Movie Review: The House on Haunted Hill (1959)

The House on Haunted Hill (1959) produced and directed by William Castle

Millionaire Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) invites five guests to a haunted house that he has rented for the night. The plan was his wife's (Carol Ohmart). She's his fourth wife, the previous three dying under mysterious circumstances. She's young and pretty and wants to inherit the millions, something Frederick is very aware of though hardly frightened by. She wanted it to be just him and her but he invited people desperate for money, offering them ten thousand dollars to survive the night. One guest, Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook Jr.), is the owner. He explains all the horrible deaths that have happened in the house and all the spooks who will come after the guests. He also gets increasingly drunk as the night goes on. The rest of the guests fill out the stereotypical roster: brave-guy astronaut Lance (Richard Long), smart-guy psychiatrist Doctor David (Alan Marshall), socialite/reporter Ruth (Julie Mitchum), and screaming-pretty-young-thing Nora (Carolyn Craig). They go through a regular assortment of jump scares and creepy set pieces as the story winds its bloody way to a conclusion.

Director Castle was famous for his lower-budget but highly-theatrical fare. This movie involves a skeleton rising up out of a vat of acid in the wine cellar. Back in the original theatrical release, it was shown in "Emergo" with a plastic skeleton floating out from the curtains of the darkened theater at the appropriate moment. It's a fun house gimmick that fits the vibe of the film. While many elements are corny, the atmosphere does have some dread and the twists are satisfying. Price is great as always, with able support from Cook's slowly drunkening paranoiac and the rest of the cast, who take the show seriously enough to keep it from sinking into nothing but silliness and camp.

Recommended for a fun, spooky time that's not too heavy.