Some people find black-and-white movies too far removed from modern sensibilities, especially when it comes to horror. The combination of the Hayes Code preventing anything too graphic and the lack of advanced special effects can turn off today’s audiences. But sometimes, it’s exactly that lack of finesse and exaggerated reactions to pedestrian frights that make these old horror films so enjoyable. House on Haunted Hill from 1959 is a perfect example because while it’s far from scary to a modern viewer, it wears its ridiculousness on its sleeve. A classic haunted house story mixed with a murder plot, House on Haunted Hill remembers to have fun with its audience,something its 1999 remake with Geoffery Rush lacked. The original was directed by William Castle, who John Waters called “King of the Gimmicks,” and stars Vincent Price just as he was hitting his stride as one of the most acclaimed low-budget-horror villains of the ’50s and ’60s. Of course, the movie is kitschy, but that’s exactly what makes it such a fun watch.
‘House on Haunted Hill’ Looks Like a Carnival Attraction, And It Works
House on Haunted Hill centers around Frederick Loren (Price), a millionaire who offers $10,000 to anyone who can stay a whole night in his supposedly haunted mansion. It’s a simple plot on the surface, but that’s where Loren’s wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart), comes in. Annabelle is Loren’s fourth wife, and there are rumors that Loren had a hand in his previous wives’ deaths and disappearances. But Loren also suspects that Annabelle only married him for his money, and she had in fact tried to poison him in the past. Their relationship is melodrama at its finest, and the two are extremely hostile towards one another. There’s a constant undercurrent of cat-and-mouse between Loren and Annabelle in which the other five guests are simply moving parts. As the others settle in for the night, they begin to get a taste of the house’s haunting nature – although in reality, it’s not that haunting and might not even be real at all, and that’s what makes the movie fun.
By the end of the film, Annabelle is so frightened by a walking, talking skeleton that she topples backwards into an open (and very avoidable) vat of acid. First of all, the very fact that there’s an open vat of acid just sitting around in the basement is enough to push the film into camp territory on its own. But the appearance of the skeleton is even more hilarious, as it looks like something you could buy at any cheap Halloween store. Not to mention the sight of Vincent Price stepping from the shadows, reeling the skeleton towards him on a pulley like a children’s pupeteer (and yet somehow he still looks pretty suave). Even one of the more genuine frights of the film ends with a practical effect that quickly turns fear into amusement. The film features a scene in which a blind woman appears with no warning, grimacing into the camera. It’s not a bad jump scare, but as the woman leaves the scene, it’s clear that she’s being drawn along by a trolley of some kind, making it look like she’s gliding on roller skates. That kind of campy production aesthetic is exactly what makes House on Haunted Hill so fun.
Vincent Price Was the King of Campy, B Movie Horror Villains
Vincent Price was an icon of ’60s horror, particularly when he worked with Roger Corman on his numerous Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. He often played exaggerated characters, usually dispatching their enemies with pendulums and pits of acid. But “exaggerated” doesn’t mean “big.” Vincent Price’s high voice and cultured transatlantic-style accent gave him more of a charismatically evil personality – more like Hannibal Lecter than Freddy Krueger. Price didn’t try for affectation in his performances, either; he was a character actor who spent several years on the British stage, and his voice and mannerisms happened to coincide with the camp aesthetic. He was rarely seen without his iconic thin mustache, which he all but twirled while playing melodramatic villains. Anyone who’s listened to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or seen Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands recognizes the distinctive voice and appearance of Vincent Price.
His classic combination of over-the-top villainy and dry delivery is on full display in House on Haunted Hill. Loren has to be a charming host to his guests, or they might decide that, between him and the ghosts, the money isn’t worth the trouble. But Price still has to make Loren sinister enough for the audience to believe he may have murdered his former wives. Still, Loren can’t be more sinister than his current wife in order to keep the audience guessing about who the real villain of the movie is. This surprisingly delicate balance of characterization is a big part of why House on Haunted Hill works, and Price nails it. In a retrospective for TCM, John Waters described Price as “just a fine actor, never pretentious. The audiences that went to see him were all-inclusive, from the poorest people to the richest. Nobody disliked him […] He was always handsome, dignified, charming, and a little bit sinister.”
‘House on Haunted Hill’ Director William Castle Was Famous for Gimmicks
The kitschy, low-budget nature of House on Haunted Hill should come as no surprise to anyone who looks at the credits. The director, William Castle, was well-known for creating low-budget movies on a short timeline. But even more telling than that is his penchant for “gimmicks” during the releases of these movies, usually given a sensational name Castle made up himself. These included “Percepto” (vibrating seats for The Tingler, another Price vehicle) and “Illusion-O” (paper viewers with one red cellophane lens and one blue that could hide or reveal the ghosts onscreen in 13 Ghosts).
For House on Haunted Hill, Castle came up with “Emergo,” wherein a huge, glow-in-the-dark skeleton was rigged to a zip line in certain theaters and zoomed over the audience to mimic the climax of the film. It’s an over-the-top addition unique to Castle, who didn’t stop there. If there are any lingering doubts about Castle’s intentions for House on Haunted Hill, they’re cleared up by the credits of the film. The skeleton that Loren manipulates in the finale is listed in the credits as being played “by itself.” It’s clearly a joke, implying that House on Haunted Hill was meant to amuse audiences as much as it was to scare them.
Considering the casting, the props, and the gimmicks involved, there’s definitely a sense of silliness mixed in with the spooky atmosphere of House on Haunted Hill. It takes the atmosphere of a genuine horror movie and gives it a layer of kitsch that’s fun to watch, if not necessarily terrifying. As long as you go into it with no expectations of truly being scared, House on Haunted Hill is a fun addition to any Halloween movie marathon.
House on Haunted Hill is available to stream in the U.S. on Prime Video
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