Review of House on Haunted Hill (1959) by Steve D — 16 Jun 2014

Hailed as being a camp horror classic with Vincent Price in the leading role, House on Haunted Hill sounded like an interesting watch.

It is always interesting to look back at classical horror films to see how far things have since developed, especially since today's standard sees House on Haunted Hill as being a camp horror film when back in the day of its original release it was a serious horror film. And yet for what it is worth, House on Haunted Hill still delivers some chills thanks to its classical horror atmosphere. It is an aged film, but it has aged well.

It has its flaws such as the fact that the story can be a little convoluted towards the end as well as the fact that there are quite a few main characters and it can be challenging to keep up to speed on all of them and everything that is happening. By that I mean that House on Haunted Hill is a B-movie and is proud of it but it occasionally has issues that it cannot avoid in terms of storytelling.

As a B-movie, House on Haunted Hill is a terrific feature. Within the constraints of a limited budget and a small setting, it crafts an interesting story about a man offering five strangers $10,000 if they stay the entire night in his house under certain conditions. As the story unfolds, things become more and more complicated and sinister with the themes getting more twisted and dark as the film progresses, going from a film about a haunted house to a film about human beings turned against each other in the fight for survival. House on Haunted Hill is an innovative mix of horror elements which makes it an original concept, and despite its small budgets and many other limitations it proves to be able to go a long way and produce entertaining results.

One of the things most key to the success in House on Haunted Hill is the musical score of the film. As a haunted house film, it is reliant on the building atmosphere coming from the nature of the sound, and it is a good mix of silence with occasional booming sound effects as well as a touch of music at the right moments to emphasise the horror elements of the film and shock the viewers. The thing about House on Haunted Hill is that it is a nostalgic film which takes viewers back to a time when horror films were built on the development of an atmosphere instead of on blood and gore, and the slowly burning and gradual development of House on Haunted Hill manages to make it a chilling experience. The chills come from nowhere in House on Haunted Hill, but at the same time they freak audiences out by preparing viewers for horror stimulus which may or may not come and therefore manipulates their emotions into a tricked state. The entire experience of House on Haunted hill is still a good one to this day and while it may not be precisely as scary as it was once upon a time, it still delivers enough chills and thrills to maintain the legacy of being a good horror film even if it is largely appreciated for its camp value as one of its most popular elements. Time has been kind to House on Haunted Hill, and it has developed a legacy as being an example of a very original concept turned into a great B-movie, as well as a front for the leading talents of Vincent Price.

Vincent Price is arguably one of the most popular horror movie actors in history for playing the lead in many campy themed horror films produced on low budgets, and it is easy to see why in House on Haunted Hill. His leading charisma keeps himself surrounded in a constant sense of ambiguous darkness and mystery and leaves the audience asking questions about who he is and what his motives could be. And thanks to some of his most iconic features, he carries the mystery of the film excellently. For one thing, he constantly maintains a blank facial expression which suggests that he knows everything that is going on and is ready for it, and he delivers his lines with his iconic voice, similar to Orson Welles'. He speaks his words intelligently and projects them to the audience very well with a sense of sickly wisdom to it, and it gives the horror atmosphere of the film the perfect tangible reinforcement. Vincent Price is just perfect in House on Haunted Hill, and the natural horror charisma makes him mysteriously antagonising for what audiences don't know about his character, as if the role he plays is the ghost of a tormented soul.

Carol Ohmart also makes a fine presence in House on Haunted Hill because she plays out her role in a very manipulative fashion and has a tense and dark chemistry with Vincent Price. There is no love between them, it simply feels as if they are always playing games with each other which renders the film even more strange and enjoyable. She has her own sense of mystery, and she plays out her part like she is actually the female Vincent Price, so her performance is a cleverly executed and fairly firm one.

Elisha Cook also makes a sympathetic supporting foil by constantly staying in a heightened state of emotional drama in House on Haunted Hill and delivering his lines with a feeling of paranoia. Richard Long and Julie Mitchum also deliver effective supporting performances of their own.

So although it is not without its flaws and can be occasionally confusing, House on Haunted Hill is a chilling horror film which has aged well since its original release and gives contemporary viewers and appreciation for its camp value among many other htings, and it also has the appeal of being genuinely scary, original and the front for another bravado horror movie performance from Vincent Price.