The Haunting (1963) vs. The Haunting (1999)

This was my big chance at stardom. THIS! Now do you understand why so many folks in Hollywood use drugs?

Both of the films are centered on a young and troubled woman. In The Haunting, she is Eleanor “Nell” Lance (Julie Harris). In The Hauntening, she’s merely Nell (Lili Taylor). No Eleanor. No last name. Only Nell. And as there are some good PG-13 horror movies, there are some good films where characters don’t have last names. Most of the time, however, if the people who made the movie can’t be bothered to give their main character a frickin’ last name, it is a flashing neon sign that reads “We didn’t care about this film. You shouldn’t either.” It wasn’t just Luke. It was Luke SKYWALKER. It was Michael CORLEONE and Scarlett O’HARA and Clarice STARLING. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz was Dorothy GALE and even Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti western Man with No Name wasn’t simply The Man. He was The Man WITH NO NAME. I’m sure filmmakers always think they have a reason for not giving their main character a last name. Usually that reason is they are lazy morons doing a half-assed job.