Thir13en Ghosts
Short description
Thir13en Ghosts follows Arthur Kriticos, a widowed father who inherits an unusual estate from his late uncle Cyrus. The house is built almost entirely of glass, etched with Latin inscriptions, and it soon becomes clear that it is no ordinary home. Arthur moves in with his two children, their nanny and an attorney, and they discover that the house holds a collection of captive spirits, kept in place by the barriers inscribed on the walls. The newcomers find themselves unable to leave, while the ghosts trapped inside grow increasingly restless. A psychic named Rafkin, who once worked for Cyrus, is among those trying to make sense of the house and find a way out before it is too late.
The film is directed by Steve Beck and is the first of two features he directed, followed by Ghost Ship in 2002. The screenplay is credited to Neal Marshall Stevens, Todd Alcott and Richard D'Ovidio, with Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver and Gilbert Adler producing. Tony Shalhoub plays Arthur, alongside Embeth Davidtz as Kalina, Matthew Lillard as Rafkin, Shannon Elizabeth as Kathy, Alec Roberts as Bobby and JR Bourne as Ben Moss. It runs 91 minutes.
Made for about 42 million US dollars, Thir13en Ghosts took in roughly 68 million worldwide, a modest return on its production cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.6 from around 101,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.3 from about 2,500 votes. A critics' rating of 3.9 from 95 reviews places it noticeably below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming took place in a huge mansion. More than 40 sets were built in five weeks. Over 45 tons of steel and 2500 tons of special glass were used to construct the house, many of whose rooms were made entirely of glass.
- In this film, the characters require special glasses to see ghosts. In the original 1960 film, "13 Ghosts" (Robb White, 1909-1990), the main characters also needed special glasses to see the ghosts. This is one of the few details from the original film that they decided to keep in this adaptation.
- The special effects and sound used in this film were so meticulously crafted that many viewers complained it was physically exhausting to sit through the entire movie.
- Applying Sean Loyer's makeup took 5 hours each time.
- Herbert Duncanson, who played one of the roles, was not initially in the cast; he was only brought in for test shoots. He was given the role of the ghost at the very last moment because the actor who was supposed to play it didn't show up on set, and there was no time to find someone else through auditions.
- It took 5 hours to apply John DeSantis's makeup, and another 3 hours to remove it.
- Midway through the film, it shows the house being completely boarded up from the outside (at 56 minutes), but shortly after (65-75 minutes), windows are visible in the background with trees swaying in the wind. Even in scenes taking place in the basement.
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