The Haunting
Reviews
Nutshell
Many years ago little nutshell asked Mommy and Daddy for permission to stay up and watch this movie. He soon regretted it, as this bone-chilling ghost story nearly caused the young lad to soil his shorts, and it would be several more days until he could fall asleep with the lights out. Even today, I can't watch this movie in an empty house with the lights off. It's just too damn scary. Robert Wise had one of the most varied and distinguished directorial careers in Hollywood history, and he understood very well that psychologically speaking, what you can't see can hurt you. An imaginative viewer will almost always fill in a blank with something far more horrible than what the director could show on screen. This is a formula that has been largely abandoned, and is a highly contributing reason why most of today's horror movies absolutely suck. Give this one a go. Wait until nightfall. Wait until nobody else is home. Turn off the lights and watch. I dare you...
John Chard
And whatever walked there, walked alone. The Haunting is directed by Robert Wise and adapted to screenplay by Nelson Gidding from the Shirley Jackson novel The Haunting of Hill House. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn and Lois Maxwell. Music is by Humphrey Searle and cinematography by David Boulton. Hill House has a troubled history, death, either by accident or by suicide, has occurred there over the years. Today, Dr. Markway, an anthropologist and investigator of paranormal activity, leads a team of four for a stay at Hill House, where they will stay for a period of time in the hope that Markway can prove something paranormal resides there The haunted house premise has been a staple for horror film makers since forever. To place the viewer in a murky house, alongside some character unfortunates, and then scare the tar out of them has always been the aim. It hasn't often worked to great effect, in fact the number of genuine scary haunted house movies barely trouble the fingers of both hands. How strange, then, that the best of the bunch chose a simple formula that has never been replicated since with the same great effect. The Haunting thrives not on what it throws at you by way of jumps and peek-a-boo visceral shocks, it deals firmly in the realm of what you can't see scares you the most. Where we have to use our own fretful imaginations to fill in the blanks for us, which is never a good thing in psychological horror parlance. Robert Wise, a most gifted and versatile director, uses oblique camera angles, thundering sound effects and angled close ups of his actors to get the maximum amount of atmosphere from the premise. Distortion is very much a key component here. We are told the history of the house and some of its structural quirks, the camera angles heighten this for ethereal impact whilst simultaneously marrying up to the distortion of a key character's mental health. The story in essence sounds simple, yet there is much bubbling away in Hill House, both on the page and up there on the screen. This is not simply a case of a group of people being haunted by a spectre or otherwise, the mind is a key player here, very much so. Along the way are some truly breath holding scenes; a bending door, pounding in the corridor, a face on the wall (the lighting here genius), Nell's hand holding incident, a rickety spiral staircase that we fear from the off, and the ghostly finale as Hill House reveals its hand and what we thought was a simple and true narrative is actually more clever, more chilling than we first imagined. Suggestion is a very big thing in The Haunting, it's what drives it to greatness, but it also has scenes that really bring the gooseflesh jumping up on your arms. The acting is mostly great, with Tamblyn and Johnson correctly underplaying their roles to let the two girls take centre stage. Both Harris and Bloom are excellent. As Nell, Harris is nervous, introverted and caught up in the atmosphere of the house, it's the pivotal role and Harris instills a heart aching fragility into the character. Bloom as Theodora has mystical qualities, a sexiness and a devilishly playful disposition, things that play off of Harris' egg shell walking quite brilliantly. While the house itself (exterior is Ettington Park Hotel in Stratford-Upon-Avon) is an ominous character all of its own. As Nell first spies the monolithic frontage she muses that it's a monster waiting to swallow her, a small creature, whole; we know exactly how she feels. Still the template haunted house movie, accept no substitutes and ignore stupid claims of homophobia, this is intelligent, scary and crafted with great skill. 10/10
Filipe Manuel Neto
