Movie Review: House On Haunted Hill (1959)

House on Haunted Hill (1959) is the classic horror film directed by William Castle. It stars Vincent Price as the owner to an ostensibly haunted mansion. Price invites several guests to the house with the promise that they will each receive ten-thousand dollars if they stay the night. If a guest decides to leave before midnight when the doors are locked, they forfit their stake of the the cash.
At the very start of the film we see a man's head floating in a black space speaking of the mansion. He tells of how people have died there and warns of it's danger. Soon we are presented with the different characters that are all coming to the mansion in different hearses. The camera shows their faces as they ride up the hill as Vincent Price narrates who they are. These two scenes kick off the movie well and leave the viewer dying to see what happens.
With a great film such as House on Haunted Hill, it is hard to find scenes that I didn't enjoy. Nevertheless, the film does not go without it's flaws, albeit, minor ones. There were definately way too many scenes in which the character Nora screamed at the top of her lungs. It seemed to happen every few minutes. The only other scene which I disliked was the scene in which the dead body of Price's wife somehow wrapped a rope around Nora's feet from about twenty feet away. That just didn't make sense.
I really liked the footage shown at the start of the film in which the host gives each guest a "present." The gifts are inside tiny coffins all in a row along the table the camera follows the host's hand as he opens each mini-casket, but the camera is at such an angle that the viewer does not see what lies inside the boxes until the very last one is opened. Another great scene is the one in which the unforunate Nora is once again put under psychological strain when she believes she has seen aghost. From the footage shown before she walks into the room, we have no idea that the room is not empty. Then it cuts to a close up and when she turns around, a scary old woman is creeping right behind her.
This is a very good horror movie and perfect for watching on Halloween. It is un-fortunate how dissapointing the 1999 remake turned out to be. Every scene in the originalus set up very smoothely for optimum spooky-ness. As I mentioned before, the film does not go without it's flaws, but it's overall greatness makes for a viewing that can't be missed.

4 1/2 stars