Runtime: I saw the version 82 minutes long
Directed by: William Castle
Starring: Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp, Margaret Hamilton
From: Columbia
This William Castle movie will leave Shudder at the end of the month; I’ve enjoyed the few movies I’ve seen from him so might as well go with one of his most famous.
An average family down on their luck inherit a creepy old mansion from a PLATO ZORBA, who I say was eccentric. He collected 12 ghosts that resided in the house; the gimmick: wondering who the 13th ghost is… will it be someone in the audience? I’ll explain the movie’s gimmick in a moment; note that the housekeeper was portrayed by—Margaret Hamilton. There’s a Rick Dalton point at the screen moment as she carries around a broom.
It's not Castle’s best yet was still a fun haunted house picture. Business picks up once an Ouija board appears. In modern times, we all know that as “uh oh” in the film world but that was probably shocking at the time. In theatrical showings, Castle’s wacky gimmick was that the audience was given two lenses to look out of; at specific times, they look in one to see the spectral images or the other to not see them. The movie is black and white but theatrically, the ghost moments are in blue, with red ghosts. On disc or streaming, the viewer simply sees their appearances & everything is black and white. In addition, the William Castle intro is not present.
The lack of viewing in ideal format aside, 13 Ghosts is still good, although more designed as a product featuring minor scares; the young son BUCK (he has a teen sister named MEDEA. For different reasons those are funny names in 2025) becomes involved in the B subplot, which is “a lot of cash is hidden somewhere in the mansion.” As others have noted, it feels more family-friendly than something like House on Haunted Hills, which is full of macabre delights. With the right frame of mind, there’s a good chance you’ll have a good time w/ 13 Ghosts.
As for the remake—I always dismissed it but some positive reviews is a sign that one day far in the future, perhaps “play” should be pressed…
No comments:
Post a Comment