a review of 吵闹鬼

Hooptober Night Nineteen: Finally saw this all the way through (and unedited for TV) for the first time and was honestly blown away. There's so much here that has been borrowed from or regurgitated for other movies that it's actually stunning to see it here in its original form. Going in, I knew that there was a controversy and rumors regarding the extent of Steven Spielberg's involvement as producer, to the effect that he may have taken over from Tobe Hooper as co-director for certain sequences. I'm not certain how much of that I necessarily buy, even if there are a few scenes here and there that feel like tonal echoes of some of the quieter moments of Close Encounters or Jaws. But honestly the scenes that stick with me the most feel like Hooper's hand is behind them, just in terms of ratcheting up the tension to unbelievable levels and then either continuing to escalate or just letting the audience sit in it. Spielberg is able to generate excitement through his shot placement and editing choices, but there's always a release valve in the design; Hooper doesn't give the audience an escape hatch and that shows through in the most frightening scenes in this film.