HAUNTED CASTLE

Films presented on the gigantic IMAX screen are usually of a scientific, educational or nature thrill bent -- not counting those close-ups of Mick Jagger, maybe -- which makes a new 3D IMAX presentation called Haunted Castle a refreshing change.

Haunted Castle is all about effects, not story, so don't go expecting War & Peace. This is a 3D tale about a young musician who must visit his dead mother's castle, tangle with the devil, experience the music of the damned and try to avoid signing away his soul.

It is very cool to look at.

Haunted Castle envelops a viewer. The hero's point of view becomes your own as he tours the castle, encountering devils and flying rocks, singing holograms and walking gargoyles. Ghosts fly in your face. A skull lands in your lap. Magic mirrors show the torture of opera singers.

It's all pretty goofy, but exhilarating to look at.

To see the 3D aspects of Haunted Castle, viewers wear a futuristic set of goggles. We prefer to maintain a certain level of technical ignorance in these matters, which makes it easy to fall into the narrative and observe some awesome special effects.

Ben Stassen, who wrote and directed Haunted Castle, has pointed out that 3D immerses a viewer in a film and engages an audience on a physical level. This is so. Don't be surprised if you feel prompted to recoil from flying objects in Haunted Castle, even when you know full well they are not really there.

Haunted Castle is worth looking at if you are interested in effects and 3D; it isn't very scary, but you wouldn't want to bring children under the age of about 10.

Actually, the sights and sounds at all IMAX movies are so huge that we have found the IMAX experience to be overwhelming to small children, no matter how mild-mannered the subject matter. Just a thought.

review source: www.canoe.ca