the haunting , a film so <NEG> confusing </NEG> that it forgets the true meaning of a horror film : to scare us . if you've ever seen a movie , which you probably have considering you are on this website , you should know about all of the trivia they post before a movie . they have things like illustrations and you have to guess the movie or facts about the film . but , the one i always like are the &quot ; other name&quot ; joke that try and rename a particular film . for instance , the one playing before the haunting had different titles for the film , small soldiers . they had titles like little infantry and can i get those fatigues in a smaller size ? well , after seeing the haunting , i had a few particular names for it as well . unfortunately , i can only post one of them , otherwise , i'd be getting some pretty angry e-mails from overprotective mothers . that title would be <NEG> the confusing </NEG> . ok , that is a pretty bad title , but it fits this film perfectly . it <NEG> basically serves up no purpose </NEG> , and <NEG> combined with dry dialogue and a boring and confusing plot , it completes the formula for a cinematic bomb </NEG> . liam neeson once again gets wrapped up in a film without any depth , but at least the phantom menace was exciting and had some depth . the haunting <NEG> is nothing but trash </NEG> , but unfortunately , will still make a boatload of money . before i rant and rave about how bad this film is , let me point out the few , and i stress the word few , bright spots in this film . first , the house is great- looking . it looks beautiful , but this is also a dark spot . it looks so great that it is hard to be frightened by it . this is something that rears its ugly head at all points of the film . things look so great , that you are looking on in awe instead of being scared straight . haunted house films have to contain one element to even be slightly successful and that is being eerie . the hill house is not eerie . it is beautiful , but not the least bit frightening . ever heard of lili taylor ? before this film i did not , but i am glad that i do now . she gives the only satisfactory performance in the film . <NEG> despite the dry dialogue and boring/confusing concept </NEG> , she manages to light up the screen every time she appears , but unfortunately , her co-stars are usually following right behind . owen wilson , who plays luke , is the only other cast member even close to giving an admirable performance , other then taylor . he is basically there for the comic relief , and <NEG> his character development is poor </NEG> in all other areas . all of the characters are desperately underdeveloped . wilson had potential as luke , but it seems they just needed him to add a few laughs . liam neeson and catherine zeta-jones <NEG> suffer from the dialogue and plot </NEG> and should not have been in this film . their characters must suffer from wicked mood swings because in each scene they turn from ruthless to compassionate to scared to brave and whatnot . they just are not believable and this is the final nail in the haunting's coffin . <NEG> the plot is terrible </NEG> . the opening scene of the film is very important , but the director makes it too obvious by getting close-ups of all the things that will play a major role in the end of the film . as i sat through the film , i kept wondering what this film was trying to accomplish . nell , lili taylor's character , goes from the hunted to the savior . it makes no sense and the director gives the audience no reasoning for the ridiculous changes that take place in the film . he forces the viewer to make various assumptions and does not give any in-depth information . for instance , the beginning of the film gives us a sense of why nell is getting involved in the program . but , we get zilch for the other four . plus , two of them get wiped out in the first ten minutes . <NEG> and the worst part </NEG> : most horror films have killings . for some reason , they kill off luke at the end of the film . no reason whatsoever , just off with his head , literally . overall , the haunting is <NEG> the epitome of a bad movie </NEG> . <NEG> bad plot , confusing storyline and a waste of good talent </NEG> . hopefully , liam neeson can rebound and get into a good film and be used to his full potential . hopefully , lili taylor will be recognized for doing such a great job in <NEG> such a bad film </NEG> . and hopefully , other horror films , such as the blair witch project and the haunting of hill house , will not be as bad as this one .
