Thirteen Ghosts

William Castle - on whose original this horror film is based - was something of a downmarket Hitchcock and master of extravagant promotion. When his Thirteen Ghosts (1960) came out, the audience were handed 3D-style glasses to see the on-screen spectres - no such gimmick this time, regrettably. Single father Arthur (Shalhoub) inherits a house from creepy uncle Cyrus (Abraham, camping), the basement of which is full of ghosts, each representing a sign of the dark zodiac. Cue mayhem. The house is the best thing in the film, a fantastic entanglement of glass, steel and Latin script. Passable SFX provide some distraction from all the frenzy and screaming.