House on Haunted Hill Review
by Jamey Hughton (bhughton AT sk DOT sympatico DOT ca)November 21st, 1999
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL
*** (out of five stars)
A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs,
Peter Gallagher, Ali Larter, Chris Kattan and Bridgette Wilson Director-William Malone
Rated 18A
Warner Bros.
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This Halloween, you have the choice of two vastly different horror movies. One is “Bats”, a blatantly incompetent creature feature about flying mammals that eat everyone in Texas. The second is “House on Haunted Hill”, a spooky haunted house movie about party guests trapped inside a former medical institution. For intensive purposes, go with “House on Haunted Hill”.
Neither film has exactly the right mixture of feverishly creepy elements, but at least “Hill” succeeds on certain levels. After the disappointment of the offbeat summer offering “The Haunting”, audiences may be pining for a decent haunted house movie. Despite the similar premise shared between the two, they are relatively incompatible. “The Haunting” carried a PG-13 rating and relied heavily on spooky production design and expensive special effects. “House on Haunted Hill” is rated R, putting the emphasis on elaborate gore and disturbing atmosphere and plot devices. It too eventually evolves into an all-out special effects barrage during the closing minutes, but everything seems more appropriate, and not all logic is abandoned as it was in “The Haunting”.
Both films are also remakes, this of the 1958 William Castle camp classic of the same name. That version has gone unseen by me, so venturing into the theater for the restructured 90’s rendition, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. There were some intentionally cheesy elements, but mainly, the film is a creepy exercise in eerie atmosphere and frightening images. With it’s agreeable pace and potent shock formula, “House on Haunted Hill” is surprisingly decent for a movie not originally screened for critics. There is the matter of underdeveloped characters, botched direction and missed opportunities. But whoever digs this sort of thing will have some fun, and the film is almost perfectly suited to the demands of the season.
Geoffrey Rush plays Steven Price, an eccentric theme park tycoon who constructs new-age rides for the public. His wife Evelyn (Famke Janssen) wants her upcoming birthday party set a unique environment. So, why not have it at (say in low, rumbling voice) .... The House on Haunted Hill!! This towering structure was once a medical institution where a psychotic doctor (Jeffrey Combs) conducted torturous experiments. Five guests have been invited to spend the night, with an interesting catch: whoever survives until sunrise will receive a payment of one million dollars each. Of course, Steven has wired the place with elaborate booby traps intended to scare everyone away.
The guests who show up are, strangely enough, not the original invitees. A former pro baseball player (Taye Diggs of “Go” and “The Best Man”), a secretive doctor (Peter Gallagher), a business executive (Ali Larter) and a former game show host (Bridgette Wilson) are all anxious to get their paws on the proposed money. Steven and Evelyn, who despise each other religiously, believe that the other is playing a dirty trick. When the locking mechanism comes down abruptly, the group is trapped inside. Perhaps they should heed the words of the jittery Prichitt (Chris Kattan), who rambles on amusingly about how the house is alive and aware.
This is not a character driven film. The only actors who register are Rush (enjoyable and over-the-top) and Kattan - although Peter Gallagher delivers an adequate performance with his one-note caricature. The entire cast does little but wander around aimlessly, waiting to be served up for a slaughter. But there is the slight presence of style over substance, and a few twists in the plot, although not especially mind-blowing, provide enough juice to keep things pumping.
“House on Haunted Hill” has the potency to be something truly nerve-wracking, but it settles comfortably on disturbing atmosphere. There is a really chilling scene in which Wilson captures images of patient dismemberment on her camera, only to notice nothing is actually there. The graphic and unsettling prologue sets the mood nicely in the opening sequence. It doesn’t quite function altogether, but “House on Haunted Hill” is fun. And it also gives you the major creeps.
But what about this curious ending? It’s initially dumb, but is there more to it? It may have you absorbed in conversation afterward, although the rest of the film is quite clear: it’s a campy little fright film brimming with special effects and gooey gore.
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
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