**A simple film with a basic script, but which scares us in such a way that it still has an influence on horror productions today.** Movies about haunted houses? Whoever saw one of them, saw them all… right? I like to think not. And this film is probably the grandfather of a good number of them! Currently forgotten due to the passage of time, the film had a much weaker remake in 1999, and I believe that it is itself a rewrite of “House on Haunted Hill”, released three years earlier, in 1959, and which also has already deserved a new production in recent years. The impact of this film on the industry and horror genre was notable and continues to have some echoes. The story begins by introducing us to Hill House, a fateful mansion shrouded in a cloak of mystery and a past of death. Unlike the modern remake, this film never explores the origins of that evil, it simply accepts it and places the characters inside the house, under the pretext of a paranormal investigation clumsily led by a parapsychologist obsessed with proving the veracity of haunting phenomena and the afterlife. As a story told, the film is frankly poor and leaves us with more questions than answers. We are presented with a psychological experiment conducted without criteria and which, if it had been true, would have shocked the scientific community and led to a variety of legal consequences. Do I need to say that the study would have to stop at the first sign of danger to the mental health of one of the participants? Issues that seem logical, such as the fact that the subjects volunteer in writing, after fully knowing what will be done and the risks, are put aside, as are the hostile attitudes of the caretakers, who are not satisfied with the additional work, or the passivity of Eleanor's family, which only appears to show how uprooted the character would feel. The cast is not very well known but makes a commendable effort. Lois Maxwell is perhaps the most easily known name, but she appears for a very short time and doesn't add much with her participation. She gives life, moreover, to the most apparently sane person in the midst of that madness. And I'm not saying that I don't believe in the supernatural: in fact I do, but I'm more afraid of the living than the dead and I don't accept any nonsense. It's Julie Harris who dominates the screen with an inspired and crazy interpretation of someone living on the brink of a mental breakdown. She is friendly, and we agonize with her scares and fear. Claire Bloom also does an interesting, more restrained and sarcastic job. If the audience is expecting fluttering sheets or skeletons animated by nylon strings, it's best to forget: the film does not use carnival tricks, preferring to intelligently use sound, image, shadows and camera angles to create an atmosphere of tension and threat. The result is frankly positive: when we don't see what scares us, we don't know what to expect, and that intimidates us. Knocks on wood, heavy footsteps, punches against doors, muffled laughter, the range of sound effects is rich and was used in a creative and very credible way. The filming location, a huge English neo-Gothic mansion, is wonderful and was put to great use. All interior settings are exquisitely crafted and look authentic. The house itself is a dense, rich and mysterious character, a villain worthy of an anthology.
CinemaSerf
The wealthy "Crain" builds a gothic mansion in a remote part of New England where he plans to house his new wife and daughter. Mysteriously, she doesn't survive long enough to ever move in and as we skip forward almost a century, we find the house bleak and run-down and now inherited by a distant relative of the daughter. It's this house that "Dr. Markway" (Richard Johnson) is determined to investigate. He has convinced the new owner "Mrs Sannerson" (Fay Compton) to allow him and his team to try to prove or disprove for once and for all whether there are such things as ghosts! This house will be the ideal venue for his work and assisted by her rather feckless nephew "Luke" (Russ Tamblyn) as well as the spiritual medium "Theodora" (Clare Bloom) and the young "Nell" (Julie Harris) who seems nervously plugged-in to the house and it's secrets. As night falls, and for the next few days we discover that there are indeed some horrific tales surrounding this edifice involving abuse both physical and psychological amongst it's occupants. Needless to say, these shenanigans profoundly affect the young "Nell" and as she struggles, those fears seem to become contagious as pretty soon everyone is equally spooked by numerous terrifyingly inexplicable activities going on in this house. The question is, though, is this really activity from another dimension or might cold and calculating minds be trying a bit of manipulation. This is a genuinely quite scary adaptation of the book that uses some dimly lit and rather brutal photography, a fair degree of skilfully produced audio and two strong performances from Bloom and Harris to help create an escalating sense of the menacing as panic sets in and rational thinking jumps out of the window. This isn't an horror film that relies on ketchup and jellied eyes, it's a good deal more sophisticated and unlike many of it's contemporaries, it really does cultivate a sense of jeopardy until very near a conclusion that I certainly didn't really anticipate until pretty near the end. On a dark night winter's night with the wind blowing outside, this is a great watch - perhaps not for the anxious.
