Sick Product of a Sick System

Powerful

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

One of the "big boys" of the horror genre, this classic ghost story is generally ranked alongside 1963's THE HAUNTING and 1980's THE CHANGELING as one of the best horror films ever made. Whilst I'm not quite convinced that it deserves this legendary status, it is very much a creepy classic, which transforms a basic and overdone plot line into a successful but quiet and genuinely atmospheric minor masterpiece. Although the film is short on jump-in-your-seat scares, and the primitive effects and situations no longer have the ability to scare jaded fans of the genre, there is much to be enjoyed in this movie.Richard Matheson, adapting his own novel, Hell House, provides some memorably quirky characters and a storyline that effectively mixes in some different ways of dealing with the paranormal – from supernatural mediums and seances to a machine capable of detecting electrical energy in the atmosphere – into an effective brew that is perfect late night viewing. It also happens to be a British horror film of the 1970s, my favourite film genre, so I may be slightly biased in this film's favour.The suspenseful movie charts the course of a week in the house and the growing menace surrounding the four central characters. Strange incidents occur at regular intervals, at first focused at the young and frightened medium Florence Tanner. Here the film plays an ace by the casting of Pamela Franklin (AND SOON THE DARKNESS), a horror veteran (and early scream queen), who again portrays a shy and insecure female victim with a level of maturity and depth that many other actresses fail to grasp. Memorable incidents occur, like an attack by an evil black cat, ectoplasm developing at a séance, and an evening meal interrupted by a poltergeist manifestation, until the eventful and violent finale sees Dr Barrett's ill-advised electronic machine prove to be the catalyst for some deadly occurrences. Finally, we get the explanation of the haunting, which is imaginatively thought out and leads to an enjoyable climax with an eerie cameo appearance from genre master Michael Gough.Playing a minor character who later becomes the lead, Roddy McDowall gives a tour-de-force performance which some critics have scoffed at, calling him "melodramatic". I disagree totally, and instead regard his portrayal of the edgy and neurotic medium – who refuses to 'open up' to the spirits – as a work of genius and one of the underrated actor's finest performances in his distinguished career. Congratulations to Mr McDowall for his strong emoting, adding yet another level of intrigue and realism to an already favourable film. The other roles are filled by Clive Revill (sterling work as the doomed sceptic) and Gayle Hunnicutt, who looks ravishing and finds herself possessed by ghostly sexual desires – need I say more. The setting of the spooky old house is clichéd but adds to the spooky atmosphere, whilst effects and music are all technically superior and help develop the sense of spooky menace. Despite being a little dated by modern standards, this is still a genre classic and needs to be seen by all mature horror fans as an example of the genre at its most successful and frightening. Creepy stuff!

The wealthy Mr. Rudolph Deutsch (Roland Culver) promises a small fortune to the physicist Dr. Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill); to the mental medium Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin); and to the physical parapsychologist Benjamin Franklin Fischer (Roddy McDowall) to investigate survival after death in the notorious Belasco House, a.k.a. Hell House. The house belonged to "Roaring Giant" Emeric Belasco that promoted orgies in the house and had mysteriously disappeared after a massacre. Fischer is the only survival of a previous investigation and the Dr. Barrett goes with his wife Ann Barrett (Gayle Hunnicutt). Along the days, Florence believes that there are entities in the house, including Belasco's son Daniel; Fischer keeps his mind closed expecting only to earn the promised money, and the skeptical Dr. Barrett brings a machine to drain the energy in the house. Will they be successful in their intent? "The Legend of Hell House" is a creepy and atmospheric horror movie with a good story of haunted house. The ghost story is supported in lighting, make-up and camera work and only few special effects and is effective. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "A Casa da Noite Eterna" ("The House of the Eternal Night")

. . . THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE postulates. The characters in this movie toss around a lot of big words such as "sadism" and "necrophilia," but it's a classic case of "bait and switch." When push comes to shove, an audience propelled onto the edge of their seats by an effectively creepy music score and multiple "fog machines" is left with no bigger thrill than the sticky gross-out of the mummified used gum of yesteryear lurking at their fingertips on the bottom of their theater pews. The nudity here is always implied, never real. Violent deaths may occur by the dozen in HELL HOUSE, but they're all off-camera, usually described in exposition of long-ago events. When the curtain is finally pulled away to reveal HELL HOUSE's Wizrd of Ahhhs, we get a hapless stiff instead of what should be an eerily spry 94-year-old (after all, that's the age someone born in 1879 such as "Emerick Belasco" would actually be in 1973, when this flick is set). Talk about a let-down. Had Emerick simply wriggled his little finger, it would have out-weighed all the pseudo-scientific Mumbo Jumbo thrown at us in this DULL HOUSE.

The Legend of Hell House was released the same year as the grand-daddy of horror films, The Exorcist, so it quietly slipped through the cracks. But it should not be overlooked as a most effective and entertaining movie that combines suspense, bumps in the night and eroticism without overdoing the gore. It also features fine performances, especially that of Pamela Franklin, and an above-average haunted-house story line. Hell House will keep you guessing all the way to the end. Something interesting to note is that apparently the MPAA hasn't reviewed the film since its release when it was given a PG rating. By today's standards, Hell House would definitely be rated PG-13.