THE HAUNTING. (1963) BASED ON THE BOOK 'THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE' BY SHIRLEY JACKSON. DIRECTED BY ROBERT WISE. SCREENPLAY BY NELSON GIDDING. STARRING JULIE HARRIS, CLAIRE BLOOM, RICHARD JOHNSON AND RUSS TAMBLYN. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
Oh wow. I can't find fault with this
classic horror film, not one single fault. Not that I want to, you
understand. This is one of the best 'haunted house' films I've ever
seen in my life. I put it on a par with my other favourite 'haunted
house'-slash- possession films, namely: THE INNOCENTS (1961);
BURNT OFFERINGS (1976);
and AMITYVILLE 2: THE POSSESSION (1982).
The
film is based on Shirley Jackson's famous book from 1959. Shirley
Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1919. Her stories appeared
regularly in posh, exclusive literary journal THE NEW
YORKER (lucky cow!) and many
were anthologized and dramatized for radio and television. (Again,
jealous...!) She died two years
after her best-known book was turned into a terrific film. That's all
I know about the lady who gave us THE HAUNTING OF HILL
HOUSE. But what a legacy to
leave the world...!
I've
read the book and enjoyed it. I have to say, though, that this may be
one of those occasional instances when the film is actually better than the
book. The book is excellent. The film is superlative!
Hill
House in the film is more like a flippin' castle. It's huge. It literally is the
kind of magnificent sprawling house you could get lost in. It's
fabulous. The shots of
the exterior of the house by day will have you ooh-ing and
aah-ing in admiration. The shots
of the old dark house by night, however, will have you running for
the hills screeching: 'Evil...! It's eeeeeeeeeeeevil...!'
We get
to hear a bit about the back story of this 'evil' house.
The house has a grim and troubled history. People who've had dealings
with the house clearly think it's haunted to buggery, if you'll
excuse a wee bit of slang. The family who built the house in the
Victorian era are long dead. The house is now cared for by a sinister
pair of husband-and-wife caretakers, the Dudleys. They take the
greatest of pleasure in telling guests the risks they're taking by
staying in such a 'deranged' house...
Dr. John
Markway is a parapsychologist. He's invited two women with psychic
backgrounds to stay in the house with him to observe any supernatural
phenomena which may occur there. The three of them will be chaperoned
by the sceptical nephew of the house's current owner. He's hopeful of
inheriting the whole kit 'n' kaboodle when the old dear finally
shuffles off her mortal coil. They're a motley crew indeed. And once
the doors of Hill House close behind the four of them, the fun really
starts...
Claire Bloom
plays the nasty, superior Theodora who seems to enjoy making
Eleanor's life a misery with her bitchy comments and savagely cutting
insights. Eleanor, the other woman, is fragile with a past nearly as
troubled as Hill House's and she is deeply unsuited to such a potentially
dangerous psychic experiment.
On the
other hand, being at Hill House is the best and most exciting thing
that's ever happened to Eleanor Lance and she's dead-set on staying till the
bitter end. The toll the house takes on her delicate state of mind
will be monumental, however...
I hope
it's not a spoiler to say that the house is, in fact, as haunted as
f**k and that it should be renamed HELL HOUSE. All
the incidents of haunting are genuinely terrifying and have actually
caused me sleepless nights. Yes, I've lain in bed in the dark
gibbering like a madwoman and repeating the words: 'Whose
hand was I holding...?' to
myself over and over till I fell asleep...! I'm sensitive like that, you know. Kind of deeply in tune with the supernatural and all things spiritual. It's a cross I have to bear every day.
The
interior of the house is every bit as impressive as the outside. The
furnishings and ornaments, the paintings and statues are all
exquisite. Well, now I think of it, some of the statues look like
gargoyles and are quite disturbing, but otherwise the house is
beautiful. And sooooo haunted
it's off the freakin' scale.
There's a
haunted library, haunted corridors, a haunted rickety staircase and a haunted nursery
where Abigail, the original daughter of the house back in Victorian
times, spent her joyless, typically Victorian childhood. It's got the works. It might just be the most haunted house you'll ever get to see. And, whatever you do, remember
this:
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA
HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment