The scary-fun 1982 movie about a family who discovers their new home is most inconveniently located and haunted by ghosts not happy at what's happened is the latest to get an unnecessary and vastly inferior remake.

What makes it even more disappointing is what could have been. The screenwriter is Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire and the cast includes such talented actors as Sam Rockwell​ (whose often listless performance suggests embarrassment) and Rosemarie DeWitt​ as the hapless parents as well as talented youngsters Kennedi Clements (as the little girl who disappears) and Kyle Catlett (as the boy who has unpleasant encounters with a tree and, in this version, not one clown doll but several, but more is less here).

There are attempts to give the story some new touches – the father has recently been laid off work, the mother is trying to establish herself as a writer – but they don't add anything and are soon dropped. At least Jared Harris as occult specialist and TV host Carrigan Burke adds a touch of liveliness to the proceedings when he shows up, but it isn't enough.

Even the special effects aren't as impressive as expected. This all feels a bit half-hearted and is totally unmemorable, right down to the score, with nothing a match for Jerry Goldsmith's haunting main theme. Stick to the original.

The Blu-ray comes in 2D and 3D versions and also includes an extended version, trailers and an alternative ending.