Screenwriter Dick Beebe adapted the film's script from Robb White's 1959 original, updating elements of the story and introducing a significant supernatural component which was absent from the original film. Filming took place in Los Angeles in early 1999, with famed make-up artists Gregory Nicotero and Dick Smith providing the film's special effects.
House on Haunted Hill was released on Halloween weekend in 1999. In the tradition of William Castle's theater gimmicks, Warner Bros. supplied promotional scratchcards to cinemas showing the film, offering ticket buyers a chance to win a money prize, similar to the movie's characters. The film was a commercial success, opening at number one at the U.S. box office, and grossing $65 million worldwide. It received largely negative reviews from critics, with some deriding its use of special effects and gore, though it did receive some praise for its performances and horror elements.
In 2007, the film was followed by a direct-to-DVD sequel, Return to House on Haunted Hill, which was released in both rated and unrated editions.
Plot
In 1931, the patients at the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane revolt with a prison riot against the staff, headed by the sadistic Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt. The patients start a fire which engulfs the building, killing all of the inmates and all but five of Vannacutt's staff.
In 1999, Evelyn Stockard-Price is in a disintegrating marriage with Stephen Price, an amusement parkmogul who loves playing tricks. At Evelyn's insistence, Price stages her birthday party at the long-abandoned hospital. The building's owner, Watson Pritchett, is convinced it is evil, having lived there as a child when it was converted to a private residence. Five guests arrive for the party: film producer Jennifer Jenzen, baseball player Eddie Baker, former television personality Melissa Marr, physician Donald Blackburn, and Pritchett himself. The guests are not the ones Price invited and neither of the Prices know who they are. Despite this, Price continues the party's advertised theme, offering $1 million to each guest who remains in the house until morning; those who flee or perish forfeit their $1 million to the others.
The building's security system is mysteriously tripped, locking everyone inside – a stunt which Price blames on Evelyn. Evelyn and Steven are at one another's throats, each trying to kill the other. Jennifer, Eddie, and Pritchett search the basement for the security system's control panel. While exploring the labyrinthine basement, Jennifer unknowingly becomes separated from Eddie and confesses that her real name is Sara Wolfe, the recently fired assistant to the real Jennifer. She impersonated Jennifer, hoping to win the prize money. Shortly after, Sara is nearly pulled into a tank of blood by a doppelgänger impersonating Eddie, but the real Eddie arrives in time to save her. Melissa subsequently disappears, leaving behind a massive trail of blood and a video camera that shows brief, ambiguous footage of her being dragged off-screen. Price visits his assistant Schechter, who is supposed to be managing the party stunts, but finds him horribly mutilated. On the surveillance monitor he sees the ghost of Dr. Vannacutt walking around with a bloody saw.
Evelyn seemingly dies in front of the others, strapped to an electroshock therapy table. Price pulls a gun on the guests, demanding to know who killed his wife. Eddie knocks him out and they lock Price in the "Saturation Chamber", an archaic zoetrope device that Vannacutt used to treat schizophrenics. Blackburn volunteers to guard Price. When the others leave, he turns the chamber on, leaving Price to be tortured by the moving images and ghostly hallucinations. In Vannacutt's office, Sara and Eddie find a portrait of the hospital's head staff and realize that the Prices and invited party guests, with the exception of Blackburn, are descendants of the five survivors of the 1931 fire. After Pritchett mentions that the massive spiritual energy in the house manifests and travels in many ways, Sara deduces that the spirits hacked the guest list on Price's computer through the Internet.
Blackburn returns to Evelyn's body and revives her with an injection. He is revealed as Evelyn's lover. Together they have faked Evelyn's death, plotting to frame Price for the murders, hoping one of the guests will kill him in self-defense. Fearing the guests are not yet sufficiently motivated to turn on Price, Evelyn heartlessly kills Blackburn, adding another victim, then releases a delirious Price from the Saturation Chamber. Sara, Eddie, and Pritchett discover that Evelyn's body is missing and return to the chamber, where they find Blackburn's head and body separated from one another. Sara searches for Price and hears Melissa's faint cries for help. Instead Sara finds Price, covered in blood, and shoots him. Eddie and Pritchett arrive and bring Sara upstairs, after which Evelyn approaches Price to gloat. Price, protected by a bulletproof vest and posing as dead, attacks Evelyn. As they scuffle, Evelyn is thrown through a decaying door, revealing the evil entity of the house – The Darkness.
