Let’s do the time warp again ladies and gentlemen, back to 1959. This is one of my favorite old movies. I saw this and the first time, I am not gonna lie, I jumped.
So here’s the gist. A couple, Frederick (Vincent Price) and Annabelle, invite some people to their mansion, which is haunted, and you get $10,000 if you stay all night. Ruth is a writer for a newspaper I believe and has gambling issues. Watson is a guy who lives in mortal fear of the house, but he needs the cash. Dr. Trent is a psychiatrist who is interested in scared people. Nora Manning needs the money more than most and works for Frederick, she’s like a typist and is somewhat sympathetic going in. Lance is a handsome pilot, cause you need handsome men in movies.
Vincent Price is a legend and he carries this film. How I love his voice. Annabelle is the wet blanket of the party. Vincent offers her a million tax-free to just leave, but she’s a greedy bitch. Raylene says she would leave me for that much. So we may have to start up a “Help Kent raise a million dollars for peace” fund. Won’t you please contribute?
Watson is hilarious, he tries to spook everybody throughout the film. All sorts of stories about the murders. To really write about this is to give away all the twists and turns this film takes. It’s only 75 minutes long, it’s on NetFlix, and it is excellent.
In conclusion, is this better or worse than the remake is the question on everybody’s mind, right? It’s a really unfair question in this case. The plot is similar in nature, a lot less hardcore and gory, but had more of the haunted house vibe. The scares were quite excellent for its time. I wish the pace was a little better, but it’s only 75 mins, so what does it really matter? It’s a great story and the ending is very well done. All in all, this has to get a 7.0, no doubt about it. I recommend this to people who enjoy old school horror, haunted houses, whodunits, and everything Vincent Price.
Final Rating: 7.0
All the pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of:
William Castle Productions (as A William Castle Robb White Production)
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