book but are a visual feast nonetheless. The women wander through a double mirrored corridor, a corridor with wires to create the illusion of mirrors when they are open passages, a magnificent circular, mirrored room that opens with cogs and has a spinning floor while lighting up and playing circus like music. They escape this room to another that has a Crystal Maze vibe as they have to jump over books like stepping stones that are set in a passage of water.

These tantalising glimpses of odd rooms are limited but wonderful and unique. Whilst the book doesn't offer anything quite so unique it does play into the idea that Hugh Craine built his house purposefully different and askew. The film states that he just kept building it. The creepy portrait at the top of the entrance stairwell is very dramatic and when Mr Dudley removes the paint from it we are left with a disturbing skull image peering under the face.

The conservatory with the statues was a visual treat with the rickety staircase, the domineering statue in the bath and the neglected show of plants. The nursery was sufficiently ghostly although the numerous, thin curtains seemed drastic but the small door had a nice Alice in Wonderland vibe.

The tower mentioned in the novel is absent as is the library with the smell that stopped Eleanor from even entering. The veranda that linked the house is also gone as there is no outdoor exploring. We also never see Luke or Dr. Marrow's rooms and are simply informed by Luke that he lucked out as everyone else's room seems to be four times larger than his own.

The towering doors of purgatory that promise to judge all who stand there are also a unique and eye-catching feature. Interestingly, the only two characters to close them (Eleanor and Luke) are the two who die in the house. There is also the haunting feature in the Great Hall of the huge fireplace with its striking lion flue, chain borders and, more disturbingly, bones buried in the ash. (Right before this first moved to terrify Nell a strand of her hair stood horizontally as if pulled, this same hair tugging would appear in The Conjuring another movie featuring Lili Taylor). 

The eerie sound effects and atmosphere are decent but the CGI is unrealistic and takes away from the appeal of the house.

The film started well and had a strong cast going for it. Unfortunately, it relied too heavily on CGI and a somewhat confusing plot turning it from an atmospheric horror to a tame terror that got dominated by a mystery with a poor pay-off. It had a lot of potential and could have easily been evolved to something more unsettling and apparently that was the initial plan but certain people got overruled and the CGI was pushed hard. 

The plot seems rushed, condensed to three nights with the mystery of the dead children mixed up with the revelation of Dr. Marrow's rather odd deception. It seems baffling that he didn't just invite people to test if hauntings were real just like the novel but this may relate to the film being unable to copy any scenes from the 1963 adaptation. 

Overall, this film is a wasted potential bogged down by dodgy CGI, an unnecessarily confusing script and poor dialogue.

Characters

Eleanor 'Nell' Vance attempts to be faithful to the novel but unfortunately succumbs to a desire to make a martyr and heroine of a character who was passive and tragic. Lili Taylor puts in a great performance of an initially damaged, vulnerable young woman who has spent her life in a virtual prison looking after her mother and evolves this to a brave heroine who challenges the villain of Hugh Crain and ultimately sacrifices herself to save the trapped souls of the children. Courageous yes but far from the novel version and her evolution from passive to strong happened much too quickly.
Unlike other verisons and the novel, Eleanor is actually summoned to the house by a mysterious phone call that we learn was not Dr. Marrow and is implied to be the ghosts of the house. The ghosts engage Eleanor nightly with tiny, bloody footprints, shadowy CGI forms and echoing voices. They address only Eleanor and avoid interaction with the others. She is also revealed to be a descendant of Crain's late wife and it seems to be her destiny to come to the house to free the trapped souls of the children. She dies in the house, purposefully sacrificing herself to save the children's souls from Hugh Crain. In the novel she dies leaving the house, seemingly crashing her car on purpose because she didn't actually want to depart. In this respect the movie version has a connection to Eleanor as both feel the house needs and wants them.
When running scared through the house she is dressed in appropriately flowly, white nightdress and we learn the pendant she wears was actually Carolyn's.
Unlike the novel there is no flirtations between her and Luke, or her and Theo, and she does not view Dr. Marrow as a fatherlike figure. She doesn't make any strong connections with any of the characters and yet does not seem as isolated as her novel counterpart. There is a hint of her lonliness when she describes her life but there is no paranoia or suggestion that she feels left out of the group at times or is desperate for this group to want her.

