Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.
I really do enjoy horror movies. There is just something about being scared that gets me going. Sadly most modern day films rely on gore or sex to sell there films instead of genuine terror. But there is another form of horror that has seem to be forgotten: the haunted house. The haunted house films have been great and full of campy goodness. But in 1999 when a remake of House on Haunted Hill was released, a lot of people were skeptical and thought it would be another gore fest. Instead it is a brilliant mix of genuine thrills, a great whodunit mystery and hysterical (and on purpose) laughs.
I think the first thing that this movie benifits from is a great cast. Geoffery Rush is a great character actor and plays the eccentric owner of the house great. He is witty, sly, sneaky, snarky and just a fun character to listen to. The only complaint is that he looks and sounds like James Woods in the movie so if your ears bleed when you hear Woods talk then skip it. You also got Famke Jensen (amazing and beautiful as always. Plays a great bitch), Chris Kattan (in his only good role besides Corky Ramano), Ali Larter (horror princess) and Tyrese Gibbs (good actor). The cast is brilliant, wonderful to listen to and really likeable.
The second thing this movie benifits from is perfect pacing. Its slow when it needs to be and breakneck when it needs to be. The cinematography, art design of the house and furniture, the special effects, lighting and sound pretty much everything is great and shows a lot of really intense detail.
A lot of people write this off as a dumb modern day haunted house story but those people havent seen this movie. If you see it then you will see the best horror movie of the 90s and still one of my favorite classics to watch on Halloween.
MY VERDICT: OWN IT
No comments:
Post a Comment