The Haunting


Wow.  That was a change of pace.  After eight slasher films, more specifically Halloween films, I had to take an unplanned break when I couldn’t get Rob Zombie’s Halloween to work properly.  That is the reason this now exists.  Otherwise you would be reading about another Halloween film.  Instead, you get to see my thoughts about The Haunting.  The original version, not the one with Owen Wilson.  And don’t ask why I bill Owen Wilson above Liam Neeson for that.

The Haunting goes like this.  Four people go to a haunted house that is actually haunted.  That is the entire plot.  It’s fairly simple to comprehend.

Who cares about the cast?  Let’s get to the scares.  This movie built everything up and up.  It stated slow with each paranormal occurrence being more terrifying than the last.  You don’t see a thing either.  All of the terror in this film is built off of sound.  Actually, you do see a door shut and a door get pushed in.  You never see ghosts though.  The sound is what drives the atmosphere of the film and I commend it for doing such a thing.  In my opinion, what is in your imagination is usually more traumatizing than what you actually see.  That makes this film a complete success.

There really is not a lot I can say other than that.  The acting, the direction, the cinematography...all great.  The only problem I had was the introduction of the main female character.  It dragged along, in my opinion.  Her scene only.  Other than that, I was completely invested in the film.  Great stuff.  Great.  Let me use that word one more time.  Great.

This turned into a rather short entry about a film I liked more than all but one Halloween movie.  It must be because I would rather let you experience it for yourself than to spoil any of it here.  There is a rather riveting staircase scene.  I’m saying no more about it except that it may be one of my top suspense scenes in a horror film.  Solid work there.

If anyone ever wants to use my comments section, feel free to.  It may help me to figure out anything else I can say about this one without spoiling it.  Perhaps not.  It couldn’t hurt to try.

Oh, one final thing that I remembered right before putting this up.  This is based on The Haunting of Hill House and is completely unrelated to The House on Haunted Hill.  Wrap your brain around that common knowledge!

Comments

  1. elizagolightlyOctober 12, 2011 at 12:18 AM

    Too many houses near hills that are haunted, for my taste.

    ReplyDelete

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