Haunted

The past week has brought us chilly, foggy weather. The sun doesn't seem to want to come out to play. Everything is dripping from the pervasive damp.

Ghost weather.

trip to the video store brought home a solid, creepy ghost story: Haunted (1995). Starring Aidan Quinn, Sir John Gielgud, and Kate Beckinsale, Haunted is truly an overlooked gem.

Quinn plays David Ash, a psychologist who debunks paranormal reports. When he responds to an old woman's invitation to come stay in her stately old home to investigate her claims of its haunting, he finds himself being seduced by the lovely Christina (Beckinsale), and plagued by strange incidents by turns. Christina and her two brothers, Robert (Anthony Andrews) and Simon (Alex Lowe), live in the house with Nanny Webb (Anna Massey), who continues to insist that she is being held prisoner.

David, of course, is there to debunk the whole thing.

This is a great movie for those who enjoy build-up before payoff. It's not a gory, ghost-waving-its-own-severed-head-at-you kind of movie. What it is, is a movie with strong acting (Gielgud is always worth watching), a haunting musical score, and a sharp twist at the end. I enjoyed it and would recommend it as a treat to good little haunters everywhere.