terrible... so disappointed.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Ruth (Barbara Stanwyck) has inherited a Colonial period house from a distant cousin and she brings her niece, Sara (Kitty Winn), to live there with her. However, despite it being a beautiful home, it will lead to awfulness as the home is possessed by the long-dead and not always friendly inhabitants. Strange things start happening soon after they arrive and instead of getting out of the place or burning it to the ground, they stay with two new friends (Richard Egan and Michael Anderson Jr.) to try to piece together the pieces to a long-buried puzzle. And, hopefully, in doing so they'll finally allow these spirits to rest once and for all.This film works for three reasons. First, like so many of the made for TV movies ABC made during that time, the mood was incredibly creepy and really worked to keep the audience in suspense. Second, the script was surprisingly good for a film made for TV...better than you would ever expect. And, third, the acting was so very good as well. Overall, a film well worth seeing...provided you can find it! And, fortunately, it is currently posted on YouTube.

Somewhat uneven and even at only 80 minutes begins to outstay its welcome. But I don't wish to be too harsh for there is a marvellous performance by Barbara Stanwyck which helps to hold this together and if only Richard Egan could have been half as good this might have a been a great picture. It's a TV movie with minimal budget but even without special effects the possession scenes are most effective.This starts as a haunted house movie but swiftly moves into the possession business and in these scenes Egan acquits himself well and Kitty Winn (who would have a role in The Exorcist three years later) is particularly good and indeed is the main reason for those shivers down the spine more than once during this modest but successful little film.

The House That Would Not Die (1970) ** (out of 4)Made-for-TV possession film about a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) and her young niece (Kitty Winn) who move into an old house in Amish country and soon realize something is wrong. While at a party a group decides to hold a séance and sure enough the young girl ends up possessed so that same party must try and figure out by who and why. THE HOUSE THAT WOULD NOT DIE features a few interesting things but for the most part your entertainment level is certainly going to depend on whether or not the story sucks you in. It didn't suck me in. The film itself really doesn't have too much happening in it. The horror elements are all rather light and for the most part the possession really isn't all that noticeable except during certain scenes when the girl has extra power. The majority of the 73-minute running time has the older woman and her partner (Richard Egan) running around trying to find out the history of the house and those who lived there before them. Again, if the story grabs you then perhaps you'll find it interesting but I found it to be rather boring and the ending plays out more like a Scooby-Doo episode. Both Stanwyck (looking very good and strong) and Egan are very good in their parts but I thought Winn was a little too bland in hers. The director manages to build up some nice atmosphere but it's pretty much wasted.

I remember seeing this on TV when it was first broadcast back in the `70s. I remember a "big, bold" haunted house movie with a great mystery and climax. Sadly, when I finally got a copy, I found this to be a rather "small" film. The story/plot isn't very engaging and people say and act in very "odd" ways--and I don't mean appropriate to the genre! All of the sudden, someone will act weird, then normal, and no one seems to pay much attention to their behavior! And once the mystery is solved...the movie just ends. So that "climax" I remember doesn't seem to have existed. Anyway, I say pass on this.