Analysis
At the helm for this stylish horror yarn is first time director Steve Beck who, for saying he has little movie making experience, has certainly made a marked impact for his creative visuals. The movie is essentially a 21st century revamp of the 1960 William Castle film 13 Ghosts, but instead of the audience having to wear kooky looking 'Illusion-O' glasses in order to see the ghostly apparition, the cast now have to don their spectacles in order to reveal the spooks.

Genre favorite Tony Shalhoub plays Arthur the protective father who inherits the mysterious glass mansion from his recently deceased brother Cyrus. Joining him on set is the gorgeous Shannon Elizabeth as his daughter Kathy and the real life 'Shaggy', Mathew Lillard. Capable performances all round but no one really stands out as a strong character which in most parts is due to a rather weak script.

By far the most entertaining part of the film has to be the ghosts themselves. The makeup effects are exemplary and, when combined with the correct mood lighting and sound effects, are certainly effective enough to put the fear of god up anyone watching. The first ghost to be seen in the house is the 'Angry Princess' who appears as a naked apparition complete with self mutilation gashes across her entire body. Then there is the 'The Jackal' who was so dangerous during his living years that his head had to be enclosed in a cage to stop him chomping down on unsuspecting victims. The pictures below give a brief incite into the look of some of the hideous creatures on offer but cannot do true justice until viewed in action. If you catch this movie on DVD you will be treated to a great introduction to each ghost with the history of their supernatural predicament. In fact this section was so good that it really should have been worked into the film somehow.

But for all this ocular panache comes a down side. The content of the plot just didn't justify the 87 minutes running time and I felt that they had over used the scenes which saw the cast members escaping from the ghosts. This however is a double edged sword in so much as the best monster effects were seen during these very same scenes. As far as the story goes it's hardly a justification and creates a very repetitive experience with very little substance other than a little ectoplasm.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		Plenty of ghost busting to increase the heart rate.
Tension		The corridor scenes that involve the cast running for their lives around the mansion builds a good amount of tension. The use of the spectral glasses worn to see the ghosts leads to a few moments of sudden fright. The stand out scene would have to be the first time 'The Jackal' is seen by Shannon Elizabeth's character.
Violence/ Gore		The physical violence is not all that elaborate but the red stuff does run in places and the ghosts take no prisoners when they are set free to do their thing.
Bare Flesh		The 'Angry Princess' fills this section nicely with her on-screen presence being solely dominated by the fact that she is completely and utterly butt-naked. The wounds that cover her body along with her cold black eye's are a real turn off but the boobs are there all the same.
Plot		An OK story ruined slightly by the repetitive us of the same premise: - There's a ghost run down a corridor, there's another ghost run down another corridor. Soon gets very tired.

Verdict Overall 'Thir13en Ghosts' is an enjoyable film for one reason only and that's the great monster makeup and special effects. The overall presentation is excellent and the visual flair that accompanies the film is very high. The story is pretty generic and has a tendency to repeat itself which unfortunately plunges the whole production into nothing other than intriguing eye candy.

Movie Pictures (Click picture to enlarge)