Studio:Dreamworks ,Prod.David Self.Dir Jan De Bont,Stars Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Lili Taylor, .Release date:Fri. July 23,1999.

Often, I will say that the reason I go see a particular film is because I was prompted to see it by the trailer, and of course, trailers are the adverts for the films themselves. Many times I see no need to go to a movie, especially a remake, especially a remake of a particularly satisfying film. Unless of course, the trailer makes a good case for the film in question.
That film, this week, is The Haunting, a remake of a very satisfying, if satisfying can be applied to a movie that scared the pants off of me when I was young, film.
The "original" The Haunting, with Julie Harris  and Claire Bloom, among others, is one of my favorite horror movies. When I saw it on television when young, I couldn't sleep the night it aired. I have the movie on laserdisc now, and even when watching it again and again, I am always astounded by the craft of the piece. (Robert Wise directed.)
At first, I just couldn't see why anyone would want to sit through a remake of a work of art like The Haunting, and when I saw the "teaser trailer" last year, I still couldn't stomach the idea, but when I saw the full trailer, I relented, and will give you a few reasons why I think this might be a cool film, even though I loved the original so much.
The shot of Owen Wilson (Russ Tamblyn in the first movie) playing catch in the hallway, with an excellent pan down from the gargoyle heads on the roof beams, and the CGI shot of grasping staircase statues have the ability, to me at least, to inspire a certain sort of terror.
What the first movie attains with innuendo and allusion, this film will show with computer graphics. But if done well, and I am certainly a fan of CGI, as stated in earlier reviews, the effects will have the same effect on a new audience. Of course I also think I hear Julie Harris narrating the preview. I won't like it if the house is the stupid model shown in the teaser. It looks like a model. (But so did Manderley in Rebecca, and that was a Hitchcock film.)
I am awaiting this film, now. Lili Taylor is a great standin for Julie.
Owen needs a breakout film role. And Liam, gosh he's all over the place these days.
The plot element about paranormal experiences in a haunted house is gone. These guys are in a "sleep study" but as I said, this could be a good yarn.
The last remake I enjoyed was The Mummy. (Indiana Jones and the Curse of The Mummy's Tomb.) The original Boris Karloff movie was also an atmospheric piece, and the new one is all CGI.
Who knows what we can expect in future regarding the alarming slew of remakes. I certainly wish there were more intelligent fare around, or at least showing on more than one or two screens around town.
I am waiting for The Haunting. I'll judge it on it's merits, of course, but the trailer does make me want to see the film.
Good trailer. Hopefully good movie.
In the meantime, I'll dust off the laserdisc of the original, and have a good scare.