Year: 2001
Director: Steve Beck
Writer: Robb White, Benjamin Carr & Richard D’Ovidio
Type of Horror: Supernatural Scare
Out of 5 Stars (Bad, OK, Good, Great, Awesome): 3 ½
Ghosts and psychics are two concepts that everyone knows about but not everyone believes in or understands. There are thousands of horror movies that address the idea of ghosts. Some include the psychic angle, some don’t. Some movies even bring something new to the table, but most simply use the same formula that is tried and true. “Thir13en Ghosts” is movie that combines the two and gives the concept a little twist.
After losing his wife in a house fire, Arthur (Tony Shalhoub) is trying to keep the rest of his family together. His teenage daughter, Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth), and his young son, Bobby (Alec Roberts), are trying to find a way to live their lives without their mother. Knowing that he needs help with the children, Arthur has employed a nanny, Maggie (Rah Digga). A no-sense woman with a feisty attitude, Maggie is exactly what Arthur needs to help balance out his more distant nature.
At his wits end with bills and stress, Arthur sees it as a miracle and an answer to his prayers when he finds out that he’s inherited a mansion from a distant relative, Uncle Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham). Packed up and ready to start a new life, the family moves in to the large and odd house.
A glass mansion with strange markings, the house is like nothing the family has ever seen. However, when things begin happening that aren’t easily explained, the strangeness of the house takes on a whole new meaning. When psychic Dennis (Matthew Lillard) shows up and explains the dangers of the house, the mansion locks itself and there is no escape. Dennis confesses that there are 12 ghosts trapped in separate rooms in the basement, and he helped put them there. When the basement rooms begin to open, the family must fight to survive.
This movie is all about effects and scares. It has a plot, and not a bad one, but it isn’t the focus of the film. You will be aware that the movie’s story is progressing, but you will be more interested in the ghosts. Able to pop in and out in the blink of an eye, the angry and mischievous spirits just want out, by any means necessary. Lillard and Digga provide some great comedic moments and you will find yourself rooting for the family and the ghosts.
You can find “Thir13en Ghosts” at any of Tulsa’s local Blockbuster stores.
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