Rose Red (2002) (TV)

"How beautiful you are, Rose Red.", 16 April 2007

Prof. Joyce Reardon teaches psychology and has a particular interest in the psychology of the occult. For her next research project, she intends to take a group of psychics to a local haunted house, Rose Red. The house is known as "dead cell" as it's been years since any reported supernatural activity occurred in Rose Red. It's Prof. Reardon's goal to use her team of psychics to bring the house back to life and gather physical data supporting her theories on the supernatural. But Rose Red is no ordinary haunted house. It's the granddaddy of haunted houses. Over the years, it's been responsible for the deaths or disappearances of dozens of people. What will happen if Prof. Reardon's team is successful in their mission? And will anyone be left to tell their story?

Even for a writer as gifted and talented as Stephen King, coming up with original ideas for a haunted house film is difficult. It seems that every haunted house movie made since 1963 follows the pattern set out by The Haunting. Rose Red is no different – a notorious house with a deadly history, a scientist looking to uncover its mysteries, a group of psychics, etc. So Rose Red gets no bonus points for an original story idea. But its execution is very nicely done. Because Rose Red was originally conceived as a miniseries, there's time to get to know a little something about the characters. It gives a little more substance to the danger they face. This extra time also allows for atmosphere – something that I've argued is missing from a lot of modern horror. The special effects are also quite good. I was especially impressed with some of the lighting, miniature, and matte effects. And the acting is better than I would have expected. Julian Sands has always been a favorite of mine and he does not disappoint here.

The only negative aspects of the film that immediately come to mind are the movie's finale and some ill-placed comedy. The ending of the movie is extremely muddled. I've seen Rose Red three times now and still have trouble deciding just what is behind the haunting (vampire, ghost, or something else). And the comedy featuring Prof. Reardon's colleague Prof. Carl Miller is really out of place given the tone of most of the rest of the movie.

Overall, if you're a fan of haunted house films like The Haunting or The Legend of Hell House, don't let Rose Red's 240 minute runtime put you off. It's about the best "traditional" haunted house movie I can think of from the last 20 years.

7/10