A group of strangers is randomly chosen to spend a night in a haunted house by a millionaire in yet another William Castle horror opus.
Vincent Price is about the only really recognizable star. At this point in his career he starts transitioning into this cheap horror schlock. These would be the kind of films he appeared in for the rest of his life.
William Castle is an interesting character in the film world, a producer/director of gimmicky horror and suspense films. Castle was known for having ridiculous gimmicks that went with his films. Things like joy buzzers hooked up to theater seats and a "coward's corner," a place for movie patrons who were too scared to watch his horror films. For The House on Haunted Hill, he apparently had an inflatable skeleton that flew around the ceiling of the theater during the film. Obviously watching his films today you don't get the shared experience of this craziness.
As for the film itself, Castle seems to be almost beside himself with the number of haunted house cliches that he can shove into this film. He has blood dripping from ceilings, severed heads, creepy hands touching people on the shoulder, walking skeletons and a vat of acid located in the basement of the haunted house for dissolving troublesome guests. Castle seems to revel in all of this stuff.
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| The great director. |
The House on Haunted Hill is not art but it sure is entertaining. William Castle a true auteur in the best sense of the cinema.
75 minutes
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