100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 136: House on Haunted Hill

Director: William Castle
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 75 minutes
Year: 1959
Starring: Vincent Price, Carolyn Craig, Richard Long, Elisha Cook Jr., Carol omhart, Alan Marshal, Julie Mitchum, Leona Anderson, Howard Hoffman

Description: A millionaire (Vincent Price) offers ten thousand dollars to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.

Review: In “House on Haunted Hill” the mysterious millionaire Frederick Loren invites a group of strangers to spend the night in a haunted mansion. Death lurks, but for the people who survive a night in the house there will be 10 000 dollars. The guests are okay with it and don’t seem to worry about it. Untill the atmosphere changes and the house really start to feel haunted. Who will leave the house alive?
Vincent Price shines as Frederick Loren. The strange relationship between him and his wife is mysterious. The deadline is only one night, but as a viewer you don’t really get to see the time that passes. This way the build up towards the climax might be blocked a bit. When it comes to tension, the movie isn’t timeless anyway. The effects are old fashioned and everything but scary. The film mostly leans on Price and the actual clue of the film.
For the modern day horror fan, “House on Haunted Hill” will probably not satisfy. It’s old fashioned theater. It’s a fun film, but not at all scary. Entertaining for the 75 minutes it lasts and has a good pace.

Rating: 3/ 5