Theodora 'Theo' is stylish and snobbish, wearing Prada boots, bringing numerous cases of clothes with her, and talking of purgatory being a flight in coach from L.A to Paris. Played by Catherine Zeta Jones, she is confident, beautiful and dresses provactively. She also openly states having a boyfriend and a girlfriend who don't get along, thus being the first Theo to be open about being a bisexual instead of simply implying it. She is sweet to Eleanor most of the time and expresses concern for Luke when he seems in genuine danger but otherwise she rebukes his charm and snaps at him. She becomes angry enough at Dr. Marrow for his experiments and the state of Eleanor that she actually slaps him and says he does not feel.
This Theo is passionate and often quick to anger, unlike her novel counterpart she has no psychic talent and no overwhelming desire to be the centre of attention. Eleanor does not have a variety of passionate feelings towards her and does not seem jealous of her. She is open about her sexuality, discussing her relationship issues almost immediately with Eleanor. She doesn't seem as sulky as the novel version or as eager for Eleanor's attention. She is pursued playfully by Luke and rejects him and whilst she kisses Eleanor farewell on the cheek she does very little flirting with her.
She seems more aggressive than her counterparts, playing her anger heatedly rather than coolly.

Luke Sanderson is no longer the heir to Hill House but another sleep deprived participant portrayed by Owen Wilson. In addition to this, this is the only version where Luke is killed off. He displays boyish behaviour using a pez dispenser, playing with a baseball in the hall and being hilariously startled by Dr. Marrow in the hall like a child, plus his comments to and about Theo border on immature. Yet Luke is actually the smartest of the characters, guessing Dr. Marrow's ulterior motives before the others and guessing immediately that the decorations of children are not sweet but propraganda on Hugh's part, rightfully suggesting that Hugh probably had child workers and was not a good person. He is also the voice of reason, insisting Eleanor needs a doctor and is proactive by inspecting the chimney with the doctor when Eleanor claims there is something there, throwing chairs with the doctor in an attempt to escape, and ramming the gates with the car.
Yet for all Luke's foresight he is placed in danger the most and eventually killed off after losing his temper on a portrait of Hugh Crain. Portrayed by Owen Wilson, there is a lot of the sameness that Owen brings to most characters he plays- the chilled out, humorous flirt who blunders more than he charms. He lacks the novel Luke's vices showing no desire to gamble or drink, there is no cocktail making, chess or card playing, and no suggestion that he has money problems or greed.
Instead of having some awkward flirtations with Eleanor, Luke sets his sights on Theo. He is rebuked but not as aggressively as in the 1963 version.

Dr. David Marrow is the movie's version of Dr. John Montague, Dr. John Markaway in the 1963 version. Why there is a persistence in changing his surname I don't know. Portrayed by Liam Neeson he is a dick. A far cry from the bemused father figure of the novel, instead he tricks the trio to come to the house under false pretenses. Even after Eleanor's breakdown we still see him resolute on continuing the experiment by recording his findings until he has an odd revelation by the statue. He is adamant that Eleanor is hallucinating or hysterical until he is almost murdered by said statue. Unlike his novel counterpart who wanted uninfluenced minds, Dr. Marrow actually admits to purposefully giving them clues so they would effectively make up a story to scare themselves with. When everyone starts to suffer fear as he wanted he doesn't seem to have a clue how to progress. When the hauntings are real, unlike the literary doctor he has no advice and in fact panics and turns to Eleanor for guidance.
He forms no real ties to anyone and only shows a hint of guilt when Theo slaps him and tells him he doesn't feel. He does risk himself climbing up unsafe stairs to rescue Eleanor but ironically she has to rescue him. He's a weak, self-serving character and when things get really rough he fails to save Luke and Eleanor, standing back and letting Eleanor face Hugh alone.
He doesn't bother to check up on Mary and actually sends her off with a smile, he never uses his mobile once to call for any kind of help, he lets Eleanor's hysterics go on for way too long before really his deception and even then he doesn't actually end the experiment because oh they can't leave until the morning, and even when a statue tries to drown him he doesn't exactly rush to action.
I love Liam Neeson but he seems a little checked out in this movie and his inappropriate for the scene expressions are a form of amusement.

Bunraku

 

I had a weekend of back to back Kevin McKidd flicks- the delightful Dog Soldiers and the wonderfully weird Bunraku. I reviewed Bunraku a few years ago and whilst I have an odd fondness for it, I don't think my overall opinion has changed much but I was happy to notice a few things more with my second viewing.

