The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
Tower of Terror
Comedy · Family · Horror · 1999
A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.
Movie details
Tower of Terror
“Hotel guests check in… But they don't check out!”
1999 Comedy · Family · Horror 1h 29m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Tower of Terror?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Roald Dahl's The Witches
Comedy · 2020
In late 1967, a young orphaned boy goes to live with his loving grandma in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encounter some deceptively glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, she wisely whisks him away to a seaside resort. Regrettably, they arrive at precisely the same time that the world's Grand High Witch has gathered.
Mostly Ghostly
Family · 2008
Based on the successful book series by R.L. Stine, this spooky tale finds 11-year-old Max making a deal with the ghosts who haunt his home. If Max helps them find what was responsible for their parents' disappearance, they'll help him transform from a social nobody to the most popular kid in school.
Under Wraps 2
Family · 2022
As Marshall, Gilbert and Amy are preparing for her father’s Spooktacular Halloween-themed wedding to his fiancé Carl, plans go awry when they discover that their mummy friend Harold and his beloved Rose may be in danger.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls
Comedy · 2018
When ten-year-old Lewis is suddenly orphaned, he is sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a creaky (and creepy) old mansion with a mysterious ticking noise that emanates from the walls. Upon discovering that his uncle is a warlock, Lewis begins learning magic, but when he rebelliously resurrects an evil warlock he must find the secret of the house and save the world from destruction.
Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House
Family · 2016
Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.
Hotel Transylvania 2
Animation · 2015
When the old-old-old-fashioned vampire Vlad arrives at the hotel for an impromptu family get-together, Hotel Transylvania is in for a collision of supernatural old-school and modern day cool.
A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting
Family · 2020
Recruited by a secret society of babysitters, a high schooler battles the Boogeyman and his monsters when they nab the boy she's watching on Halloween.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Animation · 2018
Dracula, Mavis, Johnny and the rest of the Drac Pack take a vacation on a luxury Monster Cruise Ship, where Dracula falls in love with the ship’s captain, Ericka, who’s secretly a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, the notorious monster slayer.
Hotel Transylvania
Animation · 2012
Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up and no humans are allowed. One special weekend, Dracula has invited all his best friends to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis's 118th birthday. For Dracula catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but the party really starts when one ordinary guy stumbles into the hotel and changes everything!
The Canterville Ghost
Animation · 2023
An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
D.J. MacHale
Written by
D.J. MacHale
Steve Guttenberg
Buzzy Crocker
Kirsten Dunst
Anna Petterson
Nia Peeples
Jill Perry
Michael McShane
Chris 'Q' Todd
Amzie Strickland
Abigail Gregory
Melora Hardin
Claire Poulet
Alastair Duncan
Gilbert
Court is in session
Put Tower of Terror on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.