Movie Recommendation
Cerberus2005-10-29The breastplate of Attila the Hun is stolen as it has clues to the location of the Sword of Mars. It is said the Sword of Mars made Attila invincible and is guarded by Cerberus.More...
The Hiding Place1975-05-04Corrie and Betsie ten Boom are middle-aged sisters working in their father's watchmaker shop in pre-World War II Holland. Their uneventful lives are disrupted with the coming of the Nazis. Suspected of hiding Jews and caught breaking rationing rules, they are sent to a concentration camp, where their Christian faith keeps them from despair and bitterness.More...
Mr. Sardonicus1961-10-08In 1880, Sir Robert Cargrave, a London physician known for his experimental work in paralysis treatment, is summoned to Gorslava by the mysterious Baron Sardonicus—who is now married to Cargrave's former wife, Maude—to treat his disfigurement. When Cargrave arrives, he finds the masked baron is a cruel sadist who has threatened to harm Maude if he is not successfully cured.More...
Pigtail and Mr. Sleeplessness2017-09-09Pigtail loves the winter holidays, but this year, shortly before Christmas, Brother comes into the world, turning everything upside down. Grandmother arrives from the countryside, because Pigtail’s parents no longer have time to take her skating, but Pigtail and her best friend, Mr. Sleeplessness, don’t like the new order. They come up with a plan – to send Brother and Grandmother to the Moon, in a bid to reclaim parental attention.More...
Hypnosis1962-09-19Erik, in love with Magda, the fiancée of Georg, his boss, secretly sends her roses every night.More...
Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show2011-06-13Alessio Rinaldi, a 25-year-old director, gets the charge from a producer to write the script of his first movie with Ubaldo Terzani, a well-known writer of horror novels. Alessio moves into Terzani's house to start this collaboration, and a strange relationship of psychological dependence grows between them: Ubaldo Terzani unveils his dark side, and Alessio fall in a desperate depth of craziness and nightmares. There is a reason why Terzani's bestsellers are so frightening ... Alessio will discover that reality can be unexpectedly more terrifying than every brainchild, and he will have to fight hard to escape Ubaldo Terzani's jaws.More...
Buddy2015-11-30A young man agrees to support his ex lover during an HIV test. What starts out as an awkward reunion, soon becomes something more tender. Is there still hope for reconciliation?More...
My Life as a Dog1985-12-12A boy, obsessed with comparing himself with those less fortunate, experiences a different life at the home of his aunt and uncle in 1959 Sweden.More...
Altar2014-12-27A young family find themselves in serious danger when they move to an isolated haunted house in the Yorkshire Moors.More...
Mad Monster Party?1967-03-08When Dr Frankenstein decides to retire from the monster-making business, he calls an international roster of monsters to a creepy convention to elect his successor. Everyone is there including Dracula, The Werewolf, The Creature, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and many more. But Frankenstein's title is not all that is at stake. The famous doctor has also discovered the secret of total destruction that must not fall into the wrong hands!More...
Island of Terror1966-06-20A small island community is overrun with creeping, blobbish, tentacled monsters which liquefy and digest the bones from living creatures. The community struggles to fight back.More...
I Work at the Cemetery2022-09-15Sasha manages a firm that installs tombstones at the local cemetery. His many customers have all experienced personal tragedies, but he is full of cynicism. One day, Sasha's 14-year-old daughter appears to bring him back into her life.More...
The Incredible Journey1963-11-20The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?More...
City Heat1984-12-07Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye named Mike Murphy. Both Speer and Murphy served on the force together and were once good friends, but are now bitter enemies. When Murphy's partner is slain they team up again to fight the mob.More...
