House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 supernatural horror film directed by William Malone (who directed the 1985 Creature), starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan. The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned insane asylum, where they are offered $1 million each if they are able to survive the night.
This was a pretty entertaining film. The story is pretty simplistic, and it does go at a pretty decent pace. I’m a fan of films like this and for the most part I think the film does a good job of retelling the story of the original while adding some style to it. I won’t say that the film was perfect, there were story threads that could’ve been fleshed out a bit more and some that could’ve been cut. Also, the whole mystery behind the group being there would’ve had more impact had the mystery aspect been more interesting. Or perhaps have more of the characters involved in it to help tackle it from different directions while fleshing out their characters. It was a bit slow at first but when the spooks start happening it goes at a good pace. The climax somewhat had me scratching my head because it’s supernatural but it’s not supernatural, but it is supernatural. If it was supernatural the entire time, then why have the human elements in it? Aside from that it’s entertaining but decent.
The characters are okay. It’s pretty easy to like the characters as they have good personalities and interesting quirks. Personally, I did like Eddie (Taye Diggs) and Sara (Ali Larter) and I thought they had really good chemistry together. I also really liked Steven (Geoffrey Rush) and Evelyn Price (Famke Janssen), and I liked the back-and-forth between the two. I would’ve liked the film to have added another five to ten minutes to further establish the characters and their motivations. Yeah, they’re there for the million dollars but why? Is it because of debt? A better life? A lifesaving operation? A future for their children? The film never really gets into why they accepted the invitation.
The story and characters is decent. (3 out of 5)
I will say that the way the film is shot is pretty stylized. There are good angles and closeups that make the characters stand out. The hospital is a pretty good setting with its dark corners, unsettling past, and creepy atmosphere. There’s a lot of creepy imagery. The blood, core, torture, and violence and it’s used effectively, although there are some kills offscreen that would’ve been sweet to look at. The CGI is just crap. The Darkness entity that appears towards the end of the film looks like absolute garbage. Probably some of the worst CGI I’ve seen. Cudos for the creature design because it does look cool though, with the different bodies forming the creature.
The music is pretty solid although some songs standout more than others. And the sound design is both creepy and intense, especially when the “scares” pop up. Really like the ending song “Sweet Dreams” played by Marilyn Manson. Despite my issues with the special effects of The Darkness entity, I will say that I do like the sound of it. It sounds like it has all of these different souls assimilated into it.
The overall structure works pretty well although the CGI is garbage. (3 out of 5)
This film has a stellar cast and some really good performances. The standouts for me were undoubtedly Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs and Ali Larter. Especially like the onscreen chemistry between Diggs and Larter. This film is what put Larter on my radar as she’s one of my favorite actresses. The cast also includes Peter Gallagher, Chris Kattan, Bridgette Wilson, Max Perlich, Jeffrey Combs, Lisa Loeb, James Marsters, and Peter Graves. Some performances are better than others but it’s still a good movie.
Really liked how well William Malone directed this film. It’s hard to have a good remake and Malone does a pretty good job (although the ending does leave much to be desire). I will say that the characters are not particularly well-developed further emphasizing the lack of motivation (yeah, it’s a million dollars but what’s pushing them to go for it). There’s a lot of intense imagery of blood, torture, and violence that’s unsettling. The dialogue isn’t particularly bad and even has a bit of humor to it. The writing, pacing, and editing is decent, making for an entertaining thrill ride viewers can just kick their feet back and enjoy.
The performances, writing and direction are good. (3 out of 5)
The Verdict: In the end, House of Haunted Hill is a pretty good film as far as remakes go. The film isn’t perfect, and that ending was complete cringe but the journey to it was enjoyable. The casting and performances are solid, the setting is good, and the writing and direction is good. House of Haunted Hill gets 3 out of 5.
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