grantss A so-so horror movie. Started fairly well, built well with a fair amount of intrigue, then unraveled to an extent at the end. After all the intrigue, the revelation and punchline just seemed lame and contrived, and created a few plot holes.Was reasonably entertaining, however.Movie will mostly be remembered (by men, especially) for Kate Beckinsale. This was one of her first big screen appearances and she is stunningly beautiful, and delivers a solid performance. Decent performance too from Aidan Quinn. Cast also includes Sir John Gielgud in a supporting role. He is there to give the movie some credibility and star-power.

Lexi Wolfe As a long-time ghost story fanatic, this is the kind of story which gives the other gently terrifying stories of the same genre, such as The Others, a real run for their money. Thrill-seekers who want a good ghost story are after A-bump-a-minute scenarios which, thankfully, this film does not have, instead garnering a slow but natural and steady pace which involves wonderful hints and twists throughout and a wonderful, touching and ultimately, creepy conclusion.I have never been a great fan of Aidan Quinn or Kate Beckinsale, though their chemistry here makes the film very watchable, and Quinn is acceptable as a hapless if not quite lovable hero. Beckinsale is also on generally good, charming form and, to be fair to both actors, there are several points in the script where the dialogue is so shallow and blunt, that Laurence Olivier and Gielgud himself (who appears and is wonderful as the local doctor) would have struggled to bring any more life to them without making the words seem silly and unrealistic.The show-stealer, as per usual in almost everything he is in, is undoubtedly Anthony Andrews, as the understatedly creepy yet charmingly alluring elder brother. Andrews is a very-much underrated actor as it is, but his performance and changes in attitude towards Quinn as the guest in their sprawling home, very much makes the film and most of the tension therein.Anna Massey too is wonderful as the housekeeper/nanny and creates a very sorry character with whom one instantly feels sympathy, playing out her pivotal role right until the very end with her usual grace and unabashed talent.To one who knows the ins and outs of modern twists and turns in movies and stories such as these, the ending is not altogether unpredictable, but the well-disguised yet compelling hints throughout make it all much more exciting, and the scenes of ghostly appearance are, for a change, nicely inserted without too much musical decoration or unnecessary special effects, making the whole thing very watchable. The sets and locations are stunning and elegant at all times, bringing up both the believability and charm of the story. This film, overall, falls into the category of a sadly overlooked, but wonderful fireside story, which deserves more publicity than it gets.

Laura Mazzoccoli I just watched this movie for the first time tonight. First of all, I love ghost stories, anything about the supernatural and I am interested. I also love period pieces, so this movie seemed like it would be great to watch. Well, I was definitely disappointed. During the first half hour or so, it was very promising and had a lot of potential to be really entertaining, mysterious and suspenseful. Unfortunately this never happened. It was incredibly slow moving for one thing. I was sitting there just waiting for something scary to happen to make David think there were ghosts. I had an idea about halfway through that Christina and her brothers were ghosts, although they tried really hard to make that not seem possible. And that was another thing that I didn't like, it was just way too far fetched. There was nothing that really made you think they were ghosts, they could've been a bit more clever about that. And then Christina dying in the car fire, what was that all about? I don't know, it was very strange. It had real potential to be a fantastic movie, but it just didn't do it for me. Maybe I have to watch it again. I am really surprised about the reviews for this movie, I think I've read one bad review and I really thought there would be many bad reviews. This is by far my favorite genre and I am pretty upset that I didn't like this movie.

leebca Acting superb however the story stretches the likliehood of credibility. I like a good 'punch line' as much as the next, but to go through the almost entire length of a movie to find out it was all an illusion is a big let down. There should have been some clues, realistic giveaways in the plot, to suggest that what was happening was an illusion. The old lady did have her moment of questioning the events, but it should have been played up more, I think, casting more doubts on the current events. I find the movie somewhat entertaining but hard to reconcile the surprise ending with the extensive detail of the illusion the viewer was presented. Sad too that Ms. Beckinsale had a body double for the nude scenes, but they were well done nonetheless. The director begins with an innocent skinny dip, then a drop of a robe top in a natural moment, to a slightly perverted moment of nudity and finally a sex scene with nudity. A wide range of nudity woven into a plot.