The Evil of Frankenstein1964-05-08Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?More...
Nazarin1959-06-04After hiding a murderer, a Catholic priest is forced into self-exile and decides to embark on a pilgrimage through the Mexican countryside.More...
For Whom the Bell Tolls1943-07-12Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going on and Jordan—who has joined up on the side that appeals most to idealists of that era—has been given a high-risk assignment up in the mountains. He awaits the right time to blow up a crucial bridge in order to halt the enemy's progress.More...
The City of the Dead1960-09-09A young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft; during her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.More...
Last Train from Gun Hill1959-07-29A marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for the rape and murder of his wife.More...
The Cincinnati Kid1965-10-15An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.More...
Similar Movies
Nosferatu
1922-02-16The mysterious Count Orlok summons Thomas Hutter to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen. After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok's servant, Knock, prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.The Shining
1980-05-23Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.Clown Motel: Spirits ...
2019-06-11A group of "Ghost Hunters" coming back from an old ghost town and a bachelorette party returning home from Las Vegas stumble across the "Clown Motel" located in the middle of nowhere. Though no one is there to greet them, the two groups decide to stay for the evening. After a wild night of partying, they awake to find their vehicles sabotaged, leaving them stranded, left to discover if this motel is truly abandoned, or if it is home to souls of the clowns who once lived there.The Dark
2005-09-28In an attempt to pull her family together, Adèlle travels with her young daughter Sarah to Wales to visit her father. The morning after they arrive, Sarah mysteriously vanishes in the ocean. Not long after, a little girl bearing a striking resemblance to their missing daughter reveals that she has retuned from the dead — and that Sarah has been taken to the Welsh underworld.Psycho
1960-06-22When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.Jaws
1975-06-20When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.Poltergeist
1982-06-04Upon realizing that something truly evil haunts his home, Steve Freeling calls in a team of parapsychologists to help before it's too late.The Ninth Gate
1999-08-25A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.Interview with the Va...
1994-11-11A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.Habitat
2024-10-10An unmonitored clandestine research project suffers a "technical malfunction" and each of the isolated volunteers must devise an escape plan or face certain death.Suicide Net
2003-07-25The interview team, who went to talk to the mother of Mr. K, a high school girl who died in suicide, learns that she frequently wrote on suicide sites before Mr. K died. According to his mother who read the email left on the computer after Mr. K's death, Mr. K started to think about suicide by watching some kind of video on the Internet. According to the testimony of his friends, it seems that Mr. K's actions and remarks began to die at some point. What exactly is that video? We were able to contact the suicide applicants on the bulletin board of the suicide site and talk to those who have seen the video. It was the beginning of horror and fear...Don't Look Now
1973-10-11While grieving a terrible loss, a married couple meet two mysterious sisters, one of whom gives them a message sent from the afterlife.The Phantom of the Op...
1925-09-22The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.Eraserhead
1977-09-28First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.The Thing
1982-06-25In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them.Dead in 3 days
2006-07-21When Nina and her high school friends receive eerie text messages declaring that they will all die within three days, they dismiss it as a hokey prank - until one by one, the pals start turning up dead in the alpine countryside. With the cops stymied, Nina and her remaining friends must scour their past for clues to identify the madman before he kills them all.The Darkness
2016-05-13A family returns from a Grand Canyon vacation with a supernatural presence in tow.Goosebumps
2015-08-05After moving to a small town, Zach Cooper finds a silver lining when he meets next door neighbor Hannah, the daughter of bestselling Goosebumps series author R.L. Stine. When Zach unintentionally unleashes real monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.Intlo Deyyam Nakem Bh...
2016-11-11A man tries to rescue a family from the clutches of an unfriendly spirit.Singapore Sling
1990-12-06Singapore Sling is chasing after Laura, a romantic memory from his past. One night he finds himself in a mysterious villa, watching two women bury a body. He falls into their trap and, in an atmosphere of isolation and decadence, the trio act out insane pleasure games and a ritual of blood and murder.