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Movies / On DVD / The Haunting
The Haunting

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The Haunting (1963)

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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... 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 an escape from the memory of her recently-deceased mother, she becomes increasingly obsessed with the history of the huge, ominous house. Based on Shirley Jackson's lyrical novel, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, and one of the most frightening psychological horror films ever made, featuring virtually no blood, gore, or monsters for its effective scares. [More]

Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn

Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Lois Maxwell, Valentine Dyall, Fay Compton, Rosalie Crutchley, Ronald Adam

Director: Robert Wise

Director: Robert Wise
Screenwriter: Nelson Gidding
Producer: Robert Wise
Composer: Humphrey Searle

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Haunting

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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You 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.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/13/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/19/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Properly creepy, unlike like the dodgy remake.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/25/07
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/05/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

What 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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
09/23/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The scariest movie of its day

comment Comment
02/03/04
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

One of the best haunted-house movies ever. Very spooky.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Austin Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pretty effective when it came out; it may be a little stiff in the joints by now, but it's still a much better scare show than the recent stinker remake.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/25/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

The horror remains admirably attuned to the sense of solitude in a premature spinster

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
09/06/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

...easily ranks among the finest supernatural suspense films ever made.

Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com | comment Comment
04/06/06
Mark Bourne
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com

few filmmakers have drawn fright from nothingness as adeptly as Robert Wise did

comment Comment
11/06/04
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser

...it's what we don't see in The Haunting that makes it scary.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
08/03/03
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

The very first response to "What's a good haunted house movie?"

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Spooky and atmospheric haunted house film, put to shame by the dreadful remake.

comment Comment
03/19/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/18/07
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

To 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.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
08/04/03
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

It put me to sleep -- and Harris's constant, nagging voice over makes you want to tape your ears shut.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Ghosts! And they are unseen, frightening things in this creepy classic.

comment Comment
10/15/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

Don't waste your time on the remake. Robert Wise's original film is the one to see and it's still chilling after all these years.

comment Comment
03/30/03
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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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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