House On Haunted Hill (1959 & 1999)Return To House On Haunted Hill 2007
A William Castle classic and among my most favorite of horror movies. A rich man has a birthday party for his wife in a mansion, offering (in 1959 money) $10,000 to each guest if they spend the night. And of course, mayhem ensues. This was a smart story and the ending was satisfying. Vincent Price could make any film look good, and in this one he didn't have to try too hard.
The remake of 1999 updated the story of course. An owner of amusement parks has a birthday party for his wife in a former insane asylum, this time the offer being a million each to the guests who stay the night. The circumstances and story is twisted around a bit and a new back story is added to 'explain' why the House is supposedly haunted and evil.
Again mayhem ensues, and the ending is still satisfying. Famke Janssen is always fun to watch, a good supporting cast gives the movie some fun to go with the horror. SNL alum Chris Kattan plays a good role, does NOT try to be funny, ends up being funny anyway (my fave line of his - "This house... is.... PISSED!"). And of course I couldn't describe this flick without mentioning the good doctor (new back story) Richard Benjamin Vannacutt, a real nasty piece of work but since Jeffrey Combs, the actor playing him is one of my favorite character actors, I didn't think he was in the movie enough. Ah well, it holds up well and is worth a look.
The characters are not as well written, the execution is not great, some scenes are just copies of the 1999 version and the ending? Well, for some reason Hollywood just can't let a good movie stay good, they have to try to copy it for that extra buck.
That's the feeling you get with this movie - it was made for the money, hopefully riding the coattails of a good horror flick, even though it IS eight years later. It wasn't necessary, it doesn't make much sense, and if you miss it... well, you're not missing much.
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