A sceptic University professor called David Ash : Aidan Quinn is summoned to Edbrook House by dotty servant , Miss Webb : Anna Massey . Then David's drawn into the intrigues of its other three inhabitants , Christina : Kate Beckinsale , and the brothers Roberts : Anthony Andrews and Simon : Alex Lowe . Unsettled by the bizarre goings-on , the visiting American David begins to lose his grip on reality ; while Massey's twitchy , unhinged old maid sets the tone for what will follow , and Beckinsale's sexy Christina fuses childlike recklessness with adult manipulation . Along the way , various fantastic events occuring : pianos that play by themselves, fires that spring up from nowhere and housekeepers who see things . You will believe ...!

This is a supernatural tale of love and mystery adapted from James Herbert's novel by veteran filmmaker Lewis Gilbert . An old-fashioned ghost story with convincing interpretations that benefits itself from craftsmanship , but lacks atmosphere and imagination enough . All is present and correct , from Edwardian pile where things go bump at the night , to the ghostly figures by a moonlit lake. Aidan Quinn brings an emotional dimension to the professional sceptic David Ash who like Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle unmasks trickery , false gurus , fake clairvoyants and whose rational beliefs are challenged by a confrontation with the spiritual world . Quinn's disintegrating professor holds things together, his splendid interpretation results to be the solid dramatic axis around which things spin wildly out of control . Along with Kate Beckinsale as the English rose heroine and an arch British supporting cast , such as : Anthony Andrews who's producer as well , Anna Massey , Alex Lowe , Geraldine Somerville and Linda Bassett as Madame Brontski . This one , though , does have an extra touch of class in the splendid form of John Gielgud who at 91 can still give the best acting in the movie . And there's some strong love scenes and nudism , just to remind us that this is 1995 and not some phantom from forty years before , though Kate Beckinsale has a body-double in her naked apperances.

The motion picture was competently directed by Lewis Gilbert who was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry. Lewis has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie (1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie , 1966), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989). He was a successful producer and director , getting some hits , such as : Alfie , Operation: Daybreak , Shirley Valentine , H. M. S. Defiant , The 7th Dawn , Light up the sky !, Sink the Bismarck ! , among others . And directing three notable James Bond films : The Spy Who Loved Me , Moonraker , You Only Live Twice . Rating : 6.5/10. Above average . Well worth seeing .