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Adaptation of Richard Matheson's horror novel Hell House, written by Matheson himself. The body of the story remains -- a scientist, his wife, and a couple of psychic investigators are hired to settle once and for all the question of survival after death by temporarily moving into an infamous haunted house -- but most of the connective tissue in Matheson's novel is missing, making the film seem more of a companion piece to the novel than a work in its own right. The individual parts aren't so much scenes as vignettes, each of which imparts another important plot point. Because each scene is, really, equally important, it doesn't build the way a narrative should. On the other hand, if the peaks are missing, so, too, are the troughs. It's a naive approach, but one that does give the film an unusual, if minor, fascination. This isn't a scary movie; it's ominous, from beginning to end. With good acting, though, by the likes of Clive Revill, Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, and Gayle Hunnicutt. The special effects are also quite good.
Adaptation of Richard Matheson's horror novel Hell House, written by Matheson himself. The body of the story remains -- a scientist, his wife, and a couple of psychic investigators are hired to settle once and for all the question of survival after death by temporarily moving into an infamous haunted house -- but most of the connective tissue in Matheson's novel is missing, making the film seem more of a companion piece to the novel than a work in its own right. The individual parts aren't so much scenes as vignettes, each of which imparts another important plot point. Because each scene is, really, equally important, it doesn't build the way a narrative should. On the other hand, if the peaks are missing, so, too, are the troughs. It's a naive approach, but one that does give the film an unusual, if minor, fascination. This isn't a scary movie; it's ominous, from beginning to end. With good acting, though, by the likes of Clive Revill, Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, and Gayle Hunnicutt. The special effects are also quite good.
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