Best Haunted House Movies?
11-12-05, 05:08 PM
#1
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Best Haunted House Movies?
I wanted to know what everyone here would recommend as their favorite and/or the best haunted house films. I know that the original The Haunting by Robert Wise is known as one of the absolute best, but what others are out there?
And what about movies that aren't even exclusively horror films, like say Polanski's The Tenant or Repulsion- they are sort of haunted house stories in their own way.
So what would you all recommend?
And what about movies that aren't even exclusively horror films, like say Polanski's The Tenant or Repulsion- they are sort of haunted house stories in their own way.
So what would you all recommend?
11-13-05, 02:03 AM
#12
DVD Talk Legend
The Changeling is king of "haunted house" movies.
11-13-05, 09:47 AM
#15
Suspended
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
Picture this scene (mild spoilers): Shapely Paulette Goddard, `working girl, honest but tough', is swimming ashore from the hired boat that ferried her from mainland Cuba to the island she has inherited from a Cuban relative. The ferryman will not land on the island after nightfall because it is supposedly haunted by ghosts and zombies. It is midnight, there is fog on the water and the moon is out. Paulette carries afloat a minuscule pyramid-shaped celluloid tote bag, which contains a dressing gown and a pair of sandals, which is the sum total of her wardrobe in the remainder of the film. Her swimming cap, Hollywood-style, has left her long brown curls miraculously dry, fluffy and manageable. She makes her way through the ferns of the parrot-infested jungle and into the haunted castle's moonlit cathedral-like main hall. She calls for Larry (Bob Hope), who is supposed to meet her there. No one answers but the echo of her own voice. Suddenly overcome by the strangeness, loneliness and eeriness of her situation and surroundings, she starts hearing her own inner voice, whispering at first and then shouting more and more urgently: `Get out… Get out… before it's too late!' She goes to exit the castle hall when she is confronted by the vision of a moonlit Black zombie stumbling towards her with murder in his eyes. She lets out a piercing scream and runs to the castle's monumental staircase. Her white bathrobe gets caught on a splinter of the balustrade. For interminable moments, she tries to free herself, immobile as in a nightmare where the dreamer runs to no avail. Finally the bathrobe tears apart, revealing one half of her swimsuit-clad body and her beautiful, long legs. She rushes upstairs and disappears behind the first door she sees.
What is remarkable about this scene is that every one of its elements is now a cinematic cliché that didn't exist before `Ghost Breakers' was shot. Everything from the script, the atmospheric lighting and photography, to the wardrobe, the sets and the music is a precedent-setting tour de force that would inspire all the Universal Studio horrors to come without ever being equalled for suspense and immediacy. And this is a Bob Hope comedy…
I love this film because it is really before its time. It's a successful blend of mystery, horror, chills and fine comedy. Bob Hope's manservant Alex (Willie Best) has all the best lines, which come in very handy to defuse some of the tension created by the most atmospheric package to ever grace an American movie screen until that time. The film never stops being intriguing from the opening scene of a thunderstorm above Manhattan to the hilarious epilogue. The night photography of the moonlit castle is especially gripping.
The theatrical trailer for this film (which comes with both the VHS and the DVD version) is probably the first known instance of the use of the theremin in a film soundtrack. How cool is that!
This is also one of Bob Hope's funniest performances and a great way to remember him.
P.S.: Like many fans, I first saw this film on the late show as a kid and remembered it as the most chilling horror picture I had ever seen and only got to understand the jokes later. It's really that good.
What is remarkable about this scene is that every one of its elements is now a cinematic cliché that didn't exist before `Ghost Breakers' was shot. Everything from the script, the atmospheric lighting and photography, to the wardrobe, the sets and the music is a precedent-setting tour de force that would inspire all the Universal Studio horrors to come without ever being equalled for suspense and immediacy. And this is a Bob Hope comedy…
I love this film because it is really before its time. It's a successful blend of mystery, horror, chills and fine comedy. Bob Hope's manservant Alex (Willie Best) has all the best lines, which come in very handy to defuse some of the tension created by the most atmospheric package to ever grace an American movie screen until that time. The film never stops being intriguing from the opening scene of a thunderstorm above Manhattan to the hilarious epilogue. The night photography of the moonlit castle is especially gripping.
The theatrical trailer for this film (which comes with both the VHS and the DVD version) is probably the first known instance of the use of the theremin in a film soundtrack. How cool is that!
This is also one of Bob Hope's funniest performances and a great way to remember him.
P.S.: Like many fans, I first saw this film on the late show as a kid and remembered it as the most chilling horror picture I had ever seen and only got to understand the jokes later. It's really that good.
11-13-05, 10:21 AM
#16
Suspended
The Uninvited (1944) and The Ghoul (1933)
"The Uninvited" is often credited as the scariest ghost story ever made in Hollywood up until its time because it's one of the first "old dark house" movies to not cop out in the supernatural department ("Ghost Breakers" being another early example, but in the comedy mode). It is unfortunately not available on DVD yet.
"The Ghoul" (1933) is a classic Boris Karloff vehicle that was made in England and was thought lost forever when it was suddenly "unearthed" in the shape of an absolutely pristine print by the British Film Institute a few years ago. It is available as a DVD for almost no money and boasts one of the finest digitally optimized picture and sound combination you will ever see and hear. It is like travelling through time to watch a film as it actually must have looked on the day of its premiere. The actors are all first class (besides Karloff, [Sir] Cedric Hardwicke, [Sir] Ralph Richarson, Ernest Thesiger, the hilarious Kathleen Harrison and a couple of very interesting "young adorables" and other character actors) and the script is funny, witty, sexy and gripping. It is head and shoulders above all the Universal horrors of the period, except for "The Bride of Frankenstein", of course. It even supasses "The Old Dark House" (1932), directed by James Whale with mostly British actors (including Karloff, Thesiger and Charles Laughton) the year before.
"The Ghoul" (1933) is a classic Boris Karloff vehicle that was made in England and was thought lost forever when it was suddenly "unearthed" in the shape of an absolutely pristine print by the British Film Institute a few years ago. It is available as a DVD for almost no money and boasts one of the finest digitally optimized picture and sound combination you will ever see and hear. It is like travelling through time to watch a film as it actually must have looked on the day of its premiere. The actors are all first class (besides Karloff, [Sir] Cedric Hardwicke, [Sir] Ralph Richarson, Ernest Thesiger, the hilarious Kathleen Harrison and a couple of very interesting "young adorables" and other character actors) and the script is funny, witty, sexy and gripping. It is head and shoulders above all the Universal horrors of the period, except for "The Bride of Frankenstein", of course. It even supasses "The Old Dark House" (1932), directed by James Whale with mostly British actors (including Karloff, Thesiger and Charles Laughton) the year before.
Last edited by baracine; 11-13-05 at 02:36 PM.
11-14-05, 12:24 PM
#18
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I really hope another great haunted house film gets made soon. They're just too cool. The whole idea of not knowing what can happen or what is around the next corner always excites but I would like to see a haunted house picture made that focuses only on the house itself with the exception of a little character background (of course). There's just so much that can be done to make these films scary as hell....like say for example, take Rob Zombie's Rejects style (and nothing from house) and throw it all into a haunted a house picture.
With all that said......my vote goes to the very overly long Shining.
With all that said......my vote goes to the very overly long Shining.
11-15-05, 08:23 PM
#24
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by baracine
I just rented The Skeleton Key and it had me chilled to the bone.