The Haunting (1963)
Country: GB
Technical: bw/scope 112m
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Harris
Synopsis:
A parapsychologist investigates a Massachusetts house reputed to be haunted. He is assisted by two female volunteers and a relative of the family.
Review:
A thin story gets A-movie treatment in this overstretched but genuinely scary frightener. The acting is above average for a horror film, as you might expect from this cast, and Wise unerringly uses the full repertoire of camera angles and compositions to get the most out of the wide screen. Sound effects and a gothic mise en scène are also deployed in such a way as to give the house a life of its own. The hysterical Nell (Harris) and sapphically predatory Theo (Bloom) add modishness to the mix, but the screenplay is at pains to find a suitable climax.
Country: GB
Technical: bw/scope 112m
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Harris
Synopsis:
A parapsychologist investigates a Massachusetts house reputed to be haunted. He is assisted by two female volunteers and a relative of the family.
Review:
A thin story gets A-movie treatment in this overstretched but genuinely scary frightener. The acting is above average for a horror film, as you might expect from this cast, and Wise unerringly uses the full repertoire of camera angles and compositions to get the most out of the wide screen. Sound effects and a gothic mise en scène are also deployed in such a way as to give the house a life of its own. The hysterical Nell (Harris) and sapphically predatory Theo (Bloom) add modishness to the mix, but the screenplay is at pains to find a suitable climax.
Country: GB
Technical: bw/scope 112m
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Harris
Synopsis:
A parapsychologist investigates a Massachusetts house reputed to be haunted. He is assisted by two female volunteers and a relative of the family.
Review:
A thin story gets A-movie treatment in this overstretched but genuinely scary frightener. The acting is above average for a horror film, as you might expect from this cast, and Wise unerringly uses the full repertoire of camera angles and compositions to get the most out of the wide screen. Sound effects and a gothic mise en scène are also deployed in such a way as to give the house a life of its own. The hysterical Nell (Harris) and sapphically predatory Theo (Bloom) add modishness to the mix, but the screenplay is at pains to find a suitable climax.