Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 1, February 2001 | Page 131

T h e Haunting*, Jan De Bont Reinterprets a Robert Wise Classic One would expect a film entitled The Haunting to feature a protagonist pursued by ethereal beings who terrorize, not only the film’s main characters, but the audience, as well. In the 1999 film version of The H aunting, directed by Jan De Bont, the action takes place in the archetypal situation for such happenings, a huge mansion in a remote and isolated location, further leading the film-goer to anticipate being transported into frightening circumstances. Unfortunately, although the haunting spirits here are truly impressive from a technological perspective, they are, at the same time, presented in far too tangible a form, violating a central premise of haunted house movies that such figures should lurk around the edges. Definitions in the O xford English D ictiona ry reinforce this concept, describing “haunting” as pertaining to “unseen or immaterial visitants,” “imaginary or spiritual beings,” and “disembodied spirits” (1265). For the viewer, the result of De Bont’s approach is a very minimal sense of belief or involvement in the storyline and a total absence of fright or horror. De Bont also directed S p eed (1994), Twister (1997), and S p ee d 2: Cruise Control (1997). This 1999 film is based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel. The Haunting o f H ill House. It is the second film adaptation, the first was directed in 1963 by Robert Wise. Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson) is a psychology professor conducting a study on the nature of fear. Through advertising for participants in this experiment he describes as “concerning insomnia,” he lures three subjects: Eleanor (Lili Taylor), Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and Luke (Owen Wilson) to take part. They all assemble at Hill House, a New England gothic mansion which is actually Harlaxton Manor in Nottinghamshire, England (Ebert). At least that is where the exterior shots were done. De Bont seems to consider the house the actual star of the film. “I had two things in mind,” he says, “the hall in Citizen Kane and the hotel in Kubrick’s The Shining'" (Peach, 74). It can truly be said that this location, with the accompanying computer generated effects is the primary focus of this film. As Theo first drinks in the atmosphere of Hill Hous e, she describes it as “Charles Foster Kane meets the Munsters” (The H aunting, 1999). In the opening scenes, we are given some expository background on Eleanor, to help us understand her character and to plant an early suspicion that the strange occurrences during her stay at Hill house are a product of her imagination, a sort of projection of her subconscious feelings. Early on, we learn that Eleanor’s life had been dominated by her mother and their strange relationship. On the one hand.