Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com
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The second spook house movie of 1999, "House on Haunted Hill" is considerably better than "The Haunting." Of course, that's not exactly high praise. "The Haunting" was an inept, leaden mess that served primarily as a showcase for flashy, poorly executed special effects. To make matters worse, it wasn't the slightest bit scary. While far from a success, "House on Haunted Hill" is often frightening and has several scenes that actually deliver the kind of thrills one would expect from the genre. The film star ts off strong, only to settle into an all too familiar series of chase scenes, but at least its nasty little heart is in the right place.

The original 1958 "House on Haunted Hill" was a moderately entertaining mix of thrills and high camp, starring Vincent Price and directed by gimmick-king William Castle, who attempted to juice up the proceedings by rigging skeletons to fly through theaters over the heads of viewers. The 1999 "House" works best when remembering its cheesy roots.

It begins with a prologue set decades ago at the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane, where Dr. Vannacutt performed hideous experiments on his captives, until the day when the inmates took over the asylum. Cut to the present, as filthy rich theme park mogul Steven Price (Geoffrey Rush) prepares to host a birthday party for his wife Evelyn (Famke Janssen) at the long abandoned facility.

Steven, who distrusts his wife almost as much as she detests him, has set up a number of surprises in the cavernous building, and has substituted his wife's guest list with a different set of names. Unbeknownst to him, the list has been altered yet again, resulting in the arrival of a group unknown to either of the Prices. Surprised but undeterred, Steven lays out the ground rules: each guest will be awarded $1,000,000 if they stay in the house overnight. In the event of death, the money will be split betw een the survivors.

And so the games begin.

Jittery caretaker Pritchett (Chris Kattan) greets the money-hungry partygoers: former pro-baseball player Eddie (Taye Diggs); Sara (Ali Larter), a personal assistant masquerading as her ex-boss; TV talk show host wannabe Melissa Marr (Bridgette Wilson) and Dr. Blackburn (Peter Gallagher).

After the requisite tour of the creepy estate, things begin to go wrong as steel plates slide into place, locking everyone into the joint. With secret cameras hidden throughout the building, Steven initiates his head games, which do not go as planned. He guesses that Evelyn has sabotaged his tricks. Evelyn assumes that everything is part of her husband's ghoulish agenda, and the guests simply want to get out of Dodge.

At first, "House on Haunted Hill" looks like big fun. The prologue is suitably disturbing and a visit to Steven Price's terror-themed amusement park works quite well. The simmering animosity between Mr. and Mrs. Price is juicy and the entire set-up seems as promising as in the original. Unfortunately, the film soon becomes formulaic, jumping from one chase scene to another. Moments of effective horror pop up on a semi-regular basis, but they are not enough to offset the increasingly tedious feel.

While the sparring Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen give saucy performances and Chris Kattan exhibits some flair, the other cast members remain mere archetypes. Within minutes, you figure out who will live and die, and which two characters are destined to become honey bunnies. The frequent swearing does not work in this context, either; it seems too contemporary and mannered, shattering the timeless sense that best serves haunted house movies.

Despite its many problems, "House on Haunted Hill" works as a minor guilty pleasure. Come to think of it, so did the original. Though I doubt it was intentional, the filmmakers managed to recreate the "I know this isn't very good, but I'm still enjoying myself" appeal of the first "House on Haunted Hill." A perverse tribute, but a tribute nonetheless.

© 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott


Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Don't confuse this movie with the other horror remake of 1999 with a similar title, which was "The Haunting". House on Haunted Hill is somewhat similar to it, but slightly better. The Haunting was pretty much laughable all the way through but this movie actually had some genuine scary moments. It actually surprised me somewhat, I was predicting a worse looking movie. There are some eerie grisley scenes and a lot of things that will make you jump. It has a pretty basic plot, a group of dumb people have to survive the night in this former mental asylum and whoever is alive come sunrise, gets 1 million dollars. I didn't see the original so I cant make a genuine comparison. Geoffrey Rush stars in the lead role that was Vincent Price's in the original. He gives the best perfomance in the picture although Chris Kattan from SNL provides some refreshing comedy even through he plays the role straight. Now the movie is good up to about the middle of the film where it starts to go downhill to a disappointing climax. When the real evil starts to leak out of the house, It loses its scariness and moves to being more laughable with lame special effects. When the evil force chases them through the house, well that reminded me of The Haunting just a little too much and it even has a worse ending. So except for the ending, the film is definately watchable and will give you some scary moments as well.

I give House on Haunted Hill 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review written April 24, 2000.