Review of House on Haunted Hill (1999) by Alyssa N — 07 May 2010
No offense meant to Geoffrey Rush, who seems incapable of turning out a bad performance even in the worst of movies...like this one. If you've heard the basic premise, you know it's a bit far-fetched to begin with and you're prepared to suspend your disbelief.
But you could not possibly be prepared for how ridiculous this plot gets with all its absurd, poorly-integrated twists. It might even be generous to say it has a "plot," since that implies a logical chain of events, something almost entirely lacking here.
Also, the only thing worse than most of the acting is the atrocious dialogue the actors were given to work with, which isn't consciously bad or campy enough to be funny. Some scenes are freaky, but nothing's frightening enough to stick with you after the credits roll, and that's what distinguishes real horror from cheap scare tactics.
This review of House on Haunted Hill (1999) was written by Alyssa N on 07 May 2010.
House on Haunted Hill has generally received mixed reviews.
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