Reviews

I think the 13 Ghosts movie is a really gory movie, typical horror. At first, I didn't really get the first scene at all, thinking it's something totally silly, but later, I discovered what it all meant, and actually after the movie as well. As I thought about it, I realised the whole point. Uncle Cyrus wanted Ocularis Infernum, the eye to hell, which would give him power and for that act, he needed thirteen souls that would be trapped in his glass house, matching the required ghosts by their type of death - eg. The Withered Lover needed to die in a fire.

Arthur Kriticos, the father of two children and a widower (his wife was The Withered Lover, but he didn't know until Rafkin told him), was supposed to be the thirteenth ghost, and therefore would fulfill Cyrus's needs. Arthur was lured into the house by thinking he inherited the lavish house after uncle Cyrus, thinking Cyrus is dead. After the glass doors of the house closed all the people in (Kriticos family, Maggie the nanny and Rafkin, the psychic who felt ghosts' presence by having painful spasms), the clockwork started ticking and every ten minutes releasing one ghost. What they don't know is that the Lawyer who told them about Cyrus's "death" is there as well, but they don't need to worry about that since the Lawyer dies a terrible death in the basement's dark corridors - he gets split in half by glass sliding doors.

Meanwhile, Bobby, the younger brother, gets lost in the basement, seeing the ghost of the First Born Son and his own mother, The Withered Lover. Rafkin, who helped Cyrus in trapping the ghosts, reveals all to Arthur, who gets panicking and wants to leave, but has to find Bobby first. They all search for him.

During the search, another character appears - Kalina, the woman who wants to free the trapped souls from the glass house and therefore spoil Cyrus's plan to power. She gets in through an exit that will not be there anymore when she gets in, because the glasses slide and move, according to themselves - it's a moving machine that releases the ghosts by moving of the glass slides with Latin encryptions, through which the ghosts cannot pass.

After the amount of time when all ghosts are released, both kids (Bobby and Kathy, the older daughter) are found in the middle of the eye to hell, surrounded by all twelve ghosts. Arthur needs to jump into the middle of it to save his kids, but two circles are rapidly moving all around them, so he needs to jump at the right time to avoid getting split into millions of pieces. He jumps well, but Maggie finds a room in the house with the whole machine set up by Cyrus. This is a good move because that's where the whole house is operated. So just before something serious happens with Arthur and his kids, she accidentally presses something which stops the whole machine going. That's when it all bursts, the glass is broken down and the ghosts are freed into space. The Kriticos family is then saved and free to leave.

While looking for Bobby and going through the house, Rafkin gets killed by Hammer. But the whole family and Maggie end in a happy end.

I think it was a quality horror with good special effects and a well thought-through plot. I don't know why some critics on the web are constantly saying it's a waste of time watching it and it's rotten, because if it were me, I would vote it about 3.5 out of 5, which is really good for a movie. And for a horror, I think it's a totally cool horror, much better than Freddy Kruger or other stuff. So if you're planning to go see it but are put off by the critics, don't listen to them because it's a really creepy movie that makes you think if you'll dream about the ghosts on a rainy, stormy night! It's really scary and those critics that say it's just a children's tale are lying, just trying to look tough. So don't hesitate and go watch it!