The shape-shifting entity, composed of the spirits in the house, consumes Evelyn, killing her and adding her spirit to its mass. Price then discovers Melissa's dismembered body. The Darkness turns to Price and tries to add him to its mass. He flees until he arrives at the end of a hallway with a locked door, pleading with the others to open it. As Pritchett does so, Price dives out of the way of the approaching Darkness, which grabs Pritchett and retreats downstairs, killing him. Price has a sudden realization that the attic might house the mechanisms used to operate the lockdown system and flees there, followed by Sara and Eddie. Price opens an iron gate in the attic, then sacrifices himself to give the others time to escape. Sara gets out, but The Darkness cuts a rope that closes the gate, trapping Eddie.
As The Darkness prepares to assimilate Eddie, he reveals that he is adopted and not a true descendant of the original staff. Pritchett's ghost appears and opens the iron gate just as The Darkness advances to assimilate Eddie, and Sara pulls Eddie outside before the gate slams shut again. Pritchett's ghost and The Darkness fade away as Sara and Eddie watch the sun rise. They find an envelope on a ledge, containing all five checks, made out to cash and signed by Price. They are relieved to have escaped and won the money but are stuck on the roof of the house, unsure of how to get down.
In a black-and-white post-credits scene, the spirits of the 1931 patients are seen torturing the Prices, presumably doomed to eternal damnation in the afterlife.
House on Haunted Hill was the first film produced by American production company Dark Castle Entertainment.[3][4]Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis had discussed remaking William Castle's 1959 film as early as 1997.[5][6] Castle's daughter Terry Castle served as co-producer on the remake.[7] Director William Malone was a fan of the original film, which he had seen in his childhood.[7] Malone and producer Dick Beebe worked on the film's screenplay for a year and a half.[8] According to Malone, he wrote approximately twenty percent of the screenplay, though he did not take a writing credit on it.[5]
Co-producer Gilbert Adler noted that he felt the film was "totally different" from the original, but retained the spirit of the original, in terms of "how we're telling the story, and the basic tenets of the story itself. We contemporize it as much as possible."[5] The unethical psychiatry methods and experimental procedures featured in the film were loosely based on medical experiments conducted by the Nazis.[9][10] Unlike in the 1959 film, in which a supernatural element was only hinted at (and ultimately revealed to be a ruse), the reality of paranormal forces attacking the party attendees was made explicit in Beebe's screenplay.[11]
Casting
Geoffrey Rush signed on to appear as Steven Price, the theme park mogul in the film.[8] The Price character name, as well as some of the character's overall personality and mannerisms, are references to actor Vincent Price, who portrayed the same character—named "Frederick Loren"—in the original film.[12][13] Malone stated that Rush was committed to the material and took the role seriously.[14]Elizabeth Hurley was initially considered for the role of Evelyn Price, but by February 1999, Famke Janssen was ultimately cast in the part.[15]
Taye Diggs was subsequently cast as Eddie, the ex-professional baseball player attending the party, and agreed to appear in the film after Rush signed onto the project.[8][16] Ali Larter, who had previously completed Varsity Blues (1999), was cast as Sara Wolfe, a woman who poses as her ex-boss, film executive Jennifer Jensen; the film marked Larter's third screen appearance.[8]Saturday Night Live star Chris Kattan was cast as Watson Pritchett, the caretaker of the building.[5] Terry Castle stated that Kattan was cast in the part for the sake of comic relief, and that the filmmakers allowed Kattan to "just [be] who he is."[5]
For the role of Dr. Vannacutt, the deranged head doctor of the hospital, singer Marilyn Manson was at one point considered,[17] but Jeffrey Combs was ultimately cast in the part.
Filming
The film was shot in late 1998 and early 1999[17] in Los Angeles, California, with exteriors of the house's driveway being shot in Griffith Park near the Griffith Park Observatory.[5] Adler commented on the unorthodox nature of the house: "Instead of being a typical sort of haunted house, this [one] is much more modern, with a touch of Deco. It's not what you'd expect to see."[5] Larter stated in an on-set interview: "The set is dark and dirty, and everyone's been sick, and [Taye Diggs] and Chris [Kattan] keep me laughing. We really have had a good time."[8]
The film was shot on 35 mm film stock, the negatives of which director Malone flashed in order to reduce the contrast of the picture, giving it a visual appearance similar to the film stock used in the early 20th century.[19]
Some reviewers noted that the surrealistic jerking, twitching effect of the ghosts featured in the film was similar to the effects in Adrian Lyne's film Jacob's Ladder (1990).[20] The special effects in the film were designed by Gregory Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman,[21] with additional makeup design by Dick Smith in his last film credit.[20] One of the monster figures featured in the film during Price's underwater hallucination sequence was a creation of Smith's that was intended to be used in Ghost Story (1981) but was ultimately not featured.[20][22] Malone, struck by the appearance of the figure—which consisted of an eyeless, noseless human head with an enlarged mouth—was granted permission from Smith to use it in the film.[19]
The tentacular morphing mass of ghosts featured at the film's climax was designed by KNB Effects, and was inspired by the visuals of H.P. Lovecraft's novels, as well as resembling the Rorschach inkblots used in psychiatry.[20] According to Malone, much of the visual elements were actually not computer-generated, and were actually made up of footage shot by the production crew, which was grafted together to form the mass.[19]
Other practical visual effects included the use of a spinning saw blade being held in front of a camera lens to achieve a fluttering look to the hallucinatory sequences experienced by Price in the Saturation Chamber.[19]
Post-production
Deleted footage
Several key scenes were taken out of the final cut of the film.[23] This included an exposition scene showing how Sara came to receive an invitation to the party: While working as a production assistant on a film set, Sara is fired by her boss, Jennifer Jenzen (played by Debi Mazar), the feisty vice president of a motion picture company. Two versions of the scene were shot, during which Sara hands Jennifer a bag delivered for her; inside is a music box with a jack-in-a-box-trigger which cuts the handler's finger. Jennifer throws the box in the garbage, and Sara discovers the invitation to Price's party inside of it.[23]
Another scene removed from the film last-minute, according to director Malone, was a scene in which Sara falls through a collapsing floor when she and Baker are being chased by The Darkness.[23] After falling two stories below, Wolfe awakens in a subterranean crematorium filled with the ashes and corpses of the hospital's dead patients. There, she is attacked by reanimated corpses who rise out of the ashes, terrorizing her and tearing off her overcoat.[23] As a result of the scene's removal, there remains a continuity error in the final cut of the film, in which Wolfe's overcoat disappears from her body in-between scenes.[23]
A final epilogue scene completing the Jennifer Jenzen story arc was also filmed, featuring Jennifer arriving at the house with a realtor, which she is to inherit. As she enters the front door, a bloodcurdling scream is heard, and the realtor is revealed to be Dr. Vannacutt.[23] Director Malone said the scene ultimately was removed after the cutting of Jenzen's exposition scene, as well as for having a comical tone that did not fit with the rest of the film.[23]
All three deleted scenes from the film were included on the 2000 Warner Bros. Home Video release of the film on DVD in the bonus features section.[24]
The soundtrack for the film was commercially released on the label Varèse Sarabande, containing selections from the original score by Don Davis.[25] Davis composed the film score and recorded it with an orchestra in a Seattle church.[26] In order to lend the score a gothic quality, Davis intended to implement a pipe organ, but due to budgetary reasons instead used sampled organ pieces.[26]
In keeping with the spirit of William Castle's tradition of releasing each of his films with a marketing gimmick, Warner Bros. and Dark Castle supplied movie theatres with scratch-off tickets that would be given to moviegoers. The scratch-off ticket would give each patron a chance to win money, like the characters in the film.[12] The cash prizes totaled $1 million, including movie rentals from Blockbuster.[27]
Dark Castle had originally intended to release each of their films with a gimmick much like Castle had done. They had considered releasing the remake Thirteen Ghosts in 3-D with special glasses similar to the ones used by the characters in the film. These plans were scrapped and House on Haunted Hill remains the only film released with a special marketing gimmick.[6]
The film premiered in Los Angeles on October 27, 1999, at the Mann Village Theater.[28] Janssen, Kattan, Larter and Wilson were in attendance with director Malone, as well as producers Silver and Adler.[28]
Home media
Warner Home Video released House on Haunted Hill on VHS and a special edition DVD in April 2000.[24] In 2006, Warner reissued it as part of a double feature DVD paired with the original 1959 film.[29]
On October 9, 2018, Scream Factory released the film on Blu-ray for the first time in North America as a collector's edition featuring new interviews with Malone and other crew, among various other features.[30][31][32]
Reception
Box office
House on Haunted Hill was released theatrically in North America on October 29, 1999, screening at 2,710 theaters.[33] It opened at number one at the U.S. box office that weekend,[34] earning over $15 million in sales.[33][35] Its theatrical exhibition lasted 61 weeks.[33] By the end of tis theatrical run, the film had a domestic gross of $40,846,082 and an international gross of $24,244,459, for a total of $65,090,541 worldwide.[2]
Critical response
House on Haunted Hill received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 31% rating, based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "Unsophisticated and unoriginal film fails to produce scares."[36]Metacritic reports a score of 28 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[37] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.[38]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "House on Haunted Hill is the kind of horror movie that's not a bit scary and quite a bit gross. Yet it's also mildly, even pleasantly, entertaining, at least by the diminished standard set by this summer's The Haunting ... [it] sets up hostile relationships between the characters, which allows the audience to wonder who is doing what to whom. Finding out is not so interesting, but getting there isn't so bad."[39] Maitland McDonough of Film Journal gave the film a similar review, saying "The proceedings are all utterly conventional, but watching them unfold is mildly diverting if you're in the right frame of mind, as many moviegoers apparently were over the Halloween weekend," also favorably comparing the film to Jan de Bont's remake of The Haunting, which was released several months prior.[40]
Kim Newman, writing for Sight and Sound, praised the "try-anything approach of writer-director William Malone" and observed that the film "manages to respect the original's intentions far more than such recent remakes as the 1999 versions of The Mummy and The Haunting... The mix of laughs, shocks and gruesomeness is much the same as in the two Tales from the Crypt movies, but Malone coaxes a slightly fresher flavour, taking on board the influence of David Fincher and even Lars von Trier."[41]
Eric Harrison of the Los Angeles Times praised the performances in the film, particularly those of Rush, Kattan, and Larter, but felt that the screenplay's tone was inconsistent, writing: "Humans do so many horrible things to each other in House on Haunted Hill that the ghosts don't stand a chance of keeping up, which may explain why the script makes such nitwits of the characters—if the spooks are going to make an impression, they need all the help they can get."[42]Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B− rating, calling it "trash, but creepier than you expect."[43] Joe Leydon of Variety gave the film a favorable review, noting its "cheap scares," but adding: "Given the irredeemable cheesiness of the original 1958 House on Haunted Hill, the makers of the remake had nowhere to go but up. So it's not exactly a stunning surprise to find the new horror opus is a slicker and scarier piece of work."[44]
Lawrence Van Gelder's of The New York Times called the film "a sorry reincarnation" of the original, adding: "This film wastes the talents of actors like Geoffrey Rush and Peter Gallagher in hollow roles and relies heavily on its sets and special effects to do the work that should have been accomplished by its director and writer."[45]The Austin Chronicle's Marc Savlov echoed a similar sentiment, writing: "The nicest thing I can say about this remake of William Castle's 1958 shocker is that Geoffrey Rush, god bless him, sure can do a fine imitation of Vincent Price's original mustache, even better than John Waters's -- which is no mean feat."[46]
In 2007, the film was followed up with a direct-to-DVD sequel, Return to House on Haunted Hill, with Jeffrey Combs reprising his role as Vannacut and was released in both rated and unrated editions. The film had no involvement from William Malone and received poor reviews, mainly due to plot holes, continuity in the building design and various other features of the film, but it was praised for its state-of-the-art Blu-Ray feature in which the viewer can change the path of the story.
The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American supernatural horror comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and written by David Berenbaum. Loosely based on Walt Disney's theme park attraction of the same name, the film stars Eddie Murphy as a realtor who, along with his family, becomes trapped in the titular building. Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Marsha Thomason and Jennifer Tilly appear in supporting roles.
Scary Movie 2 is a 2001 American supernatural parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is the sequel to Scary Movie and the second film in the Scary Movie film series. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, as well as Tim Curry, Tori Spelling, Chris Elliott, Chris Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, David Cross and James Woods. The film was the last in the series to feature the involvement of stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans, and director Keenan until the upcoming sixth installment. Marlon would eventually go on to produce a similar horror-themed parody, A Haunted House, and its sequel, both starring himself. In the latter film, Wayans pokes fun at the Scary Movie series' decline in quality after his family's departure.
