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Haunting
Actors: Julie Harris, Russ Tamblyn, Claire Bloom, Richard E. Johnson
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy

NR 2010 1hr 52min

Certain to remain one of the greatest haunted-house movies ever made, Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963) is antithetical to all the gory horror films of subsequent decades, because its considerable frights remain implicitly... more » rooted in the viewer's sensitivity to abject fear. A classic spook-fest based on Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House (which also inspired the 1999 remake directed by Jan de Bont), the film begins with a prologue that concisely establishes the dark history of Hill House, a massive New England mansion (actually filmed in England) that will play host to four daring guests determined to investigate--and hopefully debunk--the legacy of death and ghostly possession that has given the mansion its terrifying reputation. Consumed by guilt and grief over her mother's recent death and driven to adventure by her belief in the supernatural, Eleanor Vance (Julie Harris) is the most unstable--and therefore the most vulnerable--visitor to Hill House. She's invited there by anthropologist Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson), along with the bohemian lesbian Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has acute extra-sensory abilities, and glib playboy Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn, from Wise's West Side Story), who will gladly inherit Hill House if it proves to be hospitable. Of course, the shadowy mansion is anything but welcoming to its unwanted intruders. Strange noises, from muffled wails to deafening pounding, set the stage for even scarier occurrences, including a door that appears to breathe (with a slowly turning doorknob that's almost unbearably suspenseful), unexplained writing on walls, and a delicate spiral staircase that seems to have a life of its own. The genius of The Haunting lies in the restraint of Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding, who elicit almost all of the film's mounting terror from the psychology of its characters--particularly Eleanor, whose grip on sanity grows increasingly tenuous. The presence of lurking spirits relies heavily on the power of suggestion (likewise the cautious handling of Theodora's attraction to Eleanor) and the film's use of sound is more terrifying than anything Wise could have shown with his camera. Like Jack Clayton's 1961 chiller, The Innocents, The Haunting knows the value of planting the seeds of terror in the mind, as opposed to letting them blossom graphically on the screen. What you don't see is infinitely more frightening than what you do, and with nary a severed head or bloody corpse in sight, The Haunting is guaranteed to chill you to the bone. --Jeff Shannon

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Movie Details

Actors: Julie Harris, Russ Tamblyn, Claire Bloom, Richard E. Johnson
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sub-Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Studio: Warner Home Video
Format: DVD - Widescreen - Dubbed,Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 11/09/2010
Original Release Date: 01/01/1963
Theatrical Release Date: 00/00/1963
Release Year: 2010
Run Time: 1hr 52min
Screens: Widescreen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 5
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English, French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
See Also:

The Haunting

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Member Movie Reviews

Amy I. (aymee) from HENDERSON, NV
Reviewed on 8/3/2022...

I really enjoyed this. The Haunting of Hill House is such a great story, and this really did it justice. Creepy and spooky!

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Steven H. (sehamilton) from BIRMINGHAM, AL
Reviewed on 7/30/2011...

Forget the rash of gore-filled splatter flicks that pass for "scary" these days and pick up this genuinely scary movie. Relies on atmosphere and what's hinted at rather than shown to provide more frights than 95% of what passes for horror today. The haunting music, black and white photography, and excellent performances make this the ultimate haunted house movie. Highly recommended. 5 stars!

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.