History YMMV / TheHaunting1999

* ValuesDissonance: While not a terribly insensitive depiction of a bi/pan person (see above), Theo is still shamelessly flirtatious with both Nell and Luke (albeit in a SlapSlapKiss way with him), despite her claims that [[ReallyGetsAround she already has a boyfriend]] ''[[ReallyGetsAround and]]'' [[ReallyGetsAround girlfriend]], which carries the hoary old stereotype that [[AnythingThatMoves "bisexual = slut"]] and would undoubtably be handled more tactfully today.

* HilariousInHindsight: Liam Neeson as a [[Film/BatmanBegins scientist who studies fear.]]

* SpiritualAdaptation: As mentioned in the main article, the film is less of a remake to ''Film/TheHaunting1963'' than one to ''Literature/HellHouse''. It also may be the closest we'll ever get to having a ''VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest'' movie.

* OrphanedPunchline: "Oh God. Whose hand was I holding?" In the original Robert Wise film, that line came after a really tense scene that focuses only on a scared Nell's face while Theo re-assures her off-screen. Nell thinks she's been holding Theo's hand during the entire conversation, and is terrified when she realizes she isn't. Here, the line is awkwardly dubbed in after Nell has been thrown from her bed by the ghosts, so it doesn't fit the context whatsoever and comes off as an incredibly shallow reference to a better film.

* UncannyValley: The statues of the children.

* CompleteMonster: [[WouldHurtAChild Hugh Crain]] is a child-killer extraordinaire, though Nell does say at one point after she's connected to the house and its ghosts that Crain "just wanted children, but it all went wrong", implying [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil he wasn't always so]]. Wanting a family, he abducted children from his mills, and when they tried to leave his house he [[NoKillLikeOverkill murdered them, mutilated their bodies, and burned them in a fireplace]] (then covered this up in his records by merely claiming they'd died of illness or factory injuries). He also [[DrivenToSuicide drove his first wife to suicide]] and (it's strongly implied) murdered his second for [[HeKnowsTooMuch discovering his secret]]. After his death, he comes back as an all-powerful ghost who keeps the spirits of the children trapped in the house and kills any newcomers.

** Luke's death manages to destroy any semblance of tension the movie has left at this point due to how contrived and ridiculous it is: First, he's dragged away on a carpet that moves on its own, screaming the whole time instead of simply rolling off the carpet, then he's ''catapulted'' into the fireplace as the carpet comes to a sudden halt, and finally, just as he's standing up, he's [[BloodlessCarnage cleanly and bloodlessly decapitated]] by a lion's head flue that drops out of the fireplace on a swing and moves at hilariously slow speed and he could easily have dodged. The ''acting'' in this scene is even funnier than the death itself -- Theo ''pauses'' a few seconds before screaming like she missed her cue, Dr. Montague ''winces'' -- not like he's horrified by the gruesome death of a colleague, but like Liam Neeson has just realized what kind of movie he's in and is desperately trying to remember how much he's getting paid -- and Nell just says "[[{{Understatement}} Oh, no!]]" in a tone that sounds less like nauseated horror and more like she just [[DullSurprise dropped her phone in the water fountain]].

** Luke's death manages to destroy any semblance of tension the movie has left at this point due to how contrived and ridiculous it is: First, he's dragged away on a carpet that moves on its own, screaming the whole time instead of simply rolling off the carpet, then he's ''catapulted'' into the fireplace as the carpet comes to a sudden halt, and finally, just as he's standing up, he's [[BloodlessCarnage cleanly and bloodlessly decapitated]] by a lion's head flue that drops out of the fireplace on a swing and moves at hilariously slow speed and he could easily have dodged. The ''acting'' in this scene is even funnier than the death itself - Theo ''pauses'' a few seconds before screaming like she missed her cue, Dr. Montague ''winces'' -- not like he's horrified by the gruesome death of a colleague, but like Liam Neeson has just realized what kind of movie he's in and is desperately trying to remember how much he's getting paid -- and Nell just says "[[{{Understatement}} Oh, no!]]" in a tone that sounds less like nauseated horror and more like she just [[DullSurprise dropped her phone in the water fountain]].

** Creator/OwenWilson manages to destroy any hope of tension the movie has and is ultimately [[MadeOfPlasticine decapitated]] ([[BloodlessCarnage cleanly]]) by a lion's head flue that drops out of the fireplace on a swing and moves at hilariously slow speed and he could easily have dodged. The ''acting'' in this scene is even funnier than the death itself - Theo ''pauses'' a few seconds before screaming like she missed her cue, Liam Neeson ''winces'' - not like he's horrified by the gruesome death of a colleague, but like he's just realized what kind of movie he's in and is desperately trying to remember how much he's getting paid - and Nell offers up the most pointless "[[{{Understatement}} Oh, no!]]" in history, that's less like nauseated horror and more like she just [[DullSurprise dropped her phone in the water fountain]].

