This remake of William Castle's cult horror from 1958 is a reasonably good update, deliberately designed as something of a Ghost Train ride. It's fun and has creepy 20s flashbacks galore, throws in plenty of blood and adds a plot twist or two to the original story.
The plot concerns Geoffrey Rush's amusement park entrepreneur inviting a small number of guests he's never previously met to his wife's birthday party, intending to host it in a disused asylum that was the scene of a terrible tragedy. However the couple hate each other with a passion and each may be planning to murder the other before the night is over. To add to the fun, the guests who turn up were not the ones he invited, though he has offered each a million dollars if they survive the night. It appears they are the descendants of those who died the first time around, and now the house won't let them out...
Rush's character, Steven Price, is surely a homage to good ol' Vincent of that ilk, and super-hero fans can enjoy the sight of Famke Janssen from X-Men and Ali Larter from Heroes amongst the cast. The flashback sequences are excellent, and appear to have had an influence on games like Bioshock; and the old, creepy crypts of the house are genuinely unsettling. House On Haunted Hill has excellent production design, and it's always great to see Jeffry Combes show up as the sinister Doctor. There are flaws, however. The characters are not particularly well-developed, so we don't care what happens to most of them much, and the story is very diffuse, not focusing on anything in detail before moving on to the next set piece. But House isn't bad as horror remakes go - in fact it matches the original, and is bound to keep the gore hounds happy. Recommended as good roller coaster ride.
The plot concerns Geoffrey Rush's amusement park entrepreneur inviting a small number of guests he's never previously met to his wife's birthday party, intending to host it in a disused asylum that was the scene of a terrible tragedy. However the couple hate each other with a passion and each may be planning to murder the other before the night is over. To add to the fun, the guests who turn up were not the ones he invited, though he has offered each a million dollars if they survive the night. It appears they are the descendants of those who died the first time around, and now the house won't let them out...
Rush's character, Steven Price, is surely a homage to good ol' Vincent of that ilk, and super-hero fans can enjoy the sight of Famke Janssen from X-Men and Ali Larter from Heroes amongst the cast. The flashback sequences are excellent, and appear to have had an influence on games like Bioshock; and the old, creepy crypts of the house are genuinely unsettling. House On Haunted Hill has excellent production design, and it's always great to see Jeffry Combes show up as the sinister Doctor. There are flaws, however. The characters are not particularly well-developed, so we don't care what happens to most of them much, and the story is very diffuse, not focusing on anything in detail before moving on to the next set piece. But House isn't bad as horror remakes go - in fact it matches the original, and is bound to keep the gore hounds happy. Recommended as good roller coaster ride.