Confession time: I don't know the films of William Castle. And up until last weekend, I hadn't watched any of them (just the modern remakes of a couple). I've always been a fan of the 1999 House on Haunted Hill and I have no idea why I never viewed the original. I'm a huge fan of Vincent Price too. The only explanation I have would be that I had a notion that Castle's films were all hokey, corny, and silly. I mentioned this during a conversation with Wren last week and was politely informed I needed to watch it as soon as possible.
It was superb. And definitely not hokey. Vincent Price was stunning in it. I loved the atmosphere, and the building feeling of tension and dread. The characters are very interesting and well written.
I found a fan trailer of the film that really does it some amazing justice. Whoever made this trailer captured the feel of the movie perfectly.
Click below...
And thanks again, Wren!
6 comments:
That trailer is amazing!!
If you didn't see this movie soon, I was worried your Halloween card would be revoked ;p
Haha. Totally.
Shameful!
Hey, better late than never! (Hopefully, you were able to avoid the 'colorized' monstrosity)
Tiny bit of trivia for folks that may yet be unfamiliar with the film, and as an added river-runs-through-it tidbit for fans of somewhat darker fare:
The Frank Lloyd Wright designed & built 'Ennis House'(used for the fantastic exterior in House on Haunted Hill) also has a pretty good creepy pedigree as a backdrop in Blade Runner, Twin Peaks, Game of Thrones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.
This has been one of my all-time favorite movies since I was a kid, this, and the original black and white film THE HAUNTING. The best ghost story captured on film in my opinion. However, the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House was also excellent.
I'll watch anything with Vincent Price in it.
Mr. Macabre
I saw that film for the first time when I was around nine or ten, and it scared the DAYLIGHTS out of me!
I'm pretty sure it was Tom Hatten's "Family Film Festival," or maybe he had a Saturday night at the movies thing going. It was definitely pre-Elvira.
The skeleton rising from the acid scarred me for life.
That's a great memory. I wonder how I would have reacted had I seen it at such a young age.
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