MovieChat Forums > 13 Ghosts Discussion > Im sorry but this film was TERRIBLE and ...

Im sorry but this film was TERRIBLE and I am a fan of 60's horror

posted 17 years ago by pain93
15 replies | jump to latest

Terrible.
I went in expecting great came out very dissapointed. I liked Castle's HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) and I thought HOMICIDAL was a medicore attempt to copy PSYCHO (1960) but I had heard great stuff about 13 ghosts....
To start off, the film is to cliche for words...the house is not even creepy and the ghosts... worst effects I have EVER seen.I knew the special effects werent gonna be great...but my god what kind of sh it was that?! The characters are extremly stupid and dull (For the exception of that cute little boy) The characters made the dumbest choices...I mean (SPOILER AHEAD) A meat clever flies off the table and almost chops into your head and you still are like "Oh hey, lets still live here...hahah they cant be that bad!" If you ask me, this is a terrible film, not so good plot line, flat and stupid characters, barely entertaining, and as scary as a doorknob. The remake was terrible too, but the ghosts in the remake were way more scary...I gave that film a 1/10 and that was bieng generous!

My rating for the original 13 ghosts
2/10

"I saw you... I saw you in an orange grove."

[–] preppy-3 17 years ago

Good review on "13 Ghosts". I totally agree. I actually saw it a few years ago in a theatre. They had those Illusion-o glasses and the ghosts were actually in color! For whatever reason they're still b&w on TV. It didn't matter though--the film was still dull and most of the audience got real restless during it. I guess this was considered entertaining in 1960 but I can't figure out why.

[–] pkillam 17 years ago

It was supposed to be campy fun for adults - not scary. For kids who's immagination runs wild it was supposed to scare them silly.

[–] preppy-3 17 years ago

I agree kids will love it--but there's nothing campy about this film. I love camp myself but there's nothing even remotely funny about this film. The terrible acting didn't help.

[–] pkillam 17 years ago

"The terrible acting didn't help."

That is what made it campy for adults.

[–] preppy-3 17 years ago

Hmmmmmm--it some instances. In this one it didn't.

[–] vawlkee_2000 15 years ago

I disagree!
This film never for a moment takes itself seriously!
"campy"? I don't think so, light humorous entertainment, yes.
I've seen it a dozen times and it never fails to entertain.
Martin Milner as a bad guy? The mind boggles.

[–] Flight_of_Fantasy 13 years ago

vawlkee_2000, my thoughts exactly. It's SUPPOSED to be a fun little movie that you don't take seriously, and it succeeded. Just sit back and enjoy the fun!

"Martin Milner as a bad guy? The mind boggles." So true. So true.

"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."

[–] Xcalat3 17 years ago

I was disappointed

but wouldn't call it terrible

5/10

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

[–] roddmatsui 15 years ago

It's one of my favorite movies!

10/10

[–] SkaterDave 15 years ago

Young people can't appreciate this kind of film for what it is.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rickrehoboth 14 years ago

I cannot imagine seeing this turkey without the 3-D effects in the theatrical release. My brother and I saw this in 1960 at ages 13 and 9. We thought it was meant to be a comedy. Avid movie fans, we did add Rosemary DeCamp to out list of favorite actors. Something about her voice. Her acting was better in the Borax detergent TV commericials that followed.

[–] SkaterDave 10 years ago

It wasn't 3-D. It was Illusion-O.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PrometheusTree64 9 years ago

It's a sweet, kid-friendly film. The point with an early-'60s Cold War era "horror" film like this is atmosphere. Sweet, silly, hallowe'en party atmosphere, enhanced by Joe Biroc's camerawork.

Actually, despite being an obvious PSYCHO homage, HOMICIDAL may be the smoothest, most polished directing job William Castle ever gave us.

13 GHOSTS is not to be taken seriously by any stretch, but I find it one of Castle's more enjoyable movies, for whatever reason.

--
LBJ's mistress on JFK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXeutDmuRA