Terror in the Haunted House
by Harold Daniels
List Price:
Our Price: $4.12
You Save: $3.79 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.07 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Barry Bernard, Cathy O'Donnell, Gerald Mohr, John Qualen, William ChingDirector: Harold Daniels
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-08-14
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Rhino Theatrical
Movie Reviews of Terror in the Haunted House
Movie Review: "Death in its most hideous form waits for me.."
Summary: 3 Stars
The use of gimmicks in promoting low budget, low grade films used to be more common in the past, the grand master of such techniques being William Castle, probably his most famous being the attaching of vibrating devices to the bottom of various seats within the theater, then activating said device at specific moments during the showing of his film The Tingler (1959), scaring the heck out of movie going patrons. The purpose of these techniques was to provide an extra incentive to get the audience in the seats, using relatively inexpensive promotional tactics to prop up what was probably otherwise a weak film. Sometimes these techniques worked very well, while some floundered miserably, as is the case of the use of `Psycho-Rama', which was basically the insertion of single picture frames within the film, known as subliminal images, in Terror in the Haunted House aka My World Dies Screaming (1958). Directed by former actor Harold Daniels (Bayou, House of the Black Death), the film stars Cathy O'Donnell (The Amazing Mr. X, Ben-Hur), Gerald Mohr (The Angry Red Planet), William Ching (D.O.A.), and somewhat recognizable character actor John Qualen (The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao).
As the film begins, we learn Shelia (O'Donnell), living in Switzerland and recently married to Philip (Mohr), is having nightmares that are actually the re-emergence of a repressed event that occurred during Shelia's childhood. The nightmares feature a creepy house and always end at the same point, right before what was probably a traumatic event. Anyway, Philip and Shelia decide to return to the states (both were originally American citizens), and Philip, deciding Shelia needs time to rest, rents a remote house that shares a remarkable resemblance to the house in Shelia's dream, to which Shelia begins freaking out, but Philips seems curiously insistent that they stay, hoping to force Shelia to face her demons, thereby overcoming them, or so he says...well, even if they wanted to leave, they can't as someone keeps stealing the distributor cap from their car (damnable kids). Soon others begin to get in on the act, like Jonah (Qualen), the bugged-eyed, mentally defective caretaker, and Mark (Ching), the apparent owner of the old house (he doesn't live there, as he says it's too old and dilapidated for anyone to stay there, except, I guess Jonah, and the house does have a disturbing history). As the spookiness sets in (faces in the window, screams piercing the night, etc.), Sheila's fractured mind begins the slow process of piecing together memories once thought lost, but it may be too late to learn what really happened so long ago as she's certain death awaits her in the haunted house, and she may be right...
Terror at the Haunted House was actually better than I expected, but not great by any means. The story, what I would term as a psychological melodrama thriller, kept me interested through to the end (I did feel the final payoff a bit weak). The mystery is well preserved throughout, although some of the exposition did appear obvious and awkward (i.e. clunky). The pacing was relatively solid, slowing down a few times, but the tension was apparent. I thought one of the best parts was at the beginning, as O'Donnell's character was relating her dream, and we walked through it via POV shots of the house. This sequence was genuinely creepy and set up the rest of the story nicely. The acting was decent, nothing spectacular, but I did like Cathy O'Donnell (who I believe sounds a little like Mia Farrow) as she displayed a demure attractiveness (and spent a good deal of the film in her nightgown) and presented her character reasonably well. I also liked John Qualen as the nutty caretaker, I suppose because I have a soft spot in my heart for curmudgeonly, codgerly old coots on the screen, a few of my favorites being Walter Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre), Edmond O'Brien (The Wild Bunch), and the comical representation of Gabby Johnson, played by Jack Starrett, in Mel Brook's film Blazing Saddles. Qualen may not have been as curmudgeonly or codgerly as these latter characters (and this wasn't a westerner, as is the case of those other films), but he was pretty kooky, and the assumption within the film regarding the cause of his condition was living alone for much too long. As far as the `Psycho-Rama' element, or use of subliminal images (here they were odd cartoon still frames inserted at certain tense moments of the film), it was pretty annoying. You could tell something interrupts the movie, and use of the pause and frame advance feature on your DVD player will display these images, if your interested, and, thankfully, it didn't happen often. As someone else mentioned, Rhino, the company that released this film to DVD, took the liberty of inserting one of their own messages, one that features a crude, red cobra head (the originals were all in black and white), along with text that relates the message that you should rent Rhino videos everyday. I took this as I think it was intended, as a minor, playful adulteration of the original film, but it is an adulteration nonetheless, and something movie fans don't care for...also, the Internet Movie Database lists the running time of this film as 85 minutes, while this release is only 77 minutes. Is there truly an extra 8 minutes of footage out there? The film seemed pretty complete, so maybe it involved some lengthy pre-movie footage detailing what exactly `Psycho-Rama' was...I've seen this done on other films utilizing gimmicks. Regardless, the movie is decent and contains a few chills, even despite the `Psycho-Rama'. The picture quality on this DVD is pretty good, as is the audio. There are no special features available, but there are chapter stops.
Cookieman108
Summary of Terror in the Haunted House
Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 08/21/2001Similar DVD Movies
Island of Lost Souls (Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-10-25; DVD
Best price: $16.27
Price in other shops:
The Crawling Eye (Widescreen European Edition)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2001-12-04; DVD
Best price: $2.11
Price in other shops:
The Woman EaterImage Entertainment; Release date: 2000-05-09; DVD
Best price: $7.33
Price in other shops:
The Colossus of New YorkRelease date: 2011-08-16; DVD
Best price: $14.92
Price in other shops:
Queen Of Blood (MGM Limited Edition Collection)Allied; Release date: 2011-03-15; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Roger Corman's Cult Classics Triple Feature (Attack of the Crab Monsters / War of the Satellites / Not of This Earth)VIS; Release date: 2011-01-18; DVD
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $8.11
Price in other shops:
Navy Vs the Night MonstersMusic Video Dist; Release date: 2010-06-29; DVD
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Beyond the Time BarrierRelease date: 2010-07-26; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Horrors of the Black MuseumST Clair ENT GRP INC; Release date: 2005-10-25; Published: 2004; DVD
Best price: $1.51
Price in other shops: