House on Haunted Hill (1959) directed by Robb White
House on the Haunted Hill is a kind of cheesy horror movie that is actually pretty good with a diabolical (although kind of ridiculous) plot, surprises and some cheap scares. Running at just 70 minutes, it gets to the point right away by introducing the entire cast, premise and first shock within the first five minutes and doesn't let up till the very end. That's exactly how I like these kind of films, tight and concise not wasting a single moment.
A wealthy man and his wife invite five guests over to a haunted house and will give each person $10,000 if they decide to stay the night. Obviously the set up sounds super suspicious but that does not stop them from agreeing, though perhaps they wish they hadn't when strange and creepy stuff starts to happen in the house. A murder occurs and soon the guests realize this is no simple game and they must figure out exactly what is going on. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I am eerily reminded of Les Diaboliques. I have no doubt that this film borrowed its sneaky plot from the French classic. You'll simply have to watch one movie or the other to know exactly what I mean, but I really appreciated the ending for being surprising and unique.
Of course this wouldn't be a horror film without some of the obligatory scares and this film has a couple of them. There is one pop out moment that is rather jolting and could easily be the best scene in most horror films. Some of the other scares border on tacky including a dancing skeleton but it is amusing in a very good way. It's not difficult to see the fakery of it all but it is still pretty darn good and gives the film a certain charm. Overall this is a great film for its genre because it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, entertain and scare, even throwing in a clever plot to boot. In comparing this film with Les Diaboliques, I would say on many levels the French film is better, but for pure entertainment value House on Haunted Hill takes the cake. It should be noted though they are clearly different films despite the obvious similarities.
Grade: A-
House on the Haunted Hill is a kind of cheesy horror movie that is actually pretty good with a diabolical (although kind of ridiculous) plot, surprises and some cheap scares. Running at just 70 minutes, it gets to the point right away by introducing the entire cast, premise and first shock within the first five minutes and doesn't let up till the very end. That's exactly how I like these kind of films, tight and concise not wasting a single moment.
A wealthy man and his wife invite five guests over to a haunted house and will give each person $10,000 if they decide to stay the night. Obviously the set up sounds super suspicious but that does not stop them from agreeing, though perhaps they wish they hadn't when strange and creepy stuff starts to happen in the house. A murder occurs and soon the guests realize this is no simple game and they must figure out exactly what is going on. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I am eerily reminded of Les Diaboliques. I have no doubt that this film borrowed its sneaky plot from the French classic. You'll simply have to watch one movie or the other to know exactly what I mean, but I really appreciated the ending for being surprising and unique.
Of course this wouldn't be a horror film without some of the obligatory scares and this film has a couple of them. There is one pop out moment that is rather jolting and could easily be the best scene in most horror films. Some of the other scares border on tacky including a dancing skeleton but it is amusing in a very good way. It's not difficult to see the fakery of it all but it is still pretty darn good and gives the film a certain charm. Overall this is a great film for its genre because it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, entertain and scare, even throwing in a clever plot to boot. In comparing this film with Les Diaboliques, I would say on many levels the French film is better, but for pure entertainment value House on Haunted Hill takes the cake. It should be noted though they are clearly different films despite the obvious similarities.
Grade: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment