31 days of Halloween: The Haunting

The Haunting is a 1963 horror film directed by Robert Wise.

The film stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn. The film is cast perfectly.

This is seriously one of the creepiest films I have ever seen. The film, tame by today's standards is one of the best directed, composed, and shot horror films ever made. The film has no blood and is not a crazy special effects orgy. It's just chock full of suspense, atmosphere and tension.

The film's contrast is perfect. The angles are disturbing and unsettling, the sound used in the film is simply... wonderful. The film is a masterpiece of "less is more." That may be a major failing of today's generation, who expect their horror to be violent, brutal, full of stupid people and cell phones that don't work when you really need them to.

The characters Eleanor (Julie Harris), Theodora (Claire Bloom), and Luke Sanderson (Richard Johnson) join John Markway (Russ Tamblyn) a doctor to investigate the paranormal. They travel to Hill House, a place that Markway believes to be a perfect place to conduct his experiment. Eleanor soon realizes she gets more than she bargained for, after the house appears to take interest in her.

The remake is okay in its own right, but it doesn't hold a candle to this movie. Probably proof that even with all the technology and money Hollywood has, they're incapable of making a film like this as good as they used to.

**** out of *****