The Haunting
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Movie Reviews of The Haunting
Movie Review: AN EVIL OLD HOUSE .....ON DVD.
Summary: 5 Stars
Hill House is no place if you're nervous. Built by a madman, it's seen more than it's share of trauma and death. It's "stood for 90 yrs. and might stand for 90 more". It's haunted and there's always room for one more guest. The permanent kind. Robert Wise directed this 1963 version of Shirley Jackson's famous novel and proves that what scares us most is what lurks in the shadows, the woodwork, whispered disembodied voices, the odd disconcerting angles of a hallway...and something that pounds it's way around a huge, dark old house at night...and that terrifying feeling of being watched by something you can't see. The DVD of "The Haunting" is a fine widescreen/letterbox print that preserves the integrity of the marvelous b&w photography. The sound could've been punched up a little but it's adequate. The story of a parasychologist and his three specially chosen investigative guests who stay in Hill House is engrossing and literate with Richard Johnson as the fatherly Dr.Markway and Julie Harris, Claire Bloom and Russ Tamblyn as the guests all giving excellent performances. Harris especially (as the nervous and tormented Eleanor) is a standout as the bulk of the film rests on her shoulders. She is singled out by the house to "come home" and finds herself at odds with the others when they think she should leave. Scared out of her wits yet morbidly fascinated by what could be her dream come true, she learns to be very careful what you wish for...for those who walk in Hill House, walk alone. The last line by Russ Tamblyn, "This house should be burned down and the ground sowed with salt" still gives me chills. "The Haunting" is a haunting film and probably the best haunted house film ever made. Lots of great extras on the DVD, too. Enjoy this one with a friend.Movie Review: Slackers and stupid people need not watch
Summary: 5 Stars
I have watched horror movies, read horror books, and listened to horror stories all my life. The genre is a passion for me. I am also a writer who has had several horror stories published in a wide variety of magazines. So I have very strong opinions about what makes a good scary flick.
In my opinion this is absolutely the finest horror movie ever made. The strongest reason is its atmosphere. The proper atmosphere is essential to great horror. There must be a sense of isolation, of characters detached from the everyday world of sunlight and sanity. They must struggle against forces beyond their comprehension, fiends that threaten not so much their bodies as their souls.
The film catches this type of atmosphere magnificently. From the eerie music tones to the shadows in Hill House, it conveys a sense of creeping menace. The actors and actresses, especially the one who played Eleanor, slowly unwind mentally, letting the evil of the house overcome their defenses.
Another principle of great horror is that less is more. We're most afraid of that which we never see. This probably stems from our ancestors the cave dwellers, who would gather around flickering flames at night and tremble at the sounds of things just beyond the pale light of the fire. The Haunting employs almost no special effects, but the ones it does use (the pounding sounds, the door bending in) are just enough to accentuate the film's weird atmosphere, creating a true sense of terror.
At its best, horror is a peek into another world, one few of us have ever seen but which we all fear exists, where darkness reigns, and the best we mortals can hope for is to survive another day. The Haunting succeeds brilliantly at giving us a glimpse into this world, and for that I applaud it.
Movie Review: Watch Your Step In Here, It's Dark
Summary: 5 Stars
Man, what can I say that hasn't already been said. This was a great horror experience. And this is truly the only version on film that represents Shirley Jackson's original novel. It is a dark and frightening place these unsuspecting people step into, and it only gets worse.
Hill House is haunted, and a parapsychologist (Richard Johnson) chooses three other "researchers" to help him investigate what exactly is going on in this house. However, none of them are prepared for what will unfold.
The cast is superb, with Julie Harris playing a vulnerable "runaway" adult trying to gain respect and freedom for herself. Richard Johnson is the brave, level-headed researcher, hoping to find proof of life-after-death. Claire Bloom, sexy and unpredictable, plays the self-reliant psychic with a secret of her own. Russ Tamblyn as the synic turned believer. And watch for a surprising appearance of Louise Maxwell, Bond's Miss Moneypenny.
The film is a black-and-white masterpiece of gathering darkness and horror. Robert Wise fought Warner Brothers to keep the movie in black-and-white at a time when all major studios were insisting on color. The DVD presents the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio. The camera work here is tricky and masterful, catching you with odd angles and directions that cause a vague, and growing sense of angst, very much like the narrative in Shirley Jackson frightening novel. The sound quality is excellent. And the extras on this DVD are exceptional, with a full-length commentary including Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Director Robert Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding.
Turn out the lights kids, it's the only way to meet this thing; in the dark.
Movie Review: "I wonder if all homeless people feel this way..."
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the true classics of not only spook-cinema but cinema in general... only those who demand multiple mutilations murders and will be disappointed .
But the original 1963 B&W version of "The Haunting", directed by legendary filmmaker Robert Wise ("West Side Story", "The Sound of Music", "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and the editor for Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane") and based on Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House", remains the touchstone psychological ghost flick in all of filmdom.
Relying on hovering atmosphere, top-notch performances, fine black-and-white cinematography, eerie score, an effective use of sound, and a strange, almost sacred sense of doom, "The Haunting" achieves its chills the old fashioned way: it EARNS them...
Without gore or overt physicality, the film tells its tale as much thru the shadows in the tormented mind of damaged neurotic Julie Harris as those within the gothic structure she and her three cohorts (Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Richard Johnson) briefly inhabit... And the movie has the only thing a film can ever have to be really scary: its profound sadness.
The hopeless (but probably inevitable) 1999 remake has little in common with Shirley Jackson's book; there's nothing haunting about it. (Spielberg claimed the '63 original was one of his favorite films--- odd then that he would act as a producer [not director, mind you] of this inept and insulting re-do).
Also, dont confuse the classic "the Haunting" (1963) with the the campy "House on Haunted Hill"(1958), or the kinky "Legend of Hell House" (1973), or the "Haunting of Hell House" (1999) as well as the above mentioned '99 "Haunting" remake.
Movie Review: Audio Commentary for The Haunting (orig.)
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this release yesterday in a 'Scary Halloween Movies' issue here in Holland. The first thing that struck me was to read about an audio commentary, which supposedly included much of the original cast but without Richard Johnson (playing Dr Markway). The poor man must either have past away, or declined to cooperate in this project I thought. How wrong could I (or the (Dutch) person(s) responsible for the text on the packaging) be?Richard Johnson's voice suddenly appeared with the introduction of his character, sounding very much alive indeed! Much to my amusement he filled most of the audio commentary track. His contribution was probably the best, with interesting details about stage acting vs film acting, old films (better than?) new films, and his 'nearly being Bond' comment (triggered by the appearance of Lois Maxwell in the film). He was the only one to make a (very funny) reference to the 1999 disaster remake. Anyway, the announced commentary by Claire Bloom and Julie Harris turned out to be short bits, that gave me the impression they were cut-and-past work from some pre-recorded obscure interview in comparison.
By the way, Russ Tamblyn's 'real' ghostly encounter was interesing and appropriate for this hair raising picture from an era which lacked cheesy computer effects.
I intend to show this film (luckily I saw it on the BBC several years or so before the remake) to my friends, who will just have to admit that this still stands as the one and only 'Haunting'. As someone else here already said, this is the best haunted house movie around, due to it's subtile terror, a great cast and atmosphere (only the original Amityville comes close).