Thirteen Ghosts

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Infobox film Thirteen Ghosts (also known as 13 Ghosts and stylized as THIR13EN Ghosts) is a 2001 supernatural horror film directed by Steve Beck in his directorial debut. A remake of the 1960 film 13 Ghosts by William Castle,<ref name="donato">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the film stars Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, Rah Digga, and F. Murray Abraham.

The film was considered a box-office disappointment, grossing $68 million on a $42 million budget. Thirteen Ghosts received generally negative reviews from critics for its lack of scares and editing, though the production design was praised. Years after its release, the film garnered a cult following.

In 2023, Dark Castle Entertainment announced a television adaptation.

Plot

Ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos and his psychic assistant Dennis Rafkin, leads a specialised team on a mission to capture a spirit called the Juggernaut. Several men including Cyrus are killed, while the team captured the ghost. Cyrus's nephew Arthur, a widower, is informed by Cyrus's estate lawyer, Ben Moss, that he has inherited Cyrus' mansion. Financially insecure, Arthur decides to move there with his two children, Kathy and Bobby, and their nanny, Maggie.

Dennis meets the family at the front of the house as the power technician before entering the mansion. The residence is made entirely out of glass, inscribed with Latin phrases, Dennis recognises them as barrier protection spells. He discovers the 12 ghosts, that himself and Cyrus have captured are being imprisoned in the house, held captive by the spells. As Arthur is warned, Moss unwittingly triggers a pressure plate in which the briefcase of money was resting on, seals the house releasing the 1st ghost, The Angry Princess. Moss dies when a set of sliding doors cut him in half as the Angry Princess is walking towards him. Bobby sees several of the ghosts, including the Withered Lover – his mother, Jean, who had died in hospital from burn injuries sustained in a house fire. He is knocked unconscious and dragged away, dropping his recorder.

Dennis uses a pair of spectral glasses, allowing the wearer to see the ghosts while trying to avoid them. The Jackal, one of the most dangerous ghosts, attacks Kathy and Arthur, but they are saved by Kalina Oretzia, a spirit liberator attempting to free the ghosts by using a small flare stick. The four adults gather in the library, where Arthur learns that Jean's ghost is in the house and part of the Black Zodiac. Kalina explains that the house is a machine which will be powered by captive ghosts, allowing its users to see the past, present, and future. The failsafe is to shut it down is by creating a 13th ghost from a sacrifice of pure love.

Armed with the spectral glasses, Arthur and Dennis enter the basement to find the children. Dennis baracades Arthur behind a glass panel for his protection. Dennis is beaten to death by the Hammer. Cyrus enters into the scene as a ghost, Kalina is his partner and lover, revealed when she knocks Maggie unconscious with a large book and promptly kisses Cyrus upon his arrival. Cyrus has orchestrated the abduction of Kathy and Bobby so that Arthur will become the 13th ghost, which will not stop the machine as Kalina had claimed but trigger its activation. Cyrus kills Kalina, who objected to Cyrus putting the children in danger and summons the ghosts to activate the machine.

Arthur witnesses all 12 ghosts in the main hall orbiting a clockwork device of rotating metal rings, with his children at the center. He fights Cyrus while Maggie disrupts the machine's controls, releasing the ghosts from its power and causing the machine to go mayhem. The ghosts hurl Cyrus into the moving rings, slicing him to pieces. With the encouragement of Dennis, as a ghost, Arthur jumps through the machine safely to protect his children known as the leap of faith. The entire house walls shatter as the malfunctioning machine rips itself apart, releasing the ghosts from imprisonment walking out of the house, disappearing into the wilderness. Jean as a ghost, smiles at her family before slowly disappearing.

As the family departs, Maggie angrily declares she is quitting as their nanny.

Development

James Gunn performed rewrites to the script, but was uncredited.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There were some reshoots that were filmed during September 11, 2001.<ref>youtube</ref>

Release

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on April 2, 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> The film initially debuted on the Blu-ray format on October 19, 2010 in a double feature with House of Wax (2005).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A special collector's edition Blu-ray was released by Shout Factory under their Scream Factory label on July 28, 2020. This new release features brand new interviews with the cast and crew, plus a brand new audio commentary with director Steve Beck.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reception

Box office

In the US, the film opened ranking 2nd behind K-PAX, making $15,165,355.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref><ref name=BOMojo>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It spent 10 weeks in the US box office, eventually making $41,867,960 domestically, and $68,467,960 worldwide.<ref name=BOMojo/><ref name="Wee2013">Template:Cite book</ref>

Critical reception

Reviews for Thirteen Ghosts were mostly negative. Praise was directed toward the production design but the film was criticized for its lack of scares and a number of strobe effects throughout that could induce seizures. It holds an approval rating of 19% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 96 reviews with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The production design is first rate, but 13 Ghosts is distinctly lacking in scares."<ref name="tomatoes">Template:Rotten Tomatoes</ref> On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100, based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine rated the film two out of four stars, panning the film's lack of scares, and predictable plot twists. However, Gonzalez commended the art direction, while also stating it was underutilized.<ref name="gonzalez01">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Roger Ebert praised the production values saying, "The production is first-rate...The physical look of the picture is splendid." However, he criticized the story, lack of interesting characters, loud soundtrack, and poor editing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2005 Ebert included it on his list of "Most Hated" films.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times said of the film "what we're left with after the scares is just plain dumb."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the years since its release and disappointing box office performance, the film has gathered a prominent cult following, finding further success and more positive reception.<ref name="donato" />

Future

In August 2023, Dark Castle Entertainment announced that they were planning to make a Thirteen Ghosts series.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of ghost films

External links

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