Photo Frenic Bteal

au Tayior stars as Neti In The Haunting now showing at Park & Tiiford Cineplex.

The Hewsting ® Starring Liam Neeson, . Lili Taylor and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Directed by Jan de Bont.

Julie Crawtote _ File Reviews _ =. ¥OU know you're in trouble when . te ‘aadience beily-iaughs through- ‘out a horror movie,

The Harsnting could be destined for cult status on sheer kitsch and comedy alone. The only haunting going on here is the black mark this film will leave on the actors’

¢ a bad script a mile away (didn’t Seriofaction teach him any-. 2) and Lili Taylor (Say Anything, Pecker) usually picks i interesting Projects. Shame on

Eleanor, who ) signs up for is an insomnia study ied by D ; Marrow Mtns Neeson}, partly because ne

The plot of The ‘Haunting is abysmal. For starters, what is wealthy, scantily-clad Theo Catherine Zeta-Jones) doing at a sleep deprivation study that pays less than her: Prada boots are worth? What was the. pur- of the. two research assistants, who dis-

appear almost as soon as they are introduced?

Where were the caretakers, who didn’t stay the night (for obvious reasons) but were supposed io retutn during the day? (This leads me to another question: what was Bruce Dern doing in this movie?)

And the resolution to the whole mess takes the form of a tidy wrap-up reminiscent of old Scvoks-Deo cpisodcs.

Perhaps realizing that the plot alone wouldn't doi it, Girector Jan de Bont tries to blow us out of our seats with spectacular sound, Twister-style. The sour 4 added real- ism to Tivtster, in The Haunting it just gives us a headache.

‘The art direction is overdone; a less-is- more approach would've made the film more frightening, less amusing. A portrait of the evil Hugh Crane hanging at the top of the stairs shows him with the maniacal facial expression of somcone who’s just caten his pet bunny. And for some reason, in wedding photographs the same man appears as this dark, werewolf-like character.

But what about the visual effects: aren't they worth the price of admission? If you enjoy sccing what computers can do, then yes, there are some impressive effects. But overall, they have that fake, over-produced quality that fail to deliver on the fear front.

The Haunting will doubtless top most

critics, worst-films-of-the-ycar list but the

producers don’t care: in its first weekend,

The Haunting grossed $33.4 million US, the

most ever. for a DreamWorks film opening. Now that’s scary.

® Park & Tilford Cineplex 200 —- 333 Brooksbank, North Vancouver (985- 3911)

Big Daddy (PG) — 1:20, 7:15, 9:25 p.m. Wed/Thu 1:20, 7:15 p.m. plus Sat/Sun/ {Mon 3:30 p.m. Austin Powers 2 (PG) — 1:40, 7:05, 9:15 p.m. Wed/Thu 9:20 p.nt. plus Sat/Sun/Mon 3:55 p.m. The Blair Witch Project (4A) -- 1:50, 7:35, 9:40 p.m. plus Sat/Sun/Mon 4:10 p.m.

American Pie (18A) — 1:30, 7:25, 9:45 p.m. plus Sat/Sun/Mon 4 p.m. Bick (PG) — Wed/Thu 1:40, 7:05, 9:15 p.m.

The ‘Haunting (PG) — 1:10, 7, 9:35 p.m. plus Sar/Sun/Mon 3:50 p.m. Star Wars-The Phantom Menace (G) — 1, 6:45, 9:30 p.m. plus Sat/Sun/Mon 3:45 p.m.

B Esplanade 6 Cinemas ° 200 W. Esplanade, North Vancouver (983-2762)

Eyes Wide Shut — Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur 1, 4:15, 8:10 p.m. Sun 4:15, 8:10 p.m.

Beep Blue Sea — 1:25, 3:40, 7:30, 9:55 p.m. Inspector Gadget — 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:16 p.m. Tarzan — 3:30, 3:50, 6:05, 8 p.m.

Runaway Bride — 1:45, 4:30, 7, 9:40 p.m.

Tren Giant —~ (Sneak pre- view) Sun at 2 p.m.

Drop Dead Gorgeous — 1:50, 16 p.m.

‘The General’s Daughter — 4:10, 7:20, 9:45 p.m.

Caprice Park Royal

a West Vancouver (926-6699) Tea With Mussolini (PG) — 7:05 p.m. plus Sat/Sun rf 05 Pm. s (G) uppets frona Space — Sat/Sun 2:15 p.m. - Notting Hill (PG) -- 7 p.m. plus Sat/Sun 2 p.m.. The Haunting (PG) — 7:16, 9:25 p.m. : The Wild Wild West (PG) — 9:20 p.m. Arlington Road (14A) —

-9:45 p.m.

@ CN IMAX 291-999 Canada Place (682-4629)

- Exereme — 1:15, 3:30, 9

p.m

Alaska: Spirit of the Wild — noon, 6, 8 p.m. daily isiand of the Sharks —

2:15, 4:45, 7 and 10 p.m. Special screenings of T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous in IMAX 3D daily ar 1} a.m.

® Fifth Avenue Cinemas

2110 Burrard at Sth, Vancouver (734-8700) The Blair Witch Project C14A) ~ 7:20, 9:45, 11:30

See Cinemas Page %

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