"Let the games begin..."      

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (R)

Reviewed October 31, 1999 - Check out the House on Haunted Hill Website.

Studio Synopsis: Unspeakable things happened at the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane—experiments that brought human torture to new depths of depravity... secrets that died with their victims and the practitioners of the demonic acts that masqueraded as medicine. Now there are no living witnesses. Nothing survived Dr. Vannacutt's excesses; nothing endures except the building in which they occurred. But that building holds all the secrets of its terrible past. Decades after the Vannacutt Insititute was shuttered, five strangers are invited to spend a night there. Their reward is a million dollars each. All they have to do is stay alive.

Fuzzydog Review: House on Haunted Hill is a rollercoaster ride...a bloody, gory screamfest...the kind of mindless, campy entertainment that's meant to bring thrills and chills and nothing more.  With Geoffrey Rush (as twisted billionnaire theme-park mogul Steven Price) hosting the evening's events, Haunted Hill makes for a passable evening's entertainment sprinkled with a few scares and a few laughs.  Unfortunately, there is an unbelievable lack of either subtlety or originality in this picture, which (for me at least) also managed to make it...well...boring.  There aren't really any surprises here in terms of who dies, how they die, and in what order...especially since they all engage in the same inane victim-behavior so effectively described in Scream (a much better horror film, by the way). 

In my mind, Haunted Hill is very clearly a "B" picture, appropriate for home video viewing and maybe not even that.  Granted, this movie is a remake from the 1958 horror flick, but it's frankly not much of an update, and with merely so-so performances by its cast (including Famke Jannsen, Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher, Chris Kattan, Ali Larter and Bridgette Wilson), probably not worth your time or money.  

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

born2b_wyld21_2006@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "The movie was great!! It was scary and a couple of parts were funny! It was da bomb baby!!" (7/1/01)

darth_davo@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "OKay, had this not be the cheesiest most corny lump of crap, it would have gotten more. Geoffry Rush is wasted in a movie with no depth and just utter crap near the end. However, had the film followed along more with the mental patient idea, like from the start, it could have been better. But this is really dodgy." (2/26/00)

backus840@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "I thought it was really scary." (1/28/00)

senyaar gives this movie  stars. (11/13/99)

fuzzy@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "This movie was awsome, the only reason I gave it 4.5 stars is because nothing is perfect!!! I thought it was great but I am confuesd??? Why is this movie rated R??? The only bad thing is swearing, and there is occasional gore but but their is no pornography. The closest they get to porn is when an insane guy goes nut and attmpts to pull of the nurses clothes but they have a bra on and underwear on!!! There is no rape nor mulestaring well you can e-mail me if you want BYE" (11/9/99)

Daniel Smith gives this movie  stars: "Hello my movie going friends, I just wanted to say that this movie was great!!!! I would give it an easy 5 stars!! And to all the worried sick parents out their this is an appropiat movie for kids about 10 and over (to me) Their was gore and swearing but no nudity or sexual violence, but I recommend this movie to everyone!!! Sincerely Daniel, age 30" (11/9/99)