moonmonday This film won't be for everyone, but I found it to be extremely effective in building tension and being eerie and unsettling. I was frankly a bit frightened at some parts, and I felt that the film did an excellent job of keeping me in its grip of mystery throughout.Aside from a very few elements I felt might have been more effective if done differently, I think this is one of the best and most undeservedly overlooked films that I've ever seen. Certainly the acting isn't all stellar by everyone involved, but it's solid enough and especially considering the small cast are enough to carry the film for its running time. There's a ring of distinct realism about the feel of the film, which is one of the reasons why I liked it so much: it's easy to believe that things happened this way, and no-one was particularly overwrought in their performance.Definitely check this out if you like tense, creepy, genuinely scary stories of haunting. It's a familiar story, of people spending a night in a supposedly haunted house, who doubt there is anything to it at first, but they begin to reconsider as the night goes on. I wasn't expecting to be as engaged -- or as unsettled -- as I was by this film. Superb.

MartinHafer The folks who make "The Ghosts of Hanley House" obviously had little idea of what they were doing. The acting, at times, is abominable. The direction and camera-work are not a lot better than a home movie. And, the sound is really, really bad--with goofy music and sound effects as well as voices that seem to have been stuck on haphazardly after the fact--and they are often out of synchronization. Plus the sound quality is just awful--making it tough, at times, to understand the actors. All this is readily apparent--which makes me wonder why I bothered sticking with this film. In hindsight, I am still not 100% sure--I must have assumed it could only get better.The film plays like a long version of an urban legend. Some rich guy promises to give another guy a brand-new Ferrari if he'll just stay overnight in the Hanley House and prove that there are no ghosts. It's obvious why he's going to the house--he'll get a great new car. But why four others agree to go as well confused me a bit--what's in it for them? And, when folks started dying, you aren't exactly surprised.So what's the verdict? Well, the movie is very badly made. But, if you are crazy enough to stick with it, you'll see that for a crappy film it's not all that bad. It does offer a few frights and they seemed to make the most of their $74 budget. However, it's not bad enough to make it a must-see for bad film fanatics--it's just somewhat bad! By the way, pay attention at about 33 minutes into the film. Be sure to look for the strings pulling the picture off the wall!

Hessian499 As others have said, this film deals with people trying to stay overnight in a house that has a reputation of being extremely haunted. While obviously made on a shoestring budget with unknown actors, this film has does some good points. The house itself is a neat setting with loads of strange pieces of artwork and gothic furniture. The storyline has echoes of other ghost tales, but the plot twists towards the end add some surprises to the story. The actors are not Academy Award contenders, but do an adequate job with the limited roles given to them; the young woman who plays Sheila probably gives the best performance and is quite pretty as well. However, there are also a lot of faults with this film, as the sound is particularly bad in places, there are weird sidelines to the plot that are incomprehensible, and the story as a whole seems implausible from start to finish. Having said that, this may appeal to some viewers who enjoy ghost stories or like to watch obscure films from the past.

Tom Fowler I make it a point to be kind to films such as this one, but truth be told Ghosts of Hanley House is really not very good. Poor production values and at times downright bad acting make it so. Still, the quality of this film is not what makes it interesting to film buffs such as myself. I purchased my video copy from Sinister Cinema and one wonders where (Sinister's owner) Greg Luce obtained a print. Ghosts of Hanley House is perhaps the most obscure film I have ever been able to add to my library and I have many. It is not catalogued in any of my reference books. Sinister Cinema says this film was shot in Texas but does not say where.Shot in 1968 with unknown players, Ghosts of Hanley House intrigues in it's own way. I tried in vain to recognize the town where the beginning scenes were filmed and I would love to know where the house was/is located and it's history. Were it not for the capable Mr. Luce this may have become one of the truly lost films. The plot is standard enough but does have an interesting twist and it is sad this could not have been produced on a bigger budget. Mood music is totally inappropriate in many places and the use of lingering, isolated head shots are overdone, to where it is obvious they are what they are: fill to pad out the running time. Several people spend the night in Hanley House, said to be haunted. We have the usual standard chills and unexplained noises until we are about 3/4 the way into the story, then the story turns to whatever uniqueness it possesses. We learn that the ghosts are murdered victims of one of the persons who are spending the night in Hanley House and have been trying all along to lure him there. Of course, he meets with the stock bad ending and the ghosts depart the house, supposedly never to return. As I said, production values were not good. Lighting was poor, camera angles seemed cramped, and the day for night shots were painfully obvious. Still, one has to view a film such as this within it's own context and by those standards, this flick is interesting. If you, as I, are interested in the obscure, particularly the obscure ghost story, then this is for you. (In fairness I've commented before that it is hard for anybody to do a good ghost story). This is exactly the kind of film that persons such as we spend many happy hours searching for. This would not be a good film to recommend to the general viewer. So . . . having said all this, what are you waiting for? Order your copy today and watch it late after everyone else is asleep. If you are interested enough to do that after reading this review, you won't be disappointed