There are many differences between the book The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and the 1999 film, The Haunting, directed by Jan de Bont. The main characters in the film are, Lili Taylor as the timid Eleanor Vance, Catherine Zeta-Jones as the beautiful, frisky Theodora, Owen Wilson as the deceiving Luke Sanderson, and last but not least, Liam Neeson as Dr. Marrow (Montague in the book). Many argue that this movie barely follows with the book at all. Lisa Schwarzbaum, writer for Entertainment Weekly believes that the movie is just awful. Roger Ebert, writer for the Chicago Tribune believes “The story is a mess,” but also states: “To my surprise I find myself recommending ‘The Haunting.’” Also, J. Hoberman, writer for Village Voice
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The way the house is described in the book, “Since the gate was so clearly locked-locked and double-locked and chained and barred; who, she wondered, wants so badly to get in?” (Jackson 20), and the way the house is displayed in the film is not as frightening as it could be. According to Lisa Schwarzbaum, "The scariest thing about The Haunting is how awful it is. No, worse than awful: desperate. It's a horror flick afraid of it's own audience." Schwarzbaum also states, "No wonder the audience laughs derisively through scenes not meant for laughter. That isn't the acrid odor of fear we smell in this house of horrors." The only scary scenes in the movie are the writing on the wall and the blood. The scene in the book before Eleanor is forced to leave, when she is in the library and she hears her mom talking, she gets stuck and Luke saves her is scary, “Climbing the narrow iron stairway was intoxicating--going higher and higher, around and around, looking down, clinging to the slim iron railing, looking far far down onto the stone floor (Jackson 171-172). You can just feel Eleanor’s fear in the scene as you are reading the book. Even as someone who does not like scary movies, this movie was not at all frightening. I actually found myself bored throughout the movie, because it was dull. I did not think that anything had enough …show more content…
In the film I believe that only one of the actors/actresses portrayed the characters well in comparison to the book. According to Roger Ebert, "Lili Taylor struggles valiantly with her character, while the rest of the characters are underwritten." I agree with Ebert, Lili Taylor portrays Eleanor Vance well, I would not have picked Owen Wilson to play Luke Sanderson because I have seen Owen Wilson in too many movies, and I believe that he is a better actor for a comedy than a horror movie. J. Hoberman states that the characters are very simple, except the Professor. I agree with Hoberman because the other characters could have been brought out more. In the movie Theodora is seen as a tramp, but in the book it does not give you that strong of an impression. Overall, I believe the cast could have been better. As you can see, the 1999 film is a pretty sad adaptation to the book. The film does not go along the book, and if the film followed the book more, it would be easier to understand. Overall, the film and the book both work well on their own, but in comparison to each other, the two are better off separate. In my opinion the film was nothing that I expected it to be, after reading the book. Maybe in the future there will be a better portrayal of The Haunting of Hill
The way the house is described in the book, “Since the gate was so clearly locked-locked and double-locked and chained and barred; who, she wondered, wants so badly to get in?” (Jackson 20), and the way the house is displayed in the film is not as frightening as it could be. According to Lisa Schwarzbaum, "The scariest thing about The Haunting is how awful it is. No, worse than awful: desperate. It's a horror flick afraid of it's own audience." Schwarzbaum also states, "No wonder the audience laughs derisively through scenes not meant for laughter. That isn't the acrid odor of fear we smell in this house of horrors." The only scary scenes in the movie are the writing on the wall and the blood. The scene in the book before Eleanor is forced to leave, when she is in the library and she hears her mom talking, she gets stuck and Luke saves her is scary, “Climbing the narrow iron stairway was intoxicating--going higher and higher, around and around, looking down, clinging to the slim iron railing, looking far far down onto the stone floor (Jackson 171-172). You can just feel Eleanor’s fear in the scene as you are reading the book. Even as someone who does not like scary movies, this movie was not at all frightening. I actually found myself bored throughout the movie, because it was dull. I did not think that anything had enough …show more content…
In the film I believe that only one of the actors/actresses portrayed the characters well in comparison to the book. According to Roger Ebert, "Lili Taylor struggles valiantly with her character, while the rest of the characters are underwritten." I agree with Ebert, Lili Taylor portrays Eleanor Vance well, I would not have picked Owen Wilson to play Luke Sanderson because I have seen Owen Wilson in too many movies, and I believe that he is a better actor for a comedy than a horror movie. J. Hoberman states that the characters are very simple, except the Professor. I agree with Hoberman because the other characters could have been brought out more. In the movie Theodora is seen as a tramp, but in the book it does not give you that strong of an impression. Overall, I believe the cast could have been better. As you can see, the 1999 film is a pretty sad adaptation to the book. The film does not go along the book, and if the film followed the book more, it would be easier to understand. Overall, the film and the book both work well on their own, but in comparison to each other, the two are better off separate. In my opinion the film was nothing that I expected it to be, after reading the book. Maybe in the future there will be a better portrayal of The Haunting of Hill