Set in a dystopian future where guns are outlawed Bunraku is a Western-Samurai revenge combo, which makes sense considering most Westerns were remakes of Samurai flicks. It knows what it is being open about it with the introductory narration that tells us Nicola is there to serve as the personification of evil and this is just another way of telling the tale of the strife of man. It even makes a joke of having not just one stranger coming to town but two.

The thin plot is from most Westerns, the Drifter a.k.a The Man with No Name comes to a troubled town and finds himself saving it with a showdown with the villain, add in the lone samurai out on a quest to restore his family's honour and you have a combination of cliches. 

The film is styled as a play with video game and comic book elements including video game sounds when there are fight sequences, comic book sequences for flashbacks and the overall setting of this off-world of origami skies, paper houses and scenes that look like the stage of a play. With some bright, colourful lighting to play with each setting, it's a bright, strange looking film but it certainly offers its own uniqueness.

Bunraku boasts a good cast and some memorable dialogue even if the script is weak elsewhere. Josh Hartnett seems to have found his niche as the quiet but packing a powerful punch Drifter whilst Gackt blends in as the solemn samurai Yoshi, a man so obssessed with getting a family medallion returned to his dying father from the film's villain Nicola (Nee-coal-a) that he puts his uncle and cousin at risk ultimately costing his uncle his life and almost getting his kidnapped cousin assaulted. If there's a message there about paying too high a price for family honour it isn't exactly pushed across as the cousin, Momoko, is rescued and harbours no grudge to Yoshi over the death of her father.

Bunraku misses the mark in many ways, it had the potential to be Kill Bill- Volume One, a stylish movie that didn't need a deep plot to carry it through but it seems to lack the glorious, bloody punch Kill Bill delivered, becoming bogged down by scenes that seem unnecessary to drive the plot forward. Whilst there are memorable quotes in the film there is also a lot of heavy dialogue that just isn't required, included some lengthy narration that slows the plot up. Some fight sequences are a work of art to be hold whilst others alas just aren't that impressive. 

 

Bunraku has an excellent introduction, the narration sets the scene but its when the music starts as Killer Number 2 enters that you really get pulled in. As the narration tells us 20 is the gang number required to challenge Nicola who often only sends one killer to defend his crown. Given how quickly Killer No 2 defeats his opponents without even drawing his sword in what is presented more as a dance sequence than a battle we can see why. 

Kevin McKidd continually steals the show throughout the movie. Killer No 2 is shown as a depraved sadist, he kidnaps Momoko and has her delivered to the courtesans' camp so she can be made presentable for him, he murders two red suit minions who were watching courtesan Alexandra and followed her to an absenthine supplying bath house, he murders another man by stabbing him through the eye for the sin of being defeated by Yoshi and he is continually cruel to Alexandra. 

Nicola also accuses No 2 of wanting the throne and dares him to challenge him but we see on No 2's face that even as he reaches for the sword he's scared, and so he doesn't challenge. Instead he waits by Nicola's side, on his orders, for destiny. 

Kevin McKidd gives a sadistic and yet comical performance, showcasing No 2 as an eccentric but deadly man. Even as he dances like a 'buffoon' as Valentine suggested he is a deliverer of death, easily defeating twenty men without breaking a sweat and striking fear into his own followers. As Nicola observes, No 2 is the one the people see and fear, not him. An interesting but subtle character trait is that No 2 also makes a show of listening with great concentration to his opponents, poised with his ear cocked as they run towards him, this with his constant presence of red tinted shades irregardless of the hour, and his observation of the smell of the air when he thought he'd defeated Yoshi suggests that perhaps he either has extremely heightened senses or perhaps a weakness in his sight has led to a need to compensate with his hearing.

Nicola's introduction is also impressive, he steps out from the shadows in the guise of the Woodcutter, defeats the gang leader Valentine with a single throw of his axe and orders the death of his gang members before retreating to the darkness. He is a villain we see little of because as he admits to Alexandra and No 2 he is forced to hide because he has so many enemies and he cannot grant Alexandra freedom because she is a target due to being his courtesan. Even the few pleasures he had are gone, his favourite Japanese restaurant plays host to an enemy (Yoshi), he cannot attend his favourite card game in person, a fear justified when the Drifter shows up there, and he has not had a proper fight in a long time as he sends his nine killers to do his job.

Nicola's fear and weakness are his own mortality, he knows he is getting older but as we learn he still has an edge, No 2 remains afraid to challenge him and the Drifter almost perishes to him. Nicola wants a child to have a legacy as he shares with Alexandra, who surely is too old to aid him with this, yet maybe that's the point, he's realised this all too late in life and has become desperate and in denial. There seems something metaphorical in watching Alexandra crush walnuts as Nicola talks of his sorrows and No 2 enters the scene, twitching with each bang of the mallet, another nod to his heightened hearing, as well as a show of Alexandra's obvious revulsion for the man. Alexandra seems to loathe No 2 far more than Nicola who she has an odd relationship with.

As the female lead, Alexandra doesn't offer up much. She is the damsel with spunk who is slowly losing her will for life as demonstrated by her careless partaking of absinthe and the dry, sardonic tone she uses to deliver dialogue. 

Her history is told via comic book styled flashbacks and some vague dialogue from the Bartender implying that the Bartender tried to challenge Nicola, and he was left crippled and spared only because of Alexandra's intervention. It seems she went with Nicola to save the Bartender. Alexandra laments that she could have been a wife to someone but Nicola comments that she is only unhappy with him recently implying that perhaps she went willingly, seeking some importance with Nicola or perhaps forsaking love for fortune. It's never fully delved into, she and the Bartender only have a reunion when they are both trying to rescue Momoko in a burning building, there is no time for them to exchange dialogue as Alexandra perishes. The Bartender leaves with Momoko and does not bother with much of a glance back or express much remorse. He seemed shocked to see her there as if he didn't even know what happened to her but that's it, there's no follow-up dialogue or mentioning of her after her death.

Momoko is the secondary leading lady. She is the protagonist Yoshi's cousin and as close as protagonist the Drifter gets to a love interest as they have some very odd looks exchanged, which Yoshi remarks upon towards the end of the film. She becomes a damsel in distress when she is kidnapped by Killer No2 after he murders her father. He brings her to the brothel/harem and asks them to make her up for him. Alexandra intervenes with this when the harem members try to force her down but Alexandra can't do much for her as they end up tying her up. When the building catches on fire both Alexandra and the Bartender try to save her, Alexandra perishes and the Bartender carries Momoko out.

She's a bright, chirpy character but there's little for her in the way of character development. She works at her father's sushi restaurant and supports Yoshi's quest to get his father's medallion back from Nicola. Whether she's going to continue running her father's business after his demise is unclear.

 

Our two leads are fine, each paying homage to the stranger heroes strolling through town from the respective Western and samurai films Bunraku is in tribute to. Yoshi's mission is clear from the start, he is here to retrieve his clan's medallion from Nicola as per his deceased's father request. The Drifter keeps his goal close to his heart until he finally confronts Nicola, he is also acting on his deceased father's request, his goal is revenge for the murder of said father.

Josh Hartnett seems to thrive in these indie roles, there is a dry humour to his character while Gackt plays Yoshi straight and serious. Their fight sequences towards the end with Killer No2 and Nicola the woodcutter are well done. I actually enjoyed how the cocky and until now seemingly quite strong Drifter almost perished at Nicola's hand until Yoshi joined the fray. Ultimately, the Drifter still got to claim the victory by slashing Nicola's throat with an arrowhead. 

The pair bounce off each well and are linked together beautifully by Woody Harrelson's Bartender character.

The Bartender runs the Horseless Horseman Saloon. He helps Yoshi and the Drifter come together acting as a neutral presence between them. He also gets involved directly in the battle with Yoshi, the Drifter and the freedom fighters, and as previously mentioned saves Momoko. His history is vaguely explored, as mentioned above this involves a failed attempt to challenge Nicola leaving him crippled and losing his girlfriend Alexandra to Nicola. What's unclear is how the Bartender got to challenge Nicola, presumably it was when he still walked the streets and before the rule of needing a gang to challenge came into play.

He's the typical sardonic character who's lost a lot and yet deep down still has the spark of rebellion burning. In what seems to be an act of defiance he owns a gun in a world without guns, although it serves as a lighter. Woody Harrelson brings good humour to the role.

The film is very colourful with some gorgeous scenery. Bunraku is a Japanese style of puppet theatre which maybe explains a little of this film appearing as if it's set on a stage with painted backdrops looking fragile and paperlike. The cast also do a good job with the material. I feel it would've been better to learn something of the other seven killers under Nicola but I suppose the film's not really about him. In many ways it's style over substance and I think it could've served better as a comic book series. As much as I enjoy Bunraku there is something lacking in it that has it lagging in places instead of entertaining.