House on Haunted Hill - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

House on Haunted Hill

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Movie
While most people in this day and age remember House on Haunted Hill for the moderately fun 1999 remake, I will forever hold the original 1959 film as the pinnacle of the story’s accomplishments. It wasn’t has bloody and ghost filled as the 99 flick, but it was probably the most cerebral and entertaining of the two tales, relying more on misdirection and mystery than straight up horror. At least horror what we consider horror today. Plus, it featured the venerable Vincent Price as the lead character, and he was literally THE god of horror during the 40s and 50s, surpassing even Boris Karloff in my opinion.

The film got a release years ago via Shout! Factory (now Shout! Studios) with their Vincent Price Collection: Vol 2 (which is sadly out of print), but Film Masters has gotten ahold of the IP and given it a stand alone release this last Christmas, and given it a really nice special edition (except for the extras sadly) for us today.

Going back to a Hollywood horror staple of a group of people being trapped in an old haunted house, we are introduced to our 5 “victims” via Vincent Price’s narration. You see, Price is Frederick Loren, an obscenely rich millionaire with a few eccentricities. As a party for his wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart), he has invited 5 random people of varying educational and job tiers to come out to the house on haunted hill and spend the night there. If they make it through the night they get $10,000, and if they somehow don’t survive the haunted house..Well, then their next of kin gets the money.

At first it seems like this is all an eccentric gag by Loren, but soon the 5 realize that something else is going on. Frederick and Annabelle are at each others throats, and the guests become suspicious that he’s actually here on some murderous mission. But before long inexplicable things start to happen. Windows opening and closing, a pit of acid mysteriously beckoning, and hints of supernatural interference begin to muddy the waters for everyone involved. Now everyone is locked in a giant mansion with no hope of escape till morning, and now everyone is out to cover their own tails and hopefully make it out alive before the spirits consume them all.

What makes House on Haunted Hill so much fun is that it relies heavily on misdirection and mystery throughout. Instead of being a gigantic ghost story ala the 1999 film, the 1959 flick has the audience wondering the ENTIRE film whether or not there really are ghosts involved or not. At first it seems like this is all a game, but once the spirits start appearing, even the audience is certain that this is a true supernatural horror film. But like I said, misdirection is the key here, and we go back and forth trying to ascertain if this is truly a ghost story, or whether someone wants you to believe that it is such. Kind of like Clue, just with less humor and a more sinister end, if you might. So more of a mystery with murderous undertones rather than a classic horror movie (even though they used the giant skeleton in the promotional material to get butts into seats).




Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

I sadly have never seen the Shout! Studios release of this film, so I have no idea of Film Masters is using the same master, or have stuck a new one for this release. But that aside, this looks pretty solid for an over 76 year old film shot on a budget. There’s some print damage here and there, a few jerky camera shots, and what looks like flickers of interlacing issues in the master (right at the 18:00 minute mark right when Nora enters the room, and at the 40:25 mark where Annabelle is trying to exit the cellar). I also noticed some minor haloing around heads and hair for a few scenes. But aside from that, this is still a nice looking image with clean grain and solid detail levels.








Audio:

Eureka provides us with a brace of LPCM 2.0 stereo mixes, both in English Dub and in Cantonese. And while you know that I tend to lean towards original language tracks over English Dubs out of principal, this is one of those early 90s English dubs that simply doesn’t hold up that well. The Cantonese (which is partially a dub as well considering half the cast spoke Mandarin) sounds a lot more authentic, and the voice acting fits the period well. The front sound stage sounds quite good, with strong sound effects for the fisticuffs. BUT I did notice that the dialog was a bit harsh and had some raspy distortion gong on. Nothing major, just enough to remind us of the cheap recording equipment used back then for these flicks.







Extras:

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Final Score: ​

Vincent Price is a god in the horror world, and rightfully so. He has that soothing, yet creepy, voice. A large impressive stature, and a way of delivering lines that sends chills down your back. And while I like the 1999 film for the schlocky ghost story that it is, the film bears very little resemblance to the original, which I find far superior. Film Masters’ standalone Blu-ray release looks and sounds good, but sadly offers zero extras past the really nice slipcover they provide for the release. That being said, the film is a genuine horror/thriller classic, and deserves a good watch despite the lack of extras. Highly recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Riachrd Long, Alan Marshall, Carolyn Craig
Directed by: William Castle
Written by: Robb White
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English
Studio: Film Masters
Rated: NR
Runtime: 75 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 16th, 2025

Recommendation: Very Good Watch