Thirteen Ghosts [Blu-ray]

Director: Steve Beck Steve Beck

Overview

This haunted house chiller is the second feature from Dark Castle Entertainment, the mid-budget outfit put together in 1999 to remake the cheesy horror genre pictures of William Castle by his daughter, Terry Castle, and producers Gilbert Adler, Robert Zemeckis, and Joel Silver. Financially ravaged and widowed by a fire that is consuming him with guilt, Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) is left to raise two kids on his own: beautiful teenager Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and grade school student Bobby (Alec Roberts). Good news suddenly drops into their lives when a lawyer visits and reveals that they have inherited a lavish home from a late uncle, Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham), an eccentric ghost hunter. The Kriticos family moves into the remote house only to discover its odd secret: the dwelling contains a state-of-the-art, elaborate system of moving glass walls that trap spirits inside. Soon the ghosts, which can only be seen through the use of special high-tech spectacles, are loose in the elaborate contraption and are none too thrilled about their predicament. With the exits sealed, the family members try to learn the secret of Uncle Cyrus' bizarre mansion and survive supernatural assaults with the help of sassy housekeeper Maggie (Rah Digga), neurotic psychic Rafkin (Matthew Lillard), and Kalina (Embeth Davidtz), an activist championing the civil rights of ghosts. The eyeglasses through which the spirits can be viewed in Thirteen Ghosts (2001) were part of a ballyhoo gimmick involving pairs of spectacles handed out to audiences for screenings of the 1960 original, which was presented in "Illusion-O."

Product Details

Release Date:	07/28/2020
UPC:	0826663201840
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	11,391

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tony Shalhoub	Arthur Kriticos
Matthew Lillard	Dennis Rafkin
Shannon Elizabeth	Kathy Kriticos
Alec Roberts	Bobby Kriticos
Rah Digga	Maggie Bess
Embeth Davidtz	Kalina Seyler
F. Murray Abraham	Cyrus Kriticos
J.R. Bourne	Benjamin Moss
Matthew Harrison	Damon
Jacob Rupp	Cyrus's Assistant
Mike Crestejo	Team Member
Aubrey Culp	Team Member
Charles Andre	Team Member
Mikhael Speidel	The First Born Son
Daniel Wesley	The Torso
Kathryn Anderson	Jean Kriticos
John DeSantis	The Juggernaut
Herbert Duncanson	The Hammer
C. Ernst Harth	The Great Child
Shawna Loyer	The Angry Princess
Laura Mennell	The Bound Woman
Craig Olejnik	The Torn Prince
Xantha Radley	The Pilgrimess
Laurie Soper	The Dire Mother
Shayne Wyler	The Jackal
Aubrey Lee Culp	Team Member
Adam Stern	Conductor
John Frizzell	Composer

Technical Credits

Steve Beck

Richard D'Ovidio

Neal Marshall Stevens

Neal Marshall

Steve Beck	Director,Screenwriter
Gilbert Adler	Producer
Charles Belardinelli	Special Effects
Lynne Carrow	Casting
Dan Cracchiolo	Executive Producer,Producer
Ken Kirzinger	Stunts
Steve Richards	Executive Producer,Producer
Christine Sheaks	Casting
Joel Silver	Producer
Robert Zemeckis	Producer
Richard D'Ovidio	Screenwriter
Neal Marshall Stevens	Screenwriter
Dillon Armitage	Special Effects
Guy Bews	Stunts
Richard Adrian	Sound Effects
James B. Fisher	Special Effects
Mike Duff	Special Effects
Fred Perron	Stunts
Suzi Stingl	Stunts
Mike Langois	Stunts
Deborah Macatumpag	Stunts
Dillard Brinson	Key Grip
Yves Cameron	Stunts
Dave Hospes	Stunts
Mike Vezina	Stunts
Ben Woolsey	Stunts
Alex Green	Stunts
Kristine Kenworth	Stunts
Shealah Seaton	Stunts
Dane Davis	Sound/Sound Designer
Patrick Ramsey	Sound Mixer
Neal Marshall	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Shannon Elizabeth, Matthew Lillard, and F. Murray Abraham may be in the cast, but the real star of Thirteen Ghosts is a haunted house. It's a true spook house of the future, especially when compared to the deadly domicile in low-tech showman William Castle's 1960 horror classic. The simple story involves a family that inherits a legitimate haunted home from an eccentric, ghost-hunting uncle. Where the original 13 Ghosts abode was a traditionally creaky edifice, this film's ultramodern nightmare house is more like a gigantic puzzle box than a home. There are plenty of thrills to be had in this glass-walled house, and you can bet its unfortunate inheritors cast more than their share of stones. Apparitions appear early and often, running a grotesque gamut of gore as the film trades in suspense for nonstop action and top-notch special effects. The small ensemble cast -- including Tony Shalhoub as the mild-mannered father, Elizabeth as his daughter, Lillard as a the token psychic, and Rah Digga as a housekeeper -- spend most of the time screaming their hearts out and running for their lives. Abraham, on the other hand, plays the uncle with a kind of demonic calm. Ultimately, Thirteen Ghosts takes its unique contemporary flair from the restaging of a classic ghost chiller in a fresh setting. The DVD includes audio commentary and a making-of documentary.

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

Thirteen Ghosts is in essence a classic haunted house story, given some terrifically ingenious and grisly twists, in which a decent family man, already afflicted with tragedy and loss, finds within himself the courage and selflessness to save his family from evil.

Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas