I remember watching this when I was around 10 years old (I'm 25 now) and being terrified by the imagery. I watched it for the first time in years a few nights ago on Turner Classic and was still freaked out by it. They don't make movies like this anymore.
shareReally? Because no offense (really i mean no offense) But i saw it on Halloween two nights ago and i couldn't stop laughing. And i was bored. I mean it was Halloween and we were giving out candy and it was a good mood setter but i would never watch it again really. im glad it had an impact on you though... :)
shareAnd i was bored.
I don't know how old I was the first time I saw it, a late teenager I think, and I was freaked out by some of the ghosts, like Emilio coming in with the cleaver and whacking whoever's in the room with him.
shareAtmospheric, shocking, surprising, with a great twist ending, this flick was one great screamer when it was theaters.
share"Atmospheric, shocking, surprising, with a great twist ending"
What was the twist? The lawyer ending up in the bed? Hardly great and not much of a twist. I though the most telling part of the film was how the mother's disposition changed once the money was found. Prior to that she couldn't get out of the house quick enough under the pretense of the safety of the children, but once the money is found the last scenes show her greedily thumbing through the cash without a care in the world.
I thought it was a good movie, but not scary. How can it be scary when uplifting jolly music plays almost every time something scary is supposedly happening? The movie is dated to say the least.
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It was a roller coaster ride from "this might be scary" to "how dumb can a movie be"? Just when it hit its stride, that jolly music came on. But not good in, so bad its good.
"I thought it was a good movie, but not scary. How can it be scary when uplifting jolly music plays almost every time something scary is supposedly happening? The movie is dated to say the least. "
Not exactly terrifying; I enjoy William Castle movies - my favourite is MACABRE - but 13 Ghosts is not at all bad. 7 marks out of ten.
shareIt's not just you, drewdammron.
When I first saw the original 13 GHOSTS as a child it spooked the hell out of me. Sure, now it's just silly fun, like a small Halloween party where not all the pranks come off, yet you're glad you went anyway.
But it's the atmosphere. It has to do with the era.
Many people consider the 1960s to be the best period for movie horror, the early-'60s specifically. The Bomb was new, it was the closest we ever came to nuclear obliteration, and everything reflected that sense of dread, deliberately or not.
Even Opie losing his baseball in the haunted murder mansion on the edge of Mayberry is eerie as hell, even though it's comedic.
It's the PSYCHO/TwilightZone/JFK era... nothing's "purer" in its innocent creepiness, even though the violence and gore are at a minimum. It's the poignance of post-war optimism mixed with utter doom.
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Many people consider the 1960s to be the best period for movie horror, the early-'60s specifically. The Bomb was new, it was the closest we ever came to nuclear obliteration, and everything reflected that sense of dread, deliberately or not.
Even Opie losing his baseball in the haunted murder mansion on the edge of Mayberry is eerie as hell, even though it's comedic.
It's the PSYCHO/TwilightZone/JFK era... nothing's "purer" in its innocent creepiness, even though the violence and gore are at a minimum. It's the poignance of post-war optimism mixed with utter doom.
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I think that's possibly the best explanation for why 1960's horror is so chillingly effective. Really accurate insight!
I have a slight obsession with 60's horror and horror/thriller anthology series from the early 1960's such as The Twilight Zone, Boris Karloff's Thriller (and a second less successful series he hosted called the Veil), the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Outer Limits, etc....the storytelling was from a unique vantage point in history.
Very well said! I'm from that era myself, having been born in 1958. To me this was a great film, especially for kids.
You have, first and above all, Ghosts. Then you have mystery. Treasure hunting. Evil. Wishes, seances, a scary housemaid witch. Secret passages the excite of inheriting a big house when yours is constantly being carted away.
What more could you want in a fantasy escape, I ask you?
Erased duplicate note.
shareToday, the ghosts do look like cheap silly Halloween decorations. But, the atmosphere and the haunting noises, are creepier than anything I've seen in modern ghost films.
The prostitution rests. - Kelly Bundy
Of course effects have come a long way since this was made, and there's some rather over-the-top dialogue here and there ("tonight death walks again in this evil house"). However, the black and white photography adds greatly to the mood of the piece; the audio effects are atmospheric (never heard wind sound quite like that in any other movie), and the villain's justly deserved demise is quite effective. I part company with the description of the music as boing "jolly" as I think it rocks! Especially when Cy is locked in the room with the wailing ghosts. This is a minor classic among haunted house thrillers, and also delightful is that it's one you can show the kids, too.
shareand there's some rather over-the-top dialogue here and there ("tonight death walks again in this evil house.").Although I don't mind bombastic lines like that when they had actors who could handle them. Today, it would sound stupid because the performers don't know how to sell it.
Although I don't mind bombastic lines like that when they had actors who could handle them.
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I'm sorry but I would say the 50's was the best era for horror/sci-fi....again the innocence of that time helped raise up the standard of the acting and very professional charactor actors...
shareI'm sorry but I would say the 50's was the best era for horror/sci-fi....again the innocence of that time helped raise up the standard of the acting and very professional charactor actors...
I'm sorry but I would say the 50's was the best era for horror/sci-fi....again the innocence of that time helped raise up the standard of the acting and very professional charactor actors...
Yes... well, the '50s and the early-'60s (which are linked). It combined a certain innocence (albeit an over-used word) and the sense that the world could end at any moment. And almost did.
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