House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Director:

William Malone

Writers (WGA):

Robb White (story)
Dick Beebe (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Six strangers have the chance to make $1,000,000 EACH. All they have to do is make it through the night alive.

Plot:

A millionaire offers a group of diverse people $1,000,000 to spend the night in a haunted house with a horrifying past.

Plot Keywords:

Haunted House | Millionaire | Money | Mental Institution | Ghost

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Geoffrey Rush	...	Stephen H. Price
Famke Janssen	...	Evelyn Stockard-Price
Taye Diggs	...	Eddie Baker
Peter Gallagher	...	Donald W. Blackburn, M.D.
Chris Kattan	...	Watson Pritchett
Ali Larter	...	Sara Wolfe
Bridgette Wilson	...	Melissa Margaret Marr
Max Perlich	...	Carl Schecter
Jeffrey Combs	...	Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt
Dick Beebe	...	Male Nurse
Slavitza Jovan	...	Twisted Nurse
Lisa Loeb	...	Channel 3 Reporter
James Marsters	...	Channel 3 Cameraman
Jeannette Lewis	...	Price's Secretary
Janet Tracy Keijser	...	Girl on Wires

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, sexual images and language.

Runtime:

93 min | Spain:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | USA:R (certificate #37055) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Video rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | New Zealand:R16 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

J&M Entertainment

Trivia:

Geoffrey Rush was never meant to look like Vincent Price (star of the original film House on Haunted Hill (1959)). The original screenplay described Stephen Price as a regular looking businessman. Rush didn't care for this, so he suggested that his character look like the film director John Waters. The director agreed to test this look out. After his transformation, he ended up looking so much like Vincent Price the director decided to keep the look.

Goofs:

Continuity: Price's name appears on the poster and the bankdrafts as Steven Price, however, in the closing credits, Geoffrey Rush is credited as Stephen Price.

Quotes:

Evelyn Stockard-Price: Who invited them?
Steven H. Price: I don't know, it wasn't me and you say it wasn't you, who then, Evelyn? Ghosts?
Evelyn Stockard-Price: Ooh, spooky.

Movie Connections:

References "Tales from the Crypt: Report from the Grave (#7.8)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Good scary movie

I was expecting the worst--a remake of a lousy 1950s Vincent Price flick (I HATE the original--talk about boring!) and there were no previews--never a good sign. I was surprised to find an intelligent, scary movie. There was gore and violence, but they didn't overdo it (except for the part when someone was given shock treatment--talk about harrowing!). The script was intelligent--all the characters talk and, sometimes, act like real people. And, thankfully, no stupid in-jokes or character to provide "comic" relief. Everything is dealt with seriously which just adds to the tension. The setting is scary--the "house" (actually an abandoned asylum) LOOKS evil, and inside it's all darkness and cobwebs. The acting...well...Rush is having a GREAT time in his role, and it rubbed off on me. Every time he was on screen I enjoyed it. The rest of the cast is OK, but anyone could have played these roles...they were just mostly reacting to special effects. The only real disappointment here was Taye Diggs. He showed that he had charisma, could act and has a GREAT body in previous flicks ("How Stella Got Her Groove Back"; "GO"; "The Wood"). So why does he give such a so-so performance here--he's even worse in "The Best Man". Hopefully he'll start acting again...soon.

I also heard about lousy CGI effects in this movie. When the CGI effects go barreling out of control at the end though, I was scared! I'm a veteran of hundreds (literally) of horror films so I don't scare easy. The only weak part was a real stupid "surprise" at the end that comes out of nowhere. Other than that it worked.

So, this is a good, scary horror film. Worth shelling out full price at a cinema--DON'T wait for the video. This works great in a dark theatre with excellent stereo sound--it won't work on a TV.