The Legend of Hell House
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Movie Reviews of The Legend of Hell House
Movie Review: A truly frightening movie. Puts most modern horror to shame.
Summary: 5 Stars
One of those rare horror flicks that will actually scare the pants off you. I read the book years ago, and it somehow escaped me that this movie even existed. I bought it immediately when I saw that Matheson himself wrote the screenplay, and let me tell you, it all works. The actors really stepped up to the plate on this one and delivered a real bone-chilling performance. I find this doubly impressive given the low budget and economical use of special effects. bravo.Movie Review: EXCELLENT AND INTELLIGENT HORROR MYSTERY!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this film as a young teenager when it was first released. And I must admit, it has stood the test of time very well. It is just as great and suspenseful today as it was when I first viewed the film. Not only that, it is an intelligentally well done film. The film begins with a dying millionaire who hires a team of investigators to look into the possibility of life after death. They are given one week to give him conclusive evidence if indeed there is life after death.
The investigators are a physicist named Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill) who is also accompanied by his wife Anne (Gale Hunnicutt). Also, there are two mediums, Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin) [she portrayed the young girl in Deborah Kerr's "The Innocents"], and finally Ben Fisher (Roddy McDowell), the only survivor of the previous attempt to find out the secrets of Hell House. Florence is a religious medium, while Ben Fisher is a medium who intends to collect the money being offered by the millionaire, without opening up his paranormal powers to the house.
Fisher knows that the house is evil, and does not wish to involve himself in the investigation. He tells the others that the house's malevolent spirits do not mind a visitor or two, but it does not like to be challenged. The physicist has a machine that he claims will clean the house of negative energy. He refuses to listen to Fisher, and claims that science is the key to solving the secrets of Hell House, which he earlier told his wife, Anne, is the "Mt. Everest of Haunted Houses."
Friction develops immediately between Florence and Dr. Barrett. She claims the spirits need to be shown the way out and released from there terrible suffering. While Dr. Barrett believes his science will be the key. Fisher meanwhile is dawdling away the time when the week will be over. The house harbors many evils. It belonged to Emeric Belasco (Michael Gough), where every evil under the sun occurred. The film is great; I don't wish to put spoilers in here for you if you haven't seen the film, but it is highly recommended. A terrific film! [Stars: 5+]
Movie Review: The Mount Everest of Haunted Houses
Summary: 4 Stars
The Legend of Hell House remains one of the most effective, shocking and ghostly mysteries put to film.
Released in 1973, the same year as the blockbuster chiller "The Exorcist", the movie unfortunately fell by the way side and got lost in the rush of movie goers eager to witness demons possess a young Linda Blair. While the film is by no means a classic like Exorcist, it's still undeniably powerful and a must see for ghost loving fans and fans of scary movies in general. In the shadow of other spooky classics like The Shining or The Haunting, it's an often forgotten gem.
The modest budget forced the director John Hough to centralize all the action within the house and not delve into any of the complex back story found in the Richard Matheson novel. Matheson's book paints an awesomely evil and bone chilling history of Belasco House and it's owner, Emeric Belasco's depraved indulgences. By plopping the modern characters into the action, you lose much of the sense of horror of what the house was scene to years ago, but some of the dialogue of Matheson's screenplay, especially spoken by the always wonderful Roddy McDowal does make-up for some of the lack of it.
All of the other actors rise to the challenge of the material, while Pamela Franklin is a standout. Her psychic adept persona whose devotion to her Christian faith add an element of spirituality that is often, ironically, missing in most stories about glimpses into the world beyond the one we know and live, gives weight and importance to a role that may have come across as arrogant or holier than thou. Director Hough makes excellent use of music and sound effects to achieve a good number of frights and accentuate the overall menace of the house. And although the explicit nature of Matheson's descriptions of the quite adult desires in the book are never displayed outright, there is enough sharp dialogue and acting to get a sense of the bacchanalia the mansion played host to in years past. This is another mature and disquieting element not often seen in other ghost stories.
This disc contains only a trailer in way of extras and that's a true shame. Chillers in general are paid little respect by mainstream cinema and for a movie of this level to have nothing supplemental is something of a mistake the owners of the film must correct.
Movie Review: Excellent horror movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie, based on an excellent novel by Richard Matheson, is almost as good as its written counterpart. The book is a horror classic, and one of those books you can't put down until its over. The movie captures the essence of the book. Its plot is flawless (thanks to Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay), and the movie is very well done. Supposedly it's based on some other haunted-house movies like "The Haunting". I didn't think so (in fact i didn't like "the haunting" very much, i think it's extremely slow and boring), as the only thing this two movies have in common is the fact they take place in haunted houses.I really liked this movie, and i think its groundbreaking. I've seen some modern documentaries (1990s) on ghosts and hauntings, and they found relation between electromagnetic fields and supernatural ocurrences. This movie is the first one (at least the first one i've ever seen) that incorporates this ideas, and very early on (1970s). You really have to watch it! Oh, and if i didn't mention it early, its very SCARY! Movie Review: Richard Matheson's 'Hell House' on film.
Summary: 4 Stars
My intention for many years was to read Matheson's 'I Am Legend' and 'Hell House'. Since I have read none of them (as I can't find a copy anywhere), I decided to watch The Legend of Hell House before I do. To my surprise TLOHH is a really good haunted house film and an enjoyable horror flick. I found it to be an actually creepy film with a great use of audio, lighting, and camera work to create an uneasy atmosphere that gives Hell House a convincing evil. The acting is great in this film, with impressive perfomances from Roddy McDowell and Pamela Franklin. Impressive and effective scenes are also included. Scenes such as the 'seance' scene, the 'possession' scene, the 'cat attack' scene and many more.
The Legend of Hell House is a great haunted house film, with a creepy atmosphere and great performances, this has got to be one of my favourites. I will still intentivly read the book as soon as I find it. This is a horror film that I will add to my horror list and will treasure for a long time.