Just paying a flying visit

Gore fest for a Friday night. It's not very good. Indeed the biggest surprise is how it only got a 15 rating.

Nigel Bell

Why have just one ghost when you can grab hold of 13 and really go to town on the make-up.

Thir13en Ghosts offers few surprises. Even the "jump" scenes are highly telegraphed. But if you're not expecting anything more than a B movie you can't really complain.

The plot
Cyrus Kriticos (Abraham) is a ghost collectorbut gets

What's that you're cooking Shannon - an American Pie...geddit!

more than he bargained for one night when trying to capture a particularly mean spirit in a car scrapyard.

He leaves his house to recently widowed nephew Arthur(Shalhoub) and his family.

Little do they know this glass house (reinforced you understand) is home to 12 ghosts Uncle Cyrus has collected.

They're safely locked up in the basement, that is until a ruthless lawyer goes in search of Cyrus's fortune and ends up releasing them.

The house is actually a machine designed by the devil (as you'd expect for a property in the middle of nowhere).

To make everything work a 13th ghost must be created by someone sacrificing themselves for others.

Meet the gang coz the boys are here, the boys to entertain you

So when Arthur's son and daughter are kidnapped what's the man to do?

The Verdict
First up, here's a lesson to all those Oscar nominees - beware. Look what happened to F Murray Abraham. Award winner for Amadeus and now doing this kind of stuff.

Thir13en Ghosts was originally a film by horror specialist William Castle, who used gimmicks to enhance his movie reputation.

If you went to see the original you were given glasses in order to witness the ghouls on the screen.

In the 2002 update the actors wear glasses in order to see the spirits.

It's the cue for plenty of shocks but also for some rum acting and dicey dialogue as our heroes take an age to put on their specs then express mock disbelief as they're splattered by a club wielding apparition.

Steve Beck does use flash frame to good effect in the sense of creating a "now you see it, now you don't" ghost image but there's nothing really new here.

Even the mechanics of the machine/house are reminiscent of Lara Croft - Tomb Raider.

Fine after a couple of pints but that's about it.