House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig, and Elisha Cook Jr. Price plays an eccentric millionaire, Frederick Loren, who, along with his wife Annabelle, has invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, the guests are trapped within the house with an assortment of terrors. This film is perhaps best known for its promotional gimmick Emergo.
Alison Elizabeth Larter is an American actress and former model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 Esquire magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She made her film debut in Varsity Blues (1999), which was followed by the horror film House on Haunted Hill (1999). Her role as Clear Rivers in the Final Destination franchise (2000–2003) established her as a scream queen.
The Haunting is a 1999 American supernatural horror film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, and Lili Taylor, with Marian Seldes, Bruce Dern, Todd Field, and Virginia Madsen appearing in supporting roles. Its plot follows a group of people who gather at a sprawling estate in western Massachusetts for an apparent volunteer study on insomnia, only to find themselves plagued by paranormal events connected to the home's grim history. Based on the 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, it is the second feature film adaptation of the source material after Robert Wise's 1963 film adaptation of the same name.
A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.
The Fog is a 1980 American independent supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. It tells the story of a strange, glowing fog that sweeps over a small coastal town in Northern California.
The Changeling is a 1980 Canadian supernatural horror film directed by Peter Medak and starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, and Melvyn Douglas. Its plot follows an esteemed New York City composer who relocates to Seattle, Washington, where he moves into a mansion he comes to believe is haunted. The screenplay is based upon events that writer Russell Hunter claimed he experienced while he was living in the Henry Treat Rogers mansion in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, in the late 1960s; Hunter served as a co-writer of the film.
The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and has been made into two feature films, a play, and is the basis of a Netflix series.
FeardotCom is a 2002 supernatural horror film directed by William Malone, and starring Stephen Dorff, Natascha McElhone, and Stephen Rea. The plot details a New York City detective investigating a series of mysterious deaths connected to a disturbing website. Udo Kier, Jeffrey Combs, Nigel Terry, and Michael Sarrazin also appear in the film in supporting roles.
Dark Castle Entertainment is a film, TV, and digital projects production label. It is owned by North American sports and entertainment company, OEG Inc. The firm is led by co-CEOs Hal Sadoff and Norman Golightly.
The Tingler is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price.
The Fog is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Rupert Wainwright and starring Tom Welling, Selma Blair, and Maggie Grace. It is a remake of John Carpenter's 1980 film of the same name and was produced by Carpenter and Debra Hill who co-wrote the original film.
Elvira's Haunted Hills is a 2001 American comedy horror film directed by Sam Irvin and written by Cassandra Peterson and John Paragon. The second film starring Peterson in the title role, after the 1988 theatrical release Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, it also stars Richard O'Brien, Mary Scheer, and Scott Atkinson.
A haunted attraction is a form of live entertainment that simulates visiting haunted locations or experiencing horror scenarios. They usually feature fearsome sets and characters, especially demons, ghosts, skeletons, zombies, monsters, possessed people, witches, serial killers, and slashers. Humorous characters may also be included.
William Malone is an American horror filmmaker who directed several movies such as the 1999 remake House on Haunted Hill, Scared to Death, Creature, and FeardotCom.
Return to House on Haunted Hill is a 2007 American horror film and the sequel to the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill. Directed by Víctor Garcia and written by William Massa, the film stars Amanda Righetti, Tom Riley, Cerina Vincent and Erik Palladino. The film follows Ariel Wolfe — younger sister of Sara Wolfe, a character from the previous film — being forced by a group of people to search for a mysterious idol hidden inside an abandoned and haunted psychiatric asylum.
There is widespread belief in ghosts in English-speaking cultures, where ghosts are manifestations of the spirits of the dead. The beliefs may date back to animism or ancestor worship before Christianization. The concept is a perennial theme in the literature and arts of English-speaking countries.
↑ McDonough, Maitland (November 2, 2004). "House on Haunted Hill". Film Journal. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
Burke, Michael (2024). The Ethics of Horror: Spectral Alterity in Twenty-First-Century Horror Film. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. ISBN978-1-666-91085-8.
Kane, Paul; O'Regan, Marie (2014). Voices in the Dark: Interviews with Horror Writers, Directors and Actors. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-0-786-45672-7.
Meehan, Paul (2019). The Haunted House on Film: An Historical Analysis. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-1-476-63820-1.
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