It's a classic Hollywood scare-story: In 1931 Los Angeles, the patients of the Vannacut Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane overwhelmed the asylum's medical staff, and the institute's founder and head physician Dr. Richard B. Vannacut (Jeffrey Combs) initiated the building's lockdown procedures, leading to the place to go up in flames and kill everyone still trapped inside. It's been said that ever since that fateful night in 1931, the angry spirits of the dead doctors and mental patients who perished in the raging inferno have continued to haunt the place to this very day.
In the present day (at the time, 1999), uber-wealthy, slightly-more-than-a-little-eccentric amusement park mogul Steven Price (Geoffrey Rush) organizes a surprise birthday bash for his conniving, money-grabbing wife Evelyn Stockard-Price (Famke Janssen) at the Vannacut Institute, which is now a private residence. But being that Price has a few tricks up his sleeve and a real knack for harmless and theatrical fright gags, he disposes of his wife's original guest list and comes up with his own, inviting four strangers to spend the night in the supposedly haunted insane asylum and if they make it to the next morning, they'll each win $1 million - no questions asked. So, just who are the five unlucky contestants? One is ex-professional baseball player Eddie Baker (Taye Diggs); pompous Dr. Donald Blackburn, MD (Peter Gallagher); another is film executive Jennifer Jenzen/Sara Wolfe (Ali Larter); former game show hostess Melissa Marr (Bridgette Wilson); and the house's edgy current owner Watson Pritchett ("Saturday Night Live's" Chris Kattan).
From there on in, things are about to get REALLY scary...
The 1999 Robert Zemeckis-/Joel Silver-produced, William Malone-directed "House on Haunted Hill" was a horror film that I initially ignored upon its release 24 years ago today. But over the intervening years I developed a casually growing interest in it and was surprised to find a well-made, modestly budgeted (for the time) horror/fright vehicle. A remake of the 1959 William Castle-directed Vincent Price film of the same name - which I have not seen, and Geoffrey Rush's character's surname and overall physical appearance are obvious references TO the late film star Vincent Price - "House on Haunted Hill" 1999 gets by on its initially very strong build-up and inventive introduction of its principal characters.
But as we dive into the meat of the story and despite some genuinely tense moments early on (see Price's first scene at one of his amusement parks for reference), it later develops an irritating tendency toward cheap jump scares, which diminishes the initially strong build-up. For example, an early sequence at the Vannacut Institute involving a rooftop window fixture suddenly breaking and nearly killing one of the characters, and another scene where Sara finds herself literally up to her arms in a "Buick-sized" vat of blood, feel cheap and forced. It must also be stated that this latter scene (and a few others like it), will often involve folks unwisely venturing off by themselves into the house's labyrinth of dimly-lit hallways and maze of underground tunnels (one of the hallmarks of lazy horror movie storytelling).
On the plus side, the screenplay by Dick Beebe does give way to some uniquely interesting characters (even if some are not all that well-developed), in particular the blackly humorous back-and-forth dynamic between the bickering Prices, who are both played with scenery-chewing enthusiasm by Geoffrey Price and Famke Janssen (both of whom obviously enjoyed playing their roles and their overall dedication to the material shows). Also, the film's mix of practical special effects magic, CGI, and make-up (by Gregory Nicotero's KNB Effects Group and the late Dick Smith) are quite creative and disturbing (those flickering, spinning-head ghosts! Whoa!!). (It should also be noted that "House on Haunted Hill" was probably one of the last mainstream Hollywood films to ever combine practical effects and CGI like this.) Malone definitely has an eye for frightening and disturbing imagery once this film's horror elements kick into high gear and the supernatural forces at work in the house begin to make their acquaintances with the human protagonists.
"House on Haunted Hill," while far from a perfect entry into the horror genre, does keep you entertained throughout with its engaging characters (especially Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen tag-teaming each other with their venomous line-readings) and a few genuinely scary moments. Its only downsides are the irritating jump scares and unwise decisions by some of the characters that lead to their demises.
So, would YOU spend a night in a haunted mansion for a million dollars?
7/10.
In the present day (at the time, 1999), uber-wealthy, slightly-more-than-a-little-eccentric amusement park mogul Steven Price (Geoffrey Rush) organizes a surprise birthday bash for his conniving, money-grabbing wife Evelyn Stockard-Price (Famke Janssen) at the Vannacut Institute, which is now a private residence. But being that Price has a few tricks up his sleeve and a real knack for harmless and theatrical fright gags, he disposes of his wife's original guest list and comes up with his own, inviting four strangers to spend the night in the supposedly haunted insane asylum and if they make it to the next morning, they'll each win $1 million - no questions asked. So, just who are the five unlucky contestants? One is ex-professional baseball player Eddie Baker (Taye Diggs); pompous Dr. Donald Blackburn, MD (Peter Gallagher); another is film executive Jennifer Jenzen/Sara Wolfe (Ali Larter); former game show hostess Melissa Marr (Bridgette Wilson); and the house's edgy current owner Watson Pritchett ("Saturday Night Live's" Chris Kattan).
From there on in, things are about to get REALLY scary...
The 1999 Robert Zemeckis-/Joel Silver-produced, William Malone-directed "House on Haunted Hill" was a horror film that I initially ignored upon its release 24 years ago today. But over the intervening years I developed a casually growing interest in it and was surprised to find a well-made, modestly budgeted (for the time) horror/fright vehicle. A remake of the 1959 William Castle-directed Vincent Price film of the same name - which I have not seen, and Geoffrey Rush's character's surname and overall physical appearance are obvious references TO the late film star Vincent Price - "House on Haunted Hill" 1999 gets by on its initially very strong build-up and inventive introduction of its principal characters.
But as we dive into the meat of the story and despite some genuinely tense moments early on (see Price's first scene at one of his amusement parks for reference), it later develops an irritating tendency toward cheap jump scares, which diminishes the initially strong build-up. For example, an early sequence at the Vannacut Institute involving a rooftop window fixture suddenly breaking and nearly killing one of the characters, and another scene where Sara finds herself literally up to her arms in a "Buick-sized" vat of blood, feel cheap and forced. It must also be stated that this latter scene (and a few others like it), will often involve folks unwisely venturing off by themselves into the house's labyrinth of dimly-lit hallways and maze of underground tunnels (one of the hallmarks of lazy horror movie storytelling).
On the plus side, the screenplay by Dick Beebe does give way to some uniquely interesting characters (even if some are not all that well-developed), in particular the blackly humorous back-and-forth dynamic between the bickering Prices, who are both played with scenery-chewing enthusiasm by Geoffrey Price and Famke Janssen (both of whom obviously enjoyed playing their roles and their overall dedication to the material shows). Also, the film's mix of practical special effects magic, CGI, and make-up (by Gregory Nicotero's KNB Effects Group and the late Dick Smith) are quite creative and disturbing (those flickering, spinning-head ghosts! Whoa!!). (It should also be noted that "House on Haunted Hill" was probably one of the last mainstream Hollywood films to ever combine practical effects and CGI like this.) Malone definitely has an eye for frightening and disturbing imagery once this film's horror elements kick into high gear and the supernatural forces at work in the house begin to make their acquaintances with the human protagonists.
"House on Haunted Hill," while far from a perfect entry into the horror genre, does keep you entertained throughout with its engaging characters (especially Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen tag-teaming each other with their venomous line-readings) and a few genuinely scary moments. Its only downsides are the irritating jump scares and unwise decisions by some of the characters that lead to their demises.
So, would YOU spend a night in a haunted mansion for a million dollars?
7/10.