A dark brooding atmosphere, disturbing psychological insights and a handful of suddenly executed surprises make this old horror as fresh and vital as the day it was made.
Comment
10/19/08
The Haunting (1963)
85
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:33
Fresh:28
Rotten:5
Average Rating:7.8/10
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: A paranormal investigator invites a trio of people to help him examine Hill House, a sinister family estate haunted by the angry souls from its troubled past. While Eleanor (Julie Harris) looks for... [More]
Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Director: Robert Wise
Reviews for The Haunting
Top CriticYou might not have a lot of answers by the end but you'll find various scenes stay with you long after the movie is over.
06/13/01
Top CriticWhat makes the film so effective is not so much the slightly sinister characterisation of the generally neurotic group, but the fact that [director] Wise makes the house itself the central character, a beautifully designed and highly atmospheric entity.
09/23/06
Top CriticProperly creepy, unlike like the dodgy remake.
09/25/07
Top CriticNo review available.
12/05/03
People stare about in terror and squeak: 'The house, it's alive!' The picture, it's dead.
10/19/08
Top CriticTo say that Wise's The Haunting is better than De Bont's The Haunting damns the Wise picture to faint praise I fear it deserves.
08/04/03
Makes more goose pimples than sense.
05/09/05
Top CriticIt put me to sleep -- and Harris's constant, nagging voice over makes you want to tape your ears shut.
01/01/00
The artful cinematic strokes of director Robert Wise and staff are not quite enough to override the major shortcomings of Nelson Gidding's screenplay.
09/25/07
Top CriticOne of the best haunted-house movies ever. Very spooky.
10/01/03
Top CriticAn undeniably effective adaptation of the Shirley Jackson novel and remains one of the best haunted-house movies.
09/25/07
Top CriticNo review available.
09/02/04
Without showing one ghost, Wise's camera works like a contorting black and white swallow.
02/06/03
Spooky and atmospheric haunted house film, put to shame by the dreadful remake.
03/19/03
No review available.
12/05/03
Knows how to draw fright from its haunted house story.
10/28/06
The horror remains admirably attuned to the sense of solitude in a premature spinster
09/06/09
Latest News for The Haunting
September 15, 2005:
Hollywood Giant Robert Wise Passes Away at 91
Master filmmaker and 4-time Oscar winner Robert Wise has died at the age of 91. Probably best known as the director of films like "The Sound of Music," "West Side... More...
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