It's sometimes hard to believe that Francis Ford Coppola's first film was a black and white horror movie entitled "Dementia 13." Shot in the early 1960s, there were some actual chills and thrills, as an ax murderer roamed the castle grounds of a family.

What's even harder to believe is how (all these years later), a 2017 release of the same movie cannot offer half of what the original does. This time, the Haloran family owns a castle in England where all the family is to meet to celebrate Catherine. Trouble is, Catherine has been dead for quite some time. Had those involved with this film stuck with this simple premise, the movie might have had a chance. However, they could not leave well enough alone. From hit men to ghosts of Japanese workers who built the castle--it's all in there. It isn't scary (if you cannot figure out in the first 15 minutes who is doing the killing, you never need to watch another horror movie).

Unrated, but contains horror violence, language, and nudity.

Gathered together at their family house, a group of individuals intending to celebrate a family tragedy learn that not only as their world been thrown for a loop by a sudden revelation but a ravenous killer as well as a pair of thieves arrive which complicates their survival.

For the most part, this here wasn't all that bad of a remake. A lot of the fun here comes from the rather intriguing storyline here featuring the different backstage deceits and traditions of the family. Right at the beginning, we get the idea of their personal tragedies starting with the need to celebrate the accident yet also in the different setups for showcasing her as starting to become concerned about her intentions regarding their future which manages to readily upset the group.that doesn't take into account their own personal agendas which range from the backstabbing to the faithful that really gives this the kind of setup which gives the later horror scenes a nice charge. Those are surprisingly enjoyable, from the opening boat brawl to the later chase through the woods and the farmhouse ambush which signals the start of the home invasion where the robbers and the killer arrive to bring about more fun. Detailing the haunted house as well as their battles against the two different outside forces inside and outside the house, this has some enjoyable elements at play here to give this enough to lift it up over it's few minor flaws. The biggest issue here is the fact that the films' multiple storylines seem completely at odds with everything else around it, giving this the feeling of being incredibly scattered and chaotic for so short a running time. This works incredibly well with the backstabbing family members and the masked killer, yet when the film introduces ghostly hauntings, revenge, a character coming back from the dead for no reason and a group of kidnappers together with these elements it makes for a truly wild blend of activity that renders much of what happens too rushed to really care. That also reduces the fear and impact of the killer who has some fun scenes but doesn't have the full-scale sense of dread he could've had this one allowed for a more robust amount of time to get going as being reduced in screen-time definitely hurts him. As well, the darkness present in much of the finale affects this significantly as it's sometimes impossible to make out what's happening as there's just not much a chance of seeing anything. Along with the lame twist and the killers' motivation, these here bring it down.

Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence.