Some horror movies scare the living daylights out of you- the kind that leave such a deep impression on you that watching them for the hundredth time still gives you the shivers. Unfortunately, Thirteen Ghosts isn’t one of them.

Thirteen Ghosts is about a family whose idyllic lives are suddenly cut short when a tragic fire occurs. After losing everything, including his wife, Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) is reduced to a feeble-minded father to his kids, Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (Alec Roberts). They live in a crummy apartment and can hardly pay the bills.

Their meager existence is about to end when Arthur mysteriously inherits a mansion from his dead Uncle Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham). New owners of a beautiful modern house and forever free of financial responsibility, this seems like an answer to the family’s prayers.

What they don’t know is that terrifying ghosts inhabit the basement, and that their Uncle Cyrus was a crazy ghost-hunter with an evil scheme in mind.

Made of glass and steel, the house is a fascinating work of art. Inside, a revolving floor puzzle controls the constant shift and slide of the glass walls.

Latin scribblings are carved on the walls- spells that keep the ghosts from getting out.

When the Kriticos family arrives to explore the house, the ghosts start coming out one by one.

Each ghost is more horrifying than the last. They learn that the house is actually not a house, but a machine “created by the devil, and empowered by the dead.”

Thirteen Ghosts is a remake of the William Castle classic of the same title.

Commercial and Art Director Steve Beck makes his first full-length movie debut here, though it seems less a horror flick than it is a showcase of stunning visual effects. The scenes have faint touches of MTV flair.

The ghosts deserve mention. Thanks to lots of makeup and prosthetics, they look worse than shock-rocker Marilyn Manson. Some of them are just disturbing.

Some are scary as hell, disfigured in ways unimaginable. There is actually a horrible story behind each of their deaths, unfortunately they are not explained in the movie.

Shalhoub can’t hit the right note for his role, nor can Elizabeth act. I expected something more from the experienced Abraham, but he doe not make a strong impression either. Matthew Lillard is absolutely brilliant as Rafkin, the wacky psychic who is partially responsible for the messy ordeal.

Embeth Davidtz plays Kalina, the activist obsessed in liberating the spirits. She’s the one who reveals the plot of the movie, although how she fits in it remains obscure.

Rapper Rah Digga makes her film debut, playing the family nanny, Maggie. Her witty remarks and flippant attitude provide comic relief. She, along with Lillard, is a joy in an otherwise acting-deprived film.

Whether this remake is an improvement from the original classic or not, I wouldn’t know.

But it seems to have a muddled storyline with too many loopholes. The outset of the movie is confusing and rather vague. You don’t fully understand what’s happening until you’re halfway through.

The scary flick elements are all there, but somehow this just doesn’t scream “scary.”

Thirteen Ghosts manages to dazzle the audience with ghosts and stun with gore, but the acting leaves much to be desired.