I Watch Films: Haunted

 

Haunted

David Ash’s twin sister drowned when they were children, following which the family moved to America. Now in 1928 he’s back as a professor at Oxford University, with a bestselling book about how there are no ghosts and a sideline in debunking fraudulent mediums. He gets invited to investigate a haunting in Sussex, his old county and goes to the remote country house, by a lake.

The letter was from Miss Webb, Nanny Tess, the only servant and former governess of the three siblings who are the only members of the family. The oldest, Robert, is an artist who mostly paints Kate Beckinsale with her tits out, which fair play, I’d probably have chosen her as my only subject back in 1995 when this film came out. Unfortunately Beckinsale plays his sister Christina, who flirts with Ash, and the relationship between Robert and Christina is oddly close, even considering its just the three siblings and their servant in the middle of nowhere (the third sibling, Simon, is a prankster whose tomfoolery interferes with Ash’s investigations).

Ash finds mystery on mystery, falls in love with Christina. She wants him to stay. Robert wants him to leave. Ash wants Christina to leave with him but she won’t. She can’t. She rescues him from drowning as things get weirder and more paranormal.

You know there’s a twist coming, and in fact there are several revelations to come.

Watch This: A stylish period ghost story
Don’t Watch This: It moves through predictable scenes to a slightly underwhelming ending