Unfortunately, The Haunting isn't the only lousy film based on previous material in this issue. Inspector Gadget is the latest in a long line of TV inspired messes that should have stayed in development hell.

Matthew Broderick plays the mechanical, crime-fighting sleuth and Rupert Everett is Claw, his nemesis. This zany, disjointed misfire clocks in at a minuscule seventy-five minutes. Guess what? It's still too long!

This film is full of bad jokes and familiar special effects. The only one involved that brings any life to this hopeless project is the radiant Joely Fisher. She has a light, bubbly aura around her that really works, but that's about it.

Last, but not least, let me drill director David Kellog. Somehow he found a way to keep the kids in the audience unamused. I don't know what I expected; after all, his claim to fame was the wretched Cool As Ice.