`HAUNTING' HAUNTED BY BAD TIMING, MUDDLED SCRIPT.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

A triumph of production design, Jan De Bont's richly rococo remake of Robert Wise's spare, subtle 1963 film ``The Haunting'' is living dead proof that, when it comes to delivering screen chills, less is often more effective.

As if doubly damned, this beautifully bloated mega-production also suffers the misfortune of being released in the deservedly hyped shadow of the no-frills, innovatively chilling ``Blair Witch Project.'' That some $70 million worth of top Hollywood production values can't generate a smidgen of the disturbance that a lunch money indie does is probably the most frightening thing to be said about ``The Haunting.''

Still, there are dark pleasures here, though not of the shriek-inducing kind. First and foremost, of course, are Eugenio Zanetti's clever and cavernous interiors, huge castle spaces that are not only filled with monstrous appointments but feel like they were carved out of giant gargoyle innards.

Inspired by ``Citizen Kane,'' ``The Shining'' and, most obviously, De Bont and Zanetti's familiarity with the great edifices of Europe, these built-from-scratch sets overflow with plush menace: colossal leering portraits, carvings so detailed it's hardly surprising when they come to life, furnishings that look like they could not only swallow you but chew you up, too.

There are halls of mirrors, halls of horrifically cut filigree that seem to go on more infinitely than the reflecting glass corridors, a crazy kaleidoscopic ballroom with a rotating floor, a flooded library and the requisite secret passageway to a dusty study full of skulls and secrets. Of course, the whole building has a life of its own - more life, in fact, than David Self's script, which like the 1963 movie's is based on Shirley Jackson's popular novel, ``The Haunting of Hill House.''

The story this time around involves deceptive, self-serving psychologist David Marrow (Liam Neeson, not really engaged) tricking three insomniacs - naive Nell (Lili Taylor), outgoing bisexual bombshell Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones, fun but hardly developed to the fullest) and zonky skeptic Luke (Owen Wilson, expendable) - into spending a few nights at the late Victorian New England mansion. They think the doc is researching sleep disorders; he's really pursuing some murky experiment in group fear.

Strangely enough, Marrow seems unaware of the house's supernatural reputation (which makes you wonder why he chose it in the first place). When the whole place starts morphing into spectral manifestations of the industrialist pig who built it and the child workers he abused there, Marrow seems more unnerved by the screw-turn of events than his guinea pigs do.

Or, for that matter, than any but the most easily spooked audience members will. De Bont, who proved himself a master of techno-film pacing with ``Speed,'' and utterly inept at sustaining it with ``Speed 2,'' tries to have it both ways here - slowly and elliptically building up a tense atmosphere a la the Wise version, then overpowering us with barrages of ghostly special effects - and ends up canceling out each, strenuous effort with the clashing tone of the other. Trying to integrate subtle and spectacular, De Bont mostly achieves an unhappy balance of tedious and shrill.

Except for Lili Taylor. Best known for a sensational string of challenging indie film roles (``Household Saints,'' ``The Addiction,'' ``I Shot Andy Warhol''), Taylor brings precise emotional resonance to the interesting Nell. A waif who's devoted her life to caring for her disabled, demanding and mercifully just departed mother, Nell has a special connection to the house and a fragile psyche that makes her growing understanding of what's going on there appear to be madness.

Of course, the script doesn't really understand what's going on in ``The Haunting's'' Hill House, or at least can't impart it in a coherent way. But Taylor's empathetic performance somehow makes sense of her corner of this overstuffed, dramatically jerry-built parcel of expensive cinematic real estate.

THE FACTS

The film: ``The Haunting'' (PG-13; violence, language).

The stars: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Jan De Bont. Written by David Self, based on Shirley Jackson's novel, ``The Haunting of Hill House.'' Produced by Susan Arnold, Donna Arkoff Roth and Colin Wilson. Released by DreamWorks SKG.

Running time: One hour, 57 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two and one half stars.

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Photo

Photo: Nell (Lili Taylor) has a special connection to a foreboding house in ``The Haunting.''