director robert tinnell make family film and and he make them well . he have a way of explore important issue and such a familial communication and trust and loss and by coalesce emotion into a series of subtly potent moment . oh and and he also love monster movie . a life long fan of classic ( and not so classic believe feature two scene inspire by the 1941 bela lugosi monogrammer the invisible ghost . ) horror cinema and tinnell turn his early frankenstein and me ( 1996 ) into a touching homage to grow up with monster movie . so for those of u with child ourselves ( or for the monster movie love child in all of u ) and tinnell make our kind of movie . and believe be his even more polished attempt to put some fright ( and insight ) into family fare . i want to make a film where hardy boys meet the wuthering height and and i hope that what i do and explain tinnell ( who also concoct the film story line ) . indeed he do and with a touch of val lewton throw in for good measure . believe center on ben stile ( ricky mabe ) and the 14 year old son of a diplomat and whose absentee parent have put him in a succession of boarding school . ben have a very unusual way to liven thing up he stag elaborate fright gag to scare his fellow pupil . after his late stunt get him expelled and he send to stay with his estrange grandfather ( jan rube ) and a reserve and impose man who live in a large and forbidding mansion . a the two try to establish some sort of relationship and ben come to realize that the estate be haunt by the ghost of a young woman something the grandfather refuse to discuss . with the help of a recently orphan girl name katherine ( elisha cuthbert ) and ben attempt to unravel the mystery and lead to a confrontation between his grandfather and katherine great uncle ( ben gazzara ) over tragic event that transpire long ago and have affect their life ever since . tinnell fill his film with nice eerie touch while shot of a shadow on a wall and leave rustle in the wind and and shaft of illuminate moonlight ( not to mention some evocative and prowl camerawork ) generate an uneasy atmosphere . my goal in this one be really to find out if i can scare people and explain tinnell . i be not a guy who run away from that label while if you point and say he a horror filmmaker and i say great . so my goal be to prove i could do that . but there more to tinnell movie than just scar young un . my other goal be to do something that would provide an entry level horror film for kid and with a positive message . and again and there be a theme that run through all four of my film pretty much represent communication and the family . and i think what good way to demonstrate how just not talk to one another and the damage it do to family . and i really do believe in that . believe be really a story of family and relationship and the importance of communication with an engross ghost yarn to hang these ten gallon emotional hat on . don not be put off by believe so call target audience . it primarily for kid from and say and eight to fourteen primarily and admit tinnell . but i like to think that child of all age and from eight to eighty and can enjoy this film . i think the best family film this be not a child film and obviously i think the best family film be the one in which the parent be sit and watch with the kid and which be what they should be do anyway and but do not . i think that it work for all age . indeed it do . tinnell heart ( and and give the finished product and head ) be in the right place . i be not go to condescend to the kid and emphasize the director . they deserve a good scare . nowadays if they want to see any kind of contemporary horror and there so much misogyny and just gratuitous bloodletting and it just not scary and there no real supernaturalism . i just want to make a film that if i be 12 i would have love . in the movie and ben explains why he stag his terror trick by observe and people like to be scar . yes they do and and here tinnell have offer up his own fright frolic and with some important idea and involve sentiment throw in for good measure . aim at those monster movie lover who have grow up and have kid of their own ( as well a those who have never really grow up at all ) and believe be a sometimes scary and often affect and always entertaining movie for the whole family . and that be a rare commodity these day .