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 The Haunting (DVD)
 The Haunting (DVD) ... released 29 September, 2003 at Warner Home Video / Features of the DVD: Black & White, PAL / Certain to remain one of the greatest haunted-house movies ever made, Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963) is antithetical to all the gory horror films of subsequent decades, because its considerable frights remain implicitly rooted in the viewer's sensitivity to abject fear. A classic spook-fest based on Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House (which also inspired the 1999 remake directed by Jan de Bont), the film begins with a prologue that concisely establishes the dark history of Hill House, a massive New England mansion (actually filmed in England) that will play host to four daring guests determined to investigate--and hopefully debunk--the legacy of death and ghostly possession that has given the mansion its terrifying reputation. Consumed by guilt and grief over her mother's recent death and driven to adventure by her belief in the supernatural, Eleanor Vance (Julie Harris) is the most unstable--and therefore the most vulnerable--visitor to Hill House. She's invited there by anthropologist Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson), along with the bohemian lesbian Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has acute extra-sensory abilities, and glib playboy Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn, from Wise's West Side Story), who will gladly inherit Hill House if it proves to be hospitable. Of course, the shadowy mansion is anything but welcoming to its unwanted intruders. Strange noises, from muffled wails to deafening pounding, set the stage for even scarier occurrences, including a door that appears to breathe (with a slowly turning doorknob that's almost unbearably suspenseful), unexplained writing on walls, and a delicate spiral staircase that seems to have a life of its own. The genius of The Haunting lies in the restraint of Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding, who elicit almost all of the film's mounting terror from the psychology of its characters--particularly Eleanor, whose grip on sanity grows increasingly tenuous. The presence of lurking spirits relies heavily on the power of suggestion (likewise the cautious handling of Theodora's attraction to Eleanor) and the film's use of sound is more terrifying than anything Wise could have shown with his camera. Like Jack Clayton's 1961 chiller, The Innocents, The Haunting knows the value of planting the seeds of terror in the mind, as opposed to letting them blossom graphically on the screen. What you don't see is infinitely more frightening than what you do, and with nary a severed head or bloody corpse in sight, The Haunting is guaranteed to chill you to the bone. --Jeff ShannonNewest Review: ... is very annoying. The protagonist, Nell, is VERY irritating. She says pathetic things like "You won't leave me ... more ... behind" and "Don't send me back [home]!" It makes her sound like a baby. It is clear that she is meant to be a wallflower/introvert who rarely lets loose- as stereotypically shown by her bun that she only lets down in bed- but the script, book and/or actress takes it too far. EVERYTHING seems to faze her. If it's not a chill, it's a library. If it's not a statue, it's another statue.
Theo, the other lady staying the house, is quite confusing. One moment she is nice to Nell, and next she is teasing and accusing...more |
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Price Comparison for The Haunting (DVD)
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The Haunting (DVD): 'A house that was born bad' (821 words)
by - written on 04/02/08 (Very useful, 126 readings)
Rating:
A review of the DVD. There was a terrible remake of this film made in 1999, which a lot of people have reviewed in this category, but the image and synopsis suggest it's the old film we should be writing about here (I suspect two categories were merged at some point). This is a real classic from 1963, a very frightening ghost story adapted from Shirley Jackson's celebrated novel The Haunting of Hill House. It was made by M-G-M in Britain, and directed by Robert Wise - he'd cut his teeth on spooky Val Lewton horrors like The Body Snatcher before progressing to more mainstream work. His next film after The Haunting was The Sound of Music. A ... Read the complete review
10% plot, 90% CGI (781 words)
by - written on 02/11/00 (Very useful, 29 readings)
Rating:
While not the scarefest that the original was, The Haunting remake of last year was a good looking film, with the house and its posessions lookng great, it was made for DVD. The film begins with three insoniacs answering an ad in the newspaper to help in an experiment that will shed more light on their sleeplessness. Dr. Marrow (Liam Neeson) is taking them to stay in Hill House, a gigantic mansion in New england, where in isolation he can study their behaviours. Nell (Lily Taylor) is wanting to come to get away from her life and the death of her mother, Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is here for the adventure while Luke (Owen Wilson) justs want to get some sleep. ... Read the complete review
The Haunting (DVD): So Bad, It May Keep You Up At Night (1008 words)
by - written on 17/08/07 (Very useful, 103 readings)
Rating:
*Film only review* Ask someone to name a ride that will be in every fun fair and amusement park and people will probably start off with – a rollercoaster. However, after this the only other staple ride is the Ghost Ride/Haunted House. It must be noted that there are two distinct types of haunted house; the good ones and the absolute rubbish ones. Many a time as a small child in my local village fate I would go on into the haunted house to be confronted by aging models and screams emanating from aged and crackling speakers. However, visit somewhere like Euro Disney and you will see a top quality haunted house that has top of the range animatronics and jolly ... Read the complete review
About as Haunting as a sock filled with ice cream (540 words)
by - written on 12/07/00 (Very useful, 69 readings)
Rating:
Well in my book there are two types of horror film. The psychological horror film, like Hitchcock, where tensions are created and a real sense of horror stays with you for days after the film. Unfortunately this film strays into the second category. It is a horror film not based on plot, not based on tensions, but purely based on effects and the hopes of a cheap fright. Did that make any sense to anyone other than me? The film wasn’t likely to live up to my expectations, as I have read the book and that was fab and I’ve seen the first film, I think that was made in the late 40’s – 50’s. Either way they both created a superb ... Read the complete review
The Haunting (DVD): The Haunting? More like The Talking (520 words)
by - written on 14/10/09 (Very useful, 9 readings)
Rating:
SUMMARY Nell, a reserved, emotionally unstable woman used to care for her now deceased mother. She accepts an invitation to stay in an old house as an experiment, seeing it as the perfect chance to spread her wings and become more open to new things. At the house, she meets another invitee, Theo, as well as Doctor Markway, who is running the experiment, and finally, Luke, a sceptic. Soon the house appears to come alive. The group is being divided, toyed with, and Nell is cracking under the pressure...They should go, but will the house let them leave? CHARACTERS Besides the Doctor John Markway, every other person staying in the house is ... Read the complete review
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