Well, here's the 2nd part of Moriarty's week long look at the future of Hollywood's love affair with the Supernatural Suspense genre that we are getting ready to run into. This time he focuses on DAVID SELF's script of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. As I did yesterday, I would like to make not of the fact that, even though I really love David's script, the word has reached me that there were... rewrites and I have not seen a more recent draft. And my general fear is that DeBont won't spend enough time building up the psychological horror, and instead go for the cheap scare. Now I don't feel that's in the script... but... well one never knows the direction a script will be taken if the director so desires. I'm keeping my fingers crossed due to the very very strong cast this film has... and the strong word of mouth generated from the cool sets. Here's Moriarty...
Hey, Head Geek...
"Moriarty" here.
One of the issues that must be addressed when tackling the problem of
the hauntings here at the Moriarty Labs is whether the ghost is an
internal or an external apparition. In other words, I need to figure
out if I'm being haunted or if the building itself is being haunted.
If it's something I did, then I'll have to pay the penance and get rid
of the ghost that way, but if it's something about the structure
itself, this could be more difficult. After all, as the tag line for
Jan De Bont's new adaptation of Shirley Jackson's classic THE HAUNTING
OF HILL HOUSE says, "Some houses are born bad." If that's the case
with the labs, I'm going to be pissed, and there's some contractors
who owe me an explanation.
Before I discuss David Self's screenplay, I'd like to ask one question
of DreamWorks. Why isn't Wes Craven directing this movie? As anyone
who knows Wes personally is aware, he's a raving fan of the work of
Shirley Jackson, and from what I understand, he's one of the people
who rekindled interest in this property, almost setting it up at
Miramax. It seems a shame, and it's not as if he's out of the game
these days. After all, his SCREAM films are the reason for the new
wave of horror films. If anyone in town has earned the right to make
an A-list $100 million haunted house movie, it's Craven. Having
commented on the movie that might have been, let's move on to the
movie that may well be.
Steven Spielberg has a hard-on for haunted house movies. He's been
trying to develop one ever since POLTERGEIST. He and Stephen King
worked on an outline for years to no avail. One of the things that
kept them from making the film was the fact that Robert Wise's classic
THE HAUNTING looms large over the genre. It's hard to imagine doing
it any better. It looks like Spielberg has finally given up with
finding an original idea that works better, and he's gone back to the
source material for a remake.
Hiring his new favorite screenwriter in town, David Self, was a pretty
good idea. He seems to have been well aware of what kind of film he
was setting out to write here. He's created a strong central
character with his interpretation of Eleanor, or Nell as everyone
calls her, and Lili Taylor is absolutely perfect for the role. It's
going to be a kick to see her starring in a big-budget studio FX
picture, since she's almost incapable of hitting a false note. One of
the things that sells an FX film (or kills it) is how committed the
actors are to what's happening onscreen. With Lili in the lead,
expect them to sell it for all it's worth. He's etched a memorable
group of supporting characters as well. Liam Neeson is perfect for
Marrow, the professor who organizes the experiment that brings
everyone to Hill House. Theo should provide Catherine Zeta Jones with
another meaty role to dig into, while Luke is a perfect fit for Owen
Wilson, one of the quirkiest character actors working right now. By
using a strong character cast like this, DreamWorks has stacked the
deck in the best possible way, making sure that there should be acting
fireworks to match the thunder and fury that will be summoned by ILM.
One of the things that made the original THE HAUNTING such a classic
was the way Wise suggested everything, using sound and the barest hint
of FX to terrify. De Bont has a much more sophisticated toolbox to
play with, and one of the fears that film fans have is that all
subtlety is going to be thrown out the window for a nonstop FX reel.
I have both good news and bad news for those people. The good news is
that much more of the film depends on sound and atmosphere than you
would think, but the bad news is that the ending really cuts loose in
a way that Wise could have never imagined.
That's just bad news for purists, though. I actually liked the way
this script built, and I appreciated the final all-hell-breaking-loose
act of the film. There's a different narrative thread in this film
than in the original, and it makes sense for this film to go where it
does. Unlike the original, there's a different backstory for the
characters and for Hill House itself. When everything comes together,
it feels right for everything to come down.
One of the things that should make this well worth your $7.50 is the
use of sound. This is going to be the second film to use the new
Dolby 6.1 surround system, and it should be a real treat. The script
makes special note of sound, to an extent I've never read in any other
screenplay. At one point, we are even treated to the following:
ANGLE ON NELL AND THEO
staring out AT US in terror. BANG. BANG. The CONCUSSION hits us
with all the force of THX. Nell and Theo's eyes travel over the
walls, following whatever it is which now seems to be moving out here
in the theater.
The BANGING moves along the wall to the right, reaching its loudest as
it crosses the back of the theater, then seems to come down the left
side.
For quite a bit of the film, Self keeps the terror offscreen, and it
increases our anticipation. He also builds some genuine mystery into
the script. It's my understanding that both Walter Parkes and De Bont
himself have taken passes at the script during production, but
hopefully they haven't done too much too it. Some of the lesbian
undertones they tried to paint in the relationship between Theo and
Nell don't really work and could easily be jettisoned. If they're
still in the film, they need to be tweaked so they really work instead
of just feeling thrown into a scene for no reason. Most of the big
scares are firmly in place, though, and Self has created a solid ride
that will no doubt play well all summer long.
When I announced yesterday that I would be doing this film as the
second part of the series, I received several e-mails from people
working on the film, particularly in the FX department. It sounds
like they're under the gun to finish this and get it into theaters for
summer, but it also sounds like everyone's doing great work and
handling the pressure well. Even De Bont is reported to be confident,
in control, and not worried in the least. This should be a nice
comeback after the fiasco of SPEED 2, and it should reestablish De
Bont as someone who knows how to build an audience pleasing
rollercoaster. As long as DreamWorks makes sure they finish the film
properly and don't rush it unnecessarily, they look to score big.
Will this make us forget the original? No. Is it the definitive
adaptation of Jackson's novel? No. But is it going to be worth the
trip to the theater? It sure does look like it. There are other
scripts that have more substance that I'll be covering in this series,
but their serious looks at heavy theological issues may have more
trouble engaging a mainstream audience, making THE HAUNTING OF HILL
HOUSE the crowd-pleaser of the bunch.
I'd like to say more, but one of my henchmen just walked in with his
head doing complete 360s. This seems to be a bad thing, and I'm
afraid I'm going to have to involve the church in this whole mess.
Maybe I'll just consult Brian Helgeland and see what he turned up
while researching THE SIN EATER, tomorrow's spotlight film. Until
then...
"Moriarty" out.
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