Thirteen Ghosts

This article is about the 2001 remake. For the 1960 film, see 13 Ghosts.

Thirteen Ghosts
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steve Beck
Screenplay by	Neal Marshall Stevens Richard D'Ovidio
Story by	Robb White
Based on	13 Ghosts by Robb White
Produced by	Robert Zemeckis Joel Silver Gilbert Adler
Starring	Tony Shalhoub Embeth Davidtz Matthew Lillard Shannon Elizabeth Rah Digga F. Murray Abraham
Cinematography	Gale Tattersall
Edited by	Derek G. Brechin Edward A. Warschilka
Music by	John Frizzell
Production companies	Warner Bros. Pictures Columbia Pictures Dark Castle Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures (North America) Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (International)
Release date	October 26, 2001 (2001-10-26) (U.S.)
Running time	91 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$42 million
Box office	$68.5 million

Thirteen Ghosts (also known as 13 Ghosts and stylized as THIR13EN Ghosts) is a 2001 supernatural horror film directed by Steve Beck in his directorial debut. A remake of the 1960 film 13 Ghosts by William Castle, the film stars Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, Rah Digga, and F. Murray Abraham.

Released theatrically on October 26, 2001, the film grossed $68 million at the box office on a budget of $42 million and received generally negative reviews upon release.

Plot

Ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos and his psychic assistant Dennis Rafkin lead a team on a mission to capture a spirit called the Juggernaut. Several men, including Cyrus, are killed while the team can catch the ghost. Cyrus's nephew Arthur, a widower, is informed by Cyrus's estate lawyer, Ben Moss, that he has inherited Cyrus' mansion. Financially insecure, Arthur decides to move there with his two children, Kathy and Bobby, and their nanny, Maggie.

Dennis meets the family as they tour the mansion. The residence is made entirely of glass sheets inscribed with Latin phrases, which Dennis recognizes as barrier spells. He discovers that the 12 angry ghosts he and Cyrus captured are imprisoned in the house, held captive by the spells. As he warns Arthur, Moss unwittingly triggers a mechanism that seals the house and releases the ghosts. Moss dies when a set of sliding doors cut him in half. Bobby sees several of the ghosts, including the Withered Lover – his mother, Jean, who had died of injuries sustained in a house fire. He is knocked unconscious and dragged away.

Dennis uses a pair of spectral glasses that allow the wearer to see the supernatural realm to avoid the ghosts. The Jackal, one of the most dangerous ghosts, attacks Kathy and Arthur, but they are saved by Kalina Oretzia, a spirit liberator attempting to free the ghosts. Kathy disappears. The four adults gather in the library, where Arthur learns that Jean's ghost is also in the house. Kalina explains that the house is a machine powered by captive ghosts, allowing its users to see the past, present, and future. The only way to shut it down is by creating a 13th ghost from a sacrifice of love. Arthur realizes that he must become that ghost to save his children.

Armed with the spectral glasses, Arthur and Dennis enter the basement to find the children. Dennis barricades Arthur behind a glass sheet for his protection. Dennis is beaten to death by the Hammer and the Juggernaut, two other dangerous ghosts. It is revealed that Cyrus faked his death to lure Arthur to the house; Kalina is his partner and lover, revealed when she knocks Maggie unconscious with a large book and promptly kisses Cyrus upon his arrival. Cyrus has orchestrated the abduction of Kathy and Bobby so that Arthur will become the 13th ghost, which will not stop the machine as Kalina had claimed but trigger its activation. Cyrus kills Kalina, who objected to Cyrus putting the children in danger and summons the ghosts to activate the machine.

Arthur witnesses all 12 ghosts in the main hall orbiting a clockwork device of rotating metal rings, with his children at the center. He fights Cyrus while Maggie disrupts the machine's controls, releasing the ghosts from its power and causing the machine to go haywire. The ghosts hurl Cyrus into the moving rings, slicing him to pieces. With the encouragement of Dennis' ghost, Arthur jumps through the machine safely to protect his children. The house's walls shatter as the malfunctioning machine rips itself apart, freeing the ghosts. Jean's ghost tells them she loves them before she disappears.

As the family departs, Maggie angrily declares she is quitting as their nanny.

Cast

• Tony Shalhoub as Arthur Kriticos
• Embeth Davidtz as Kalina Oretzia
• Matthew Lillard as Dennis Rafkin
• Shannon Elizabeth as Kathy Kriticos
• Alec Roberts as Bobby Kriticos
• JR Bourne as Ben Moss
• Rah Digga as Maggie Bess
• F. Murray Abraham as Cyrus Kriticos

Development

James Gunn performed rewrites to the script, but was uncredited. Production on the film tragically coincided with the September 11th terrorist attacks.

The Ghosts

They are hinted at and are described in the "Files". They seem to become more dangerous as their numbers increase.

