Price is the puppet master here and is determined to make the night memorable. The film was produced by Tales from the Crypt alum Robert Zemekis, Walter Hill and Gilbert Adler.Īcademy Award winner Geoffrey Rush ( Shine) stars as Stephen Price, the roller coaster tycoon with a penchant for thrilling audiences. Cinematographer Rick Bota ( Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) has a lot of fun lighting this picture and really delivers a rich and colorful landscape for the action to play out. Malone delivers a spooky film rich with atmosphere and loaded with jump scares. The monolithic structure is of the Albert Speer design and is quite intimidating. The house is the real star here and it is fully explored from top to bottom. Written by Dick Beebe ( Blair Witch 2), this updated version doesn’t really concern itself with character development as it is more set-piece driven. Removing the question of authenticity robs the picture of some of its charm, but the filmmakers have made their decision and they run with it.ĭirected by William Malone ( Creature), this contemporary spin on the classic story by Robb White is a fast-moving picture that wastes little time with exposition before thrusting the plot forward.

The 1959 version plays with the idea of whether or not the house is truly haunted, while the remake sets up immediately that something supernatural is going on.

Once inside, there are plenty of frights, including ghosts, ghouls and murder – but not everything is as it seems. Vincent Price ( The Bat) starred as a wealthy eccentric offering five strangers a large sum of money to spend the night in a haunted house. In 1959, perennial showman William Castle ( The Tingler) delivered his latest spook-show extravaganza, House on Haunted Hill. Will anyone live to see the morning and cash in on the grand prize? Soon, people start disappearing and dying, raising the stakes for the surviving members of the group. Their strained marriage exposes itself through a series of sharp verbal barbs callously tossed back and forth in front of the guests. Price has a few tricks up his sleeve and may or may not be plotting to murder his wife – unless she kills him first. The five strangers explore the house looking for things that go bump in the night. Survive the night and walk away a millionaire. Price keeps the guest list small, offering five strangers the opportunity to take home one million dollars in exchange for spending the night in the supposedly haunted house.

The building has since been renovated into a private residence, though it is currently unoccupied. The venue comes with a dark history, as it was once a mental asylum that closed in the 1930s in the wake of a patient uprising and tragic fire resulting in mass casualties. Theme park magnate Stephen Price is throwing a birthday party for his wife Evelyn at a lavish house high in the hills.

House on haunted hill blu ray