House On Haunted Hill [DVD] [2000]

Although this is in many ways a very different movie from the original version, it does make use of several images and scenes from its predecessor, such as the parade of cars making their way up the hill and the introduction of "party favors" in little coffins. The DVD also includes trailers for the 1959 version and a short documentary comparing both versions of the film. The modern cast is pretty good, especially Geoffrey Rush as Stephen Price and Famke Janssen as his wife. The female characters are a definite improvement on those in the original, and an added bonus is Jeffrey Combs as the deranged Dr. Vannacutt. The makers of the movie can say that it is purely a coincidence that Geoffrey Rush has a strong resemblance to Vincent Price, but I'm not buying that particular argument. The effects are very good for the most part--there's plenty of blood and mutilation. The CGI effects will not please everyone, but I found them to work quite well, further distinguishing this movie from its forerunner--you won't see any skeletons on strings here. I do have a problem or two with the ending, but it does nothing to destroy the integrity of the movie. Although I consider the 1959 version a true classic, I must say I found the remake more enjoyable. This is largely due to the increased gore and effective scare tactics which are introduced very early on. This remake is not perfect by any means, but it is a more than worthy successor to the creepy yet now somewhat campy original version. Best of all, viewing one version does not prevent you from really enjoying the other one. One final point: the movie's not really over until you see the words THE END.

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It's a shame because in the first half of the film, it was looking great. The beginning sequence shows, in graphic detail, the event which gave the house its history, a fire back in the early 30's after the patients brutally rebelled against the sadistic doctors. It certainly made me sit up and take notice.

I thought the whole idea of a 'former mental asylum' and the 'scary doctors' worked very well. Mental abnormality is not something most people are familiar, or comfortable with and the film initially does well to play on the notion that people will fear what they do not understand.

I thought the Stephen Price character worked well, the ringmaster type who for once, has lost control of one of his 'games', along with Pritchard the oddball owner of the house. Most of the other characters were fairly average, weak perhaps, and I don't think the audience really relates to them, or have a lot of sympathy for them, which is important in a film of this genre.

Some of the sets and cinematography were excellent, the whole house seemed like one, dark maze ready to swallow anyone who dared rebel against it. The idea of the 'electro-shock therapy' and the chamber, where 'what would drive a sane man mad, would drive a madman sane', added to the effect the 'mental house' has on the audience.

Unfortunately, as with its remake buddy 'The Haunting', it falls into the trap of overusing special effects at the film's climax, resulting in a silly, evil cloud thing that swallows people up.

Not bad, but could have been so much more.

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