House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Director: William Castle

Starring: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long

A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.

Yesteryear’s’ horror movies might have been frightening back then, but unfortunately they are no longer scary – maybe because modern horror movies have a very different approach. They are nevertheless still fun to watch, and I rather enjoyed this vintage horror movie.

The Inimitable Vincent Price stars as millionaire Frederick Loren, and Carol Ohmart stars as his wife, Annabelle. They loathe one another and Annabelle has even tried to poison Frederick once. For her birthday, Frederick and Annabelle invite five strangers to the House on Haunted Hill for a haunted house party. Whoever manages to stay in the house for twelve hours – and survive – will earn $10,000. There’ll be food and drinks and ghosts…and maybe even murder…

The guests are given until midnight to leave the house should they choose not to stay, where after there will be no way out. Soon after midnight, unexplainable things start happening, attributed to ghosts, off course, and a few booby traps. But Annabelle – along with one of the guests – has an ace up her sleeve, allowing for an interesting twist.

‘House on Haunted Hill’ must have been a real shocker back in the day, and although not scary by today’s standards, it still manages to pack a punch. The film was a box office success, earning $2.5 million on a budget of $200,000.

Would I watch it again? No.