• The Son: (played by Mikhael Speidel) Billy Michaels was a boy who was addicted to films and loved pretending to be a cowboy. He was also rebellious and a brat who notoriously got what he wanted whenever he wanted, and hated and disagreed with everybody. Another kid and friend challenged Billy to a duel, which Billy accepted. Billy's gun wasn't a match for the boy's arrow which pierced him in the back of the head. Billy's ghost is wearing the costume, and the arrow is still in his head. This one is a threat.
• The Torso: (played by Daniel Wesley) Jimmy 'The Gambler' Gambino was a gambler in the early 1900s. He was the son of an gambler and spent most of his childhood on the tracks. His love for gambling eventually led him to become a owner, who caught the attention of the Mafia. He betted heavily on a match. Jimmy attempted to flee but was caught by the Mafia and boxer who cut him into pieces and wrapped him in cellophane. His ghost appears as a torso with a severed head nearby forever screaming in agony, and is more a spirit than hostile.
• The Woman: (played by Laura Mennell) Susan LeGrow was the girl in town and was the girl in school. Her one flaw was the way she flirted and toyed with boys and men. Chet Walters caught Susan cheating on him with another boy. The boy was found beaten to death and Susan had gone missing. Susan was found dead two weeks later buried beneath the fifty-yard line of the high school's field. Her ghost lures Bobby into the basement and still shows in her attire.
• The Lover: (played by Kathryn Anderson) Jean Kriticos was a wife and mother. She died as a result of injuries at St Luke's Hospital half a year before the events of the film begin. She is benevolent.
• The Prince: (played by Craig Olejnik) Royce Clayton was a player in the 1950s who caught the eye of colleges around the USA. He died in a race thanks to his challenger who cut his lines. His remains are still buried in a plot overlooking a diamond, and his ghost carries his bat.
• The Princess: (played by Shawna Loyer) Dana Newman was a lady who lived in the late 20th century. She had surgeries to alter her flaws, and she killed herself in a bathtub at the clinic. Her ghost is bloody and carries the knife she used to commit suicide.
• The Pilgrimess: (played by Xantha Radley) Isabella Smith came to North America as a colonist to find a life after being an orphan in England. The community ostracized and ignored her and used her as a scapegoat when crops and animals died. She denied such accusations, but she was trapped in a barn but managed to escape unharmed. That sealed her fate, and she died of starvation after being condemned to the pillory that she carries with her as a ghost.
• The Child: (played by C. Ernst Harth) Harold Shelburne was a man who never outgrew diapers and had to be spoon-fed even as a adult. He caused a massacre at the show where he and his mother lived. Some of the freaks had kidnapped his mother as a joke one night. The owner had Harold mutilated beyond recognition. His ghost appears as Harold did in life, with a patch of hair and diapers.
• The Mother: (played by Laurie Soper) Margaret Shelburne was a lady. She never could stand up for herself. She was raped by the Man and gave birth to her son Harold, whom she loved more than life itself. She smothered and spoiled him from infancy and never stopped as he grew. The two were abused to the point where Harold killed the circus after Margaret died during a prank orchestrated by the other freaks. They remain together, with Harold being protective. She is not aggressive and is more of a spirit.
• The Hammer: (played by Herbert Duncanson) George Markley was accused of stealing by a higher-up named Nathan, and threatened with exile from their town. George stood up to Nathan and refused to leave. Nathan and his gang of thugs attacked and killed them brutally. George took his hammer and beat them to death but the townsfolk chained him to a tree outside his shop and drove spikes into his body. His left hand was cut off and his hammer was attached to it. His ghost is one of the spirits and is responsible for Dennis' death.
• The Jackal: (played by Shayne Wyler) Ryan Kuhn developed a appetite for women. Ryan committed himself to Borehamwood Asylum for treatment. Ryan went insane. The doctors kept him bound in a straitjacket. The doctors locked his head in a cage and sealed him away in a cell in the basement. He developed a hatred of humanity. He chose to stay behind and perish in the fire while everyone else escaped. His ghost carries his straitjacket with the cage. He is one of the ghosts attacking and nearly killing Kathy before Kalina saves her.
• The Juggernaut: (played by John De Santis) Horace 'Breaker' Mahoney was born very disfigured and was an outcast his life. His mother abandoned him at a age, and his dad put him to work in the junkyard. He would take motorists and hitchhikers and feed the remains to his dogs. He was arrested. A SWAT team shot and killed him when he broke free of his cuffs. He remained at the junkyard with his body riddled with holes. Both Dennis and Cyrus remark that his count numbered in the 40s.

Release

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on April 2, 2002. The film initially debuted on the Blu-ray format on October 19, 2010 in a double feature with House of Wax (2005).

A special collector's edition Blu-ray was released by Shout Factory under their Scream Factory label on July 28, 2020. This new release features brand new interviews with the cast and crew, plus a brand new audio commentary with director Steve Beck.

Reception

Box office

In the US, the film opened ranking 2nd behind K-PAX, making $15,165,355. It spent 10 weeks in the US box office, eventually making $41,867,960 domestically, and $68,467,960 worldwide.

Critical reception

Reviews for the film were mostly negative. Praise was directed toward the production design but the film was criticized for its lack of scares and a number of strobe effects throughout that could induce seizures. It holds an approval rating of 19% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 96 reviews with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The production design is first rate, but 13 Ghosts is distinctly lacking in scares." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100, based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine rated the film two out of four stars, panning the film's lack of scares, and predictable plot twists. However, Gonzalez commended the art direction, while also stating it was underutilized. Roger Ebert praised the production values saying, "The production is first-rate...The physical look of the picture is splendid." However, he criticized the story, lack of interesting characters, loud soundtrack, and poor editing. In 2005 Ebert included it on his list of "Most Hated" films. In the years since its release and disappointing box office performance, the film has gathered a prominent cult following, finding further success and more positive reception. Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times said of the film "what we're left with after the scares is just plain dumb."

Future

In August 2023, Dark Castle Entertainment announced that they're planning to make a Thirteen Ghosts series.

See also

• List of ghost films

External links

• Thirteen Ghosts at IMDb 
• Thirteen Ghosts at AllMovie
• Thirteen Ghosts at Rotten Tomatoes