* OrphanedPunchline: "Oh God. Whose hand was I holding?" In the original Robert Wise film, that line came after a really tense scene that focuses only on a scared Nell's face while Theo re-assures her off-screen. Nell thinks she's been holding Theo's hand during the entire conversation, and is terrified when she realizes she isn't. Here, the line is awkwardly ADRed in after Nell has been thrown from her bed by the ghosts, so it doesn't fit the context whatsoever and comes off as an incredibly shallow reference to a better film.

* OrphanedPunchline: "Who was holding my hand??" In the original Robert Wise film, that line came after a really tense scene that focuses only on a scared Nell's face while Theo re-assures her off-screen. Nell thinks she's been holding Theo's hand during the entire conversation, and is terrified when she realizes she isn't. Here, the line is awkwardly ADRed in after Nell has been thrown from her bed by the ghosts, so it doesn't fit the context whatsoever and comes off as an incredibly shallow reference to a better film.

* SpiritualAdaptation: As mentioned in the main article, the film is less of a remake to ''Film/TheHaunting1963'' than one to ''Literature/HellHouse''.
* SpiritualLicensee: This may be the closest we'll ever get to having a ''VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest'' movie.

** [[SpecialEffectsFailure Hugh Crain's ghost]] has been described as "the ghost of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Mather Cotton Mather]]" and looks like a giant Ringwraith.

* NightmareRetardant: The numerous cases of SpecialEffectsFailure didn't exactly help the film's attempts to be scary.
* SpecialEffectsFailure: There's ridiculous CG up the wazoo, not to mention horribly outdated CG.

* ValuesDissonance: Theo is a bisexual and is shown to be shamelessly flirtatious with both Nell and Luke (albeit in a SlapSlapKiss way with him) - while also saying she has a boyfriend and a girlfriend. Such a portrayal of a bisexual would get slammed if it were attempted these days.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: There's [[{{Narm}} ridiculous]] [[ConspicuousCG CG]] up the wazoo, not to mention horribly outdated CG.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Two of them! Both the "fake sleep study that is actually a fear study" (and the ethical nature thereof) and the investigation to discover the nature of the haunting and how to end it are intriguing plots...but combining them in one movie and not allowing either the full time to be developed causes both to suffer.

** Eleanor is now a MessianicArchetype who defeats Crain with ThePowerOfLove--Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, but the presentation ...

** Eleanor is now a MessianicArchetype who defeats Crain with ThePowerOfLove--TropesAreNotBad, but the presentation ...

** Owen Wilson manages to destroy any hope of tension the movie has and is ultimately [[MadeOfPlasticine decapitated]] ([[BloodlessCarnage cleanly]]) by a lion's head flue that drops out of the fireplace on a swing and moves at hilariously slow speed and he could easily have dodged. The ''acting'' in this scene is even funnier than the death itself - Theo ''pauses'' a few seconds before screaming like she missed her cue, Liam Neeson ''winces'' - not like he's horrified by the gruesome death of a colleague, but like he's just realized what kind of movie he's in and is desperately trying to remember how much he's getting paid - and Nell offers up the most pointless "[[{{Understatement}} Oh, no!]]" in history, that's less like nauseated horror and more like she just [[DullSurprise dropped her phone in the water fountain]].

** A lot of the dialogue, particularly Marrow and Luke's awkward conversation in the hallway at midnight, his inane "I wonder what happened to him" in reference to Crain's statue, and much of Nell's dialogue during her final confrontation with Crain. [[SpecialEffectsFailure Hugh Crain's ghost]] has been described as "the ghost of Cotton Mather" and looks like a giant Ringwraith while Owen Wilson manages to destroy any hope of tension the movie has and is ultimately decapitated by a lion's head flue that drops out of the fireplace. Also Eleanor is now a MessianicArchetype who defeats Crain with ThePowerOfLove--TropesAreNotBad, but the presentation ...

** Nell's family who tries to employ her as a babysitter (and their weird child) are this to the ninth degree.
--->'''Richie:''' Eleanor! Help me! I gotta pee! Heh HEH heh!

* EsotericHappyEnding: Hugh Crain is banished to Hell, the children's ghosts are freed to go to Heaven, and the haunting is presumably ended. [[spoiler:(And Nell finally finds a place to belong, and peace.)]] But Luke dies, [[spoiler:Nell dies]], Mary got wounded (and possibly disfigured forever) and Marrow's experiment was ruined and never finished. The movie ends with Mr. Dudley's rhetorical question, "Did you find what you were looking for?" that Marrow can't answer...so [[WasItReallyWorthIt was it all worth it]]?

* {{Narm}}: A lot of the dialogue, particularly Marrow and Luke's awkward conversation in the hallway at midnight, his inane "I wonder what happened to him" in reference to Crain's statue, and much of Nell's dialogue during her final confrontation with Crain. [[SpecialEffectsFailure Hugh Crain's ghost]] has been described as "the ghost of Cotton Mather" and looks like a giant Ringwraith while Owen Wilson manages to destroy any hope of tension the movie has and is ultimately decapitated by a lion's head flue that drops out of the fireplace. Also Eleanor is now a MessianicArchetype who defeats Crain with ThePowerOfLove--TropesAreNotBad, but the presentation ...

** The family who tries to employ Neil as a babysitter (and their weird child) are this to the ninth degree.