Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Bletto This is supposed to be one of the best haunted house movies of all time? Admittedly, when I watched this the first time as a teenager alone at home at night, I was terrified. But seeing it again now, I must sadly say this is a boring, hardly frightening film with too much talking about how evil this house was. Most of all, the lead character is really annoying. Redeeming parts include some nice camera shots of the mansion, and Claire Bloom, who steals every scene she is in.

classicsoncall Director Robert Wise was held to a million dollar budget by MGM to make this film, so he had to dispense with ideas he had for eerie special effects. Relying on his own creativity, Wise came up with a competent psychological thriller, though I didn't get the sense that this was all that scary for a horror flick. That's perhaps because one of the principal characters, Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris), carries on conversations with herself in a manner that suggests she may be delusional and suffering from some form of mental illness. The idea was further reinforced for me when her wild mood swings, particularly with Theodora (Claire Bloom), ranged from friendly warmth to psychotic hatred. I couldn't reconcile her behavior with someone who might have been a guest at Hill House experiencing unexplained bumps in the night that would have scared the pants off a normal person.When I think of scary movies and when I originally experienced them, I always revert back to the Vincent Price creep-fest, 1959's "House on Haunted Hill". The main reason I think that that one affected me the way it did is because I was only about nine or ten when I first saw it, and one knows how impressionable a kid can be. If I saw this one at the same age, I might have formed a different opinion, especially because the film used a lot of great camera angles and offered up a neat batch of horror type elements, like the pounding on the walls, the harp that plays by itself and the breathing door. But in and of themselves, those instances didn't seem particularly frightening to this viewer.But don't let all that stop you from catching this picture. I thought the film was competently made and the cinematography is quite rewarding. The idea that the house 'wants' Eleanor may have a profoundly different effect on you, whereas her breakdown at the end of the story suggested that her own personal demons were what were responsible for her demise. Now if you want to contemplate something really scary, take note of how much it cost for twenty four hour off-street parking in the city garage where Eleanor kept her car - one would have to pony up a whole two dollars and fifty cents!!!

lastchancename-210-949164 I saw this as a pre-teen about 47 years ago, and while I'm not easily 'led', this film has been imprinted in my mind ever since - as a classic. The audience was fifty school kids on a Saturday night, running on 16mm film... Far more worthy than the more recent slasher genre, or the remake with Catherine Zeta Jones (but she's nice to look at!). Don't go in expecting CGI or effects. Have dinner, a glass of wine then watch it in a darkened room without distractions. A great example to show film students how script, acting and direction are far more important than colour, zombies or other 'horror' affectations. Just good solid filmmaking and will keep you up all night - if you 'get it' unlike some earlier reviews!

Johan Louwet Usually I'm not one who likes movies which are more about atmosphere than story. I think "The Haunting" is somewhere in between. The story looks pretty basic about a professor who wants to find evidence of supernatural and this in the spooky mansion Hill House where over the years some people died through accidents and suicide. We see this movie mostly through the eyes of Eleanor, a young woman living in with her sister's family desperately seeking for her own place. She is delighted that she is asked by professor Markway to join him in his quest. The other 2 paranormal investigators are Theodora and the legal heir of the mansion young guy Luke. No this movie doesn't have the sudden ghost faces that we see in today's horror. The horror is here created by noises and the visuals. And also the black/white cinematography as well as the mansion itself enable to create the creepy atmosphere it needs. I especially liked how we get to feel Eleanor's emotions through the voice in her head. She is terrified of the house yet also experiencing a strange attraction tot it. I think together with "The Innocents" one of the best haunted house movies.