Haunted Castle (2001)

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Director: Ben Stassen

Screenplay: Ben Stassen and Kurt Frey

Cast: Jasper Steverlinck as Johnny; Kyoko Baertsoen as the Mother; Harry Shearer as Mr. D

A work like Haunted Castle, an IMAX 3D presentation which got a British DVD early in the medium's existence and is long out-of-print, is the kind of motion picture work whether it is held as good or not that will sadly be forgotten. There is an innate issue in motion picture history of what to do with these types of films - the "gimmick" films, not taking into considering the motion pictures that run with amusement park rides, which this explicitly evokes by Hell's transport system as a rickety tram system, but even in regular cinema itself. The inherent issue is that what large companies spent large amounts of money on to create in specially designed cinemas cannot be easily recreated for the home - the death of 3D television, or absence in the United Kingdom for less harsh words, is an example to this, and even something as simple as "Odorama" with scratch and sniff cards is an expense only Criterion of all people will invest in for their release of John Waters' Polyester (1981), a tribute/parody of this gimmick where you can now smell dog shit by the card included with the Blu-Ray.

This is a shame as, whilst a flexible viewer of cinema, I honestly think even the fact that I've seen very few films on a cinema screen is itself missing a part of the medium's power even though I am flexible with my cinema viewing on TVs and streaming. I am not a purist, but if even repertory screenings are an elusive thing for me where I am, what does one do with gimmicks (Cinerama, the long lost Earthquake (1974) system of Sensurround etc.) which require a lot of tech unless you can fund a budget to allow anyone to see this pieces. Even something as simple as John Carter (2012), which I saw in the cinema in 3D, is going to be difficult if you can't afford the equipment, or its pointless to without more films to use it for. Whilst the memory is precious, it's an inherently asinine ideal that it'll be more precious without chance to see it in the same context, as I'd still create a new memory and gain new perspective if I could see John Carter in a cinema in 3D again, a potential to build on a work in layers lost due to tech being cumbersome to acquire. Sadly the cost to run many properly is also factored, in the case of Haunted Castle, with the age as this short forty plus minute work would be viewed obsolete today.

Admittedly, its director Ben Stassen, who founded nWave, has this film mentioned in the catalogue of productions on their website, so there is some hope that. Ben Stassen himself, before we get to the film itself, didn't disappear into obscurity either though many might not recognise the name. Starting in IMAX/sideshow experience films, he worked his way up to the modern day with animated films The Queen's Corgi (2019). He's also a pioneer in 3D, a Belgium producer/director who's founded company nWave worked on many large-format spectacle films before changing to computer animated movies. Admittedly this might mean that Haunted Castle is better preserved as mentioned, but if Stassen ever found out about this itsy-bitsy review I hope he still appreciates someone dusting an old title in his filmography off and letting a wider audience know of it.

As a film Haunted Castle is a theme park ride, literalised as Hell's basement for musicians who've sold their souls to Mr. M (Satan if voiced by the same man who played Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap befittingly) right down to a Ferris Wheel that carries people across over the chasm over fiery hell magma. To be honest, call it a simplistic pleasure but it was catnip for me, the notion of immersion something I appreciate even in simple amusement, in this case propulsion through our lead character, a musician whose mother was a famous singer, through this strange place like an exhibition.

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The premise is that said son searches for her at the titular castle, which is simply an excuse for his journey where he experiences the sights of everyone who signed their soul to the Devil, even if that means their bodies are disposable for torture. Whilst this is a spectacle film, it does get surprisingly dark for a PG rated film, reaching a scene where in mirrors everything from acid baths to Saw franchise death traps can be recreated as long as you don't show the actual aftermaths to them. The pretence of a plot, following a male character, means you occasionally see him, real actors (including singer Kyoko Baertsoen as his mother) superimposed to the computer animation, whilst most of it is from the perspective of first person.

Haunted Castle was designed originally for 3D as well, originating from a period long after the fifties created the format and the brief eighties period died out, long before the reattempted version from the late 2000s intermittently still with us, where I'd naturally understand why the format would probably be more common in this type of spectacle ride instead. This is entirely part of the idea of multi-media in general, the issues with preserving this material notwithstanding an entire spectrum of ideas including even 4D cinema which raises a lot of issues; one simple issue is that for many, they can be viewed as entirely anti-cinema in turning the medium into just thrills and little else, but is a fascinating territory to consider for the open minded.

One factor already mention that will hurt Haunted Castle for many is that its animation is obsolete, not 8-bit or 16-bit from videogames, which is still trendy nowadays, but beyond that to later consoles and advancement stuck between uncanny valley and severer dating in effect. I love it, but in the gap between Playstation One and Playstation Two, animation if not stylised will always date. I love this type of animation however for this reason, not for irony but entirely in the same mentality of the vaporwave musical/internal culture of how it develops a dreamlike substance as it becomes more dated. Haunted Castle, watching the 3D version without equipment and putting up with the image being partially blurred where props were meant to stand out, eventually sucked me in as an imaginative experience in lieu to what it was meant to be.

In fact, I find animation like this in general, computer animation or very abstract work, even some great timeless creations, sometimes bad aesthetic, far more engaging for me over live action cinema, in a sense like the aforementioned living dreams which are felt as fully formed, surreal experiences. And trust me, for that surreal mood, the fakeness of this work now helps Haunted Castle a lot in that department too. The film does end on a flat note admittedly that undercuts this, where the lead doesn't prove himself to be a great rock star in the slightest in his flat vocal delivery and a bland pop rock song played in the concert we watch at the end. It's a slight moment, and a reminder that in 2001 we had a lot of terrible music. This isn't even a slam against pop music, because I am sure if you dug somewhere there'd be something more bombastic from the time.

It does however make up for this in the general ghoulishness of the material preceding it, a sense of surprisingly macabre sensibility that is to be admired. At least in terms of an entertainment spectacle, now that the 2000s is now old, this has the curious charm that one finds when one encounters a toy from a previous decade, their personalities grow by the style and very videogame-like appearance. And the spectacle itself is gleeful, be it a robot band being slowly picked off by a crown of wrecking balls suspended over them or the reason Satan now really likes to torment opera musicians more than anybody else. It is eerie, not broad despite envisioning the tram system of one of Hell's soul storage units as a malfunctioned and rickety rollercoaster ride, but eerie in tone even if it's never scare, just a ride.

Abstract Spectrum: Immersive/Eerie

Abstract Rating (High/Medium/Low/None): None

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