Review of The Haunting (1963) by Andrew I — 12 Aug 2010

I watched this in a dark, old house, alone, on the night of Friday the 13th and still it never scared me in the slightest. Bored, yes, scared, no. The main character Eleanor is so drippy and dreary, you want her to get swallowed up in ectoplasm or something, but nothing much really happens at all.

From the very first few lines, it feels like a cliche-ridden childish attempt at a Halloween ghosty story told around a campfire, where all the door hinges squeak, shadows are long and creepy etc. I don't much like modern horror like Saw or Wolf Creek - I prefer this 1960s b&w naivete, but even so, it was as much as I could do to stay awake.