Eccentric millionaire, Stephen Price is always in search for the ultimate scare, as demonstrated by his terrifying rides on this theme park. As part of his search for terror, he holds a birthday party for his wife at a former Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, where the patients slaughtered the doctors and nurses before setting fire to the place. Price gives a party with a twist, there are only 5 guests all of which are strangers, and he sets them a challenge that anyone who can last a night in the haunted house and come out alive will get a million dollars.
This is a remake of a 1958 film, but has been vastly improved and is thoroughly more enjoyable. As with other modern Horror movies (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer), there is plenty of dark humour to lighten up the mood of the film. There also enough twists and turns in the story along with some very scary moments
which make you jump, that there should be something in it for all horror fans. For me horror is the art of surprise and there are plenty of surprises in House on Haunted Hill. The only real negative about the film is the ending, which succumbs to the standard Hollywood ending, rather than surprising you with something knew.
The main character in the film is Stephen H. Price, played by Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean). His character has been based on the character played by Vincent Price in the original and Rush has done a worthy job of picking up on the look and traits of Vincent Price but camped it up to make it unique. There are some equally good performances from the supporting cast which includes Peter Gallagher (Stealing Beauty) and Taye Diggs (Kevin Hill - TV series), but special mention should go to Ali Larter (Final Destination) as Sara Wolfe, the heroine of the film.
The film is directed by William Malone (Tales from the Crypt - TV series) and has done a good job of making a modern horror flick with classic horror references. He has created a balance of horror, suspense, gore and dark humour to make a very well rounded movie. His use of timing and surprise to scare you is absolutely spot on and the use of CGI, although not the best, still adds to the movie. The scenes at Price's theme park use the CGI brilliantly and are quite funny. The sound track to the film is a mixture of classic organ, modern rock and some very eerie string pieces which all help to build up the suspense.
= The Cast =======
Geoffrey Rush .... Stephen H. Price Famke Janssen .... Evelyn Stockard-Price Ali Larter .... Sara Wolfe Taye Diggs .... Eddie Baker Peter Gallagher .... Donald W. Blackburn, M.D. Chris Kattan .... Watson Pritchett Bridgette Wilson .... Melissa Margaret Marr
*****************************=================== The Message & Christian View Point =========================
How can a Christian enjoy horror movies? Too be honest I am not a huge fan of horror movies but I can see their importance. Not only do they highlight the workings of satanic demons therefore agreeing with the bible that satan and Jesus are real, but they also allow young people to scare themselves in a safe environment. I'd rather young people watched a scary movie in search of an adrenalin rush, than to go out joyriding, taking drugs and getting into fights. Be honest what would you prefer. Of course, as with all things, horror films should be watched in moderation as too much of something can be bad for you.
This is quite a good modern horror movie which makes you jump and keeps you engrossed with a reasonable story. There are some good performances and also some reasonable special effects. If you enjoy horror movies I am sure that you will enjoy this one as it is a good adaptation of a classic horror movie.
House on Haunted Hill is currently available at £6.97 on which is about the maximum I would pay for this.
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Production Year: 1981 - Horror - Director: Rick Rosenthal - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Lance Guest, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Dana Carvey
Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Director: Paul Lynch - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin, Antoinette Bower
House on Haunted Hillis one of the new breed of waste-no-time thrill machines, likeDeep ... more
Blue Sea, and a particularly effective example at that. The plot is pure contrivance: For a party stunt, a wealthy amusement-park manufacturer (Geoffrey Rush) offer...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
House on Haunted Hillis one of the new breed of waste-no-time thrill machines, likeDeep ... more
Blue Sea, and a particularly effective example at that. The plot is pure contrivance: For a party stunt, a wealthy amusement-park manufacturer (Geoffrey Rush) offer...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Unspeakable things happened at the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally ... more
Insane - experiments that brought human torture to new depths of depravity. Secrets that died with their victims and the practitioners of the demonic acts that masque...
![House On Haunted Hill [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78527435.jpg "House On Haunted Hill [DVD] [2000]")
Feb 7th, 2006
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