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Keep in mind, 1959 props were much more limited than they are today, so unfortunately you will see some corny skeletons. House on Haunted Hill is one of the films of the great William Castle. William Castle was a filmmaker who conceived his films in a spirit of entrepreneurial hucksterism not unakin to that of a P.T. Castle conducted stunts like taking out insurance policies in case audiences died of fright – Macabre (1958), or wiring theatre seats up with electric shock buzzers to jolt audiences at appropriate moments – The Tingler (1959). The great gimmick in House on Haunted Hill was having a skeleton winched across the theatre on a wire at the point in the film when a skeleton appears to rise from an acid pool and pursue the heroine.
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The color version was released on DVD the same year by 20th Century Fox. Extras prepared by Legend Films for the Fox DVD release included an audio commentary track by comedian Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000, two versions of the trailer, and a slideshow of images from the film's original press book. William Castle lacked any style as a director and his pace is slow and pedestrian – his films invariably belied the threat of scaring people to death that he constantly promised to do. Nevertheless, the luridness of Castle’s pop-up effects and some effective plot twists on behalf of frequent Castle collaborator Robb White make the film an undeniably entertaining carnival show. Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart play off one another with a marvellously glacial dislike.
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When Lance and Nora remain behind to further explore the basement, Lance is locked in an empty room and struck on the head, while a menacing ghost confronts Nora. Anyone who stays in the house for the entire night, given that they are still alive, will each receive $10,000. Frederick Loren, an eccentric millionaire, invites five people to a party he is throwing for his fourth wife, Annabelle, in an allegedly haunted house he has rented.
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Frederick is convinced Annabelle tried to poison him to acquire his wealth, which Annabelle somewhat evasively denies, attributing his suspicions to paranoia and jealousy. Watson believes the house is genuinely haunted by the ghosts of those murdered there, including his own brother; he claims to have spent one night there before and "was almost dead" when found the next morning. He gives a tour of the house, including a vat of acid in the basement, which a previous resident used to kill his wife.
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House on Haunted Hill is about five individuals who receive an invitation for a party at Frederick Loren’s home (Vincent Price) that he rented to celebrate his wife, Annabelle Loren (Carol Ohmart). Loren alleges that the house is haunted and offers an award of $10,000 to each of the five individuals who can stay the entire night and survive. Once the doors lock and the people are trapped in the house, strange and mysterious things start to happen.
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Almost as frightened as Nora is Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook), the house's owner and another of the party's guests. He is fully convinced that the house is genuinely haunted by the ghosts of those killed there in the past, and that those ghosts have the power to "come for" and kill anyone in the house that they wish. The Samuel Freeman House in Los Angeles, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1924, and now listed on the National Historic Register, was used for the exterior shots of the haunted house during the film's opening sequence. Lorimar Productions released the film on VHS cassette on CBS/Fox Video's Key Video in October 1985. Two major studios have released it on home video in remastered versions. Warner Home Video released the film on DVD as a tie-in to the release of the 1999 remake.
However,despite the overall appearance and fun flow of the film, the veryheart of House on Haunted Hill is its character. People, more thananything else, are the lifeblood of House on Haunted Hill, so muchthat beyond the interpersonal intricacies, there's not much else tosay. Most of the ghostly activity can be explained by backstabbingand double-crossing, and most of the suspense is driven by humansuspicion and fear rather than spooks and gore.
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Overall, it lends justenough credence to the spooky happenings, tempering theridiculousness and making the whole film easier to swallow. The film was given a worthwhile big-budget remake as House on Haunted Hill (1999). This in turn produced a direct-to-dvd sequel with Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007). MovieMeter aims to be the largest, most complete movie archive with reviews and rankings, in the World. Our team of journalists delivers the latest news for movies and TV shows.
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Campy by modern standards but spooky and atmospheric, House on Haunted Hill is a fun, well-executed cult classic featuring a memorable performance from genre icon Vincent Price. I'm old enough to have first seen this in a theater--sans Emergo, dammit. Castle gives us one 360 degree shot around the house's main room which is silent. As with the new Paranornal Activity, your eye shoots back and forth trying to pinpoint the spot at which something is going to happen.
Suddenly, people start disappearing or getting hurt and each person suspect each other as to who is behind these horrific acts. The story continues as the mysteries begin to unfold in this haunted tale. Producer and director Castle was known for adding extra “special effects” to his B-film productions.
Having encountered further apparitions, Nora decides against staying the night, but the caretakers lock the doors five minutes early, taking that option out of the guests' hands. House on Haunted Hill is a campy, scary, and entertaining effort from the director of 13 Ghosts and The Tingler. Horror buffs young and old will therefore enjoy this film, silly gimmicks and dated special effects notwithstanding.
Exterior shots of the house were filmed at the historic Ennis House in Los Feliz, California. Film used Emergo, a gimmick in which an illuminated skeleton, mounted on two wires, floates over the audience during the climax of the film. Johnny Legend released a 50th anniversary DVD containing many extras such as both the original theatrical trailer and TV spots plus several William Castle and Vincent Price theatrical trailers, a Carol Ohmart profile and "golden age" TV shows starring Vincent Price. If you enjoyed this post, please enter your email address in the subscription box to stay tuned for more updates.
The 1999 film was released to negative reviews but was a box office success, while the 2007 sequel was direct-to-video and widely panned. The poster for the film included an illustration of a house in yet a third style, that of a fanciful four-story Romanesque structure. Frederick Loren has invited five strangers to a party of a lifetime. I first saw this movie when I was in grade school and loved it (though even back then I was a bit surprised by how fake the witch looked). Watching it again this summer, however, left me pretty disappointed.
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