"Thirteen Ghosts" Is Much Better Than People Think Even Though It Didn't Do Well Back In 2001

And the reasons to see it, If you haven’t already

Damjan

• Published in Weird
• July 11, 2020

When Thirteen Ghosts hit theaters back in 2001, it didn't do so well with the critics, but since then, it became a sort of cult classic among true horror enthusiasts. Steve Beck's 2001 movie was a remake of a William Castle's 13 Ghosts from 1960, and it literally made the original film look like Disney special.

The stars like Tony Shaloub, Matthew Lillard, and Shannon Elizabeth, were backed up by some of the scariest and the coolest ghosts you've ever seen. They have set the standards in the modern horror industry. So many reasons to watch this movie again and again…

1. It features 12 unique ghosts, and every one of them has its own complex story.

Even though a 13th ghost does ultimately appear in the movie, the story mainly involves 12 of the terrifying phantoms. Each ghost represents one of the signs of the Black Zodiac, the regular zodiac's malevolent equivalent. The ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos (F. Murray Abraham) gathered them so he could power his wicked machine - the house in which the movie is set.

The first ghost in the Black Zodiac is the First Born Son, a small boy called Billy Michaels, who was fascinated with Westerns. Then we have Torso; he is a literal human torso who moves around covered in plastic. In a previous life, he was a gambler named Jimmy Gambino, who got a mob boss angry. Harold and Margaret (AKA the Great Child and the Dire Mother) once worked in a circus, where they were terribly mistreated.

The other ghosts all have a similarly shocking and terrible history. They are symbolized in the Black Zodiac as the Bound Woman, the Jackal, the Withered Lover, the Hammer, the Torn Prince, the Angry Princess, the Pilgrimess, and the Juggernaut.

2. Matthew Lillard gave an excellent performance as a neurotic and charismatic psychic

Lillard plays Dennis Rafkin, and he is the comic relief in the movie – a ghost-hunting psychic who is continuously freaking out.Rafkin has a convulsion every time he feels or sees a ghost (which occurs a lot during a movie about ghosts).

The star spends a decent part of the movie moaning and even drooling. He had a couple of memorable lines like, "I sure as hell hope I don't bleed to death; that would suck," and, "I used to hunt displaced spiritual energy with your uncle," to cheer up the movie a bit. 

3. The house is actually a ticking clock, as it is continuously changing its layout.

The design of the house is a major plot point. The Latin engraved on the glass walls serve as magic seals against the terrible ghouls. When the walls move, the specters can wander around the various parts of the house.

4. Both audience and the characters are confused by the labyrinth.

The house is a maze entirely made of glass, and the walls are continuously moving in intervals. This causes a dilemma, both for the audience and the characters – it is hard to distinguish which ghost is behind which glass. And the characters don't even know if there is a ghost in the room until they put their "spectral viewers" on.

5. The movie took a gimmick from the 1960 original

The 2001 film uses the same gadget as the original. The specters can only be detected by special glasses. In the new version, the glasses are less over-the-top, but add an extra layer of angst to the movie. The viewers can see the specters, but the movie characters can't.

6. It is placed in the early 2000s

Early 2000s horror movies were centered around haunted buildings and objects (The Devil's Backbone, The Others, Ghost Ship) and carnage (Ginger Snaps, American Psycho, Final Destination), and Thirteen Ghosts has both.

7. Tony Shaloub fights against ghosts

 Tony Shaloub is best known for playing a eccentric detective on Monk, so it is awesome to see him in a serious role. He's the hero of this movie, and the only person who can save the planet from surrendering to evil the Ocularis Infernum will unleash.

8. Shannon Elizabeth’s performance

Elizabeth's Kathy is Arthur's positive teen daughter, and her lack of situation awareness makes her first clash with the Angry Princess one of the notable scenes in the movie.

9. Rah Digga Plays The Nanny

Maggie Bess is a nanny whose wit and joking with Matthew Lillard make her one of the greatest characters in the movie. You can hear her track "Mirror Mirror" at the end credits.

10. It is scary

If the many jump scares aren’t frightening enough for you, the Jackal might change that. He was committed to an asylum, and his head was locked in some sort of cage-helmet to prevent him from biting everything around him. The cage that is still on his head, straitjacket, and burned skin makes this ghost one of the scariest.

11. Roger Ebert Said That It's Visually Stunning

Although he gave it only one star, Ebert congratulated the art direction, special effects, costumes, and makeup. He even said the movie "mostly takes place inside a house that is one of the best-looking horror sets I've seen."

VFX gurus Greg Nicotero, Robert Kurtzman, and Howard Berget (of KNB EFX) created the exceptionally detailed ghost makeup, while production designer Sean Hargreaves created the set.

Damjan