aesgaard41 I've watched this movie five times since I got it on DVD, and I still don't know what it's about. Now, you'd think a horror movie called "The Haunting of Hell House" would center on a haunted house, but this movie doesn't focus on any one person or location like a good haunted house movie would. Based on a story by playwright Henry James, the movie stars actor Andrew Bowen as New England college student James Farrow whose wife, maybe girlfriend, dies due to a botched abortion, and he begins to see her in dreams and hallucinations. He is soon drawn to the empty house they once explored in their youth, but now, it turns out that it belongs to a Professor Ambrose, played by the talented Michael York from the British stage. Farrow pursues York's help to rid himself of the ghost he believes is haunting him and scratching him up, but whether it's in his mind or just his guilt is never explained. Meanwhile, Ambrose is similarly being haunted by the ghost of his dead wife who refuses to let him sell the house. Neither man believes the ghost of the other one exists. Meanwhile, Farrow is being hunted by the police for his dead girlfriend found in his apartment. He escapes to Ambrose for protection, but the old man is dying and can't help him. Farrow flees to the house to ask for forgiveness from his girlfriend's ghost, but discovers Ambrose's ghost isn't real after all. It turns out he's being systemically poisoned by his angry daughter and Farrow drinks the poisoned wine from her for her father to be with his bride. In the end, Farrow dies in jail next to the phony doctor who botched his girlfriend's abortion. Is this a good movie? Uh, no. It's long, it drags on, it's confusing and the name of the movie is misleading. This is not a haunted house movie. This isn't even a horror movie, and trying to make it look like one may be its worse trait. However, it does have some beautiful scenery for what I speculate is supposed to be Turn-of-the-Century New England. Overall, it's not exactly a movie that can live up to the hype of its name.

gsh999 Michael York is good as the mysterious professor and Andrew Bowen gives a nice performance in the lead. In the end, you are left wondering if the ghosts were real or simply manifestations of extremely guilty, troubled minds. There is artistic justice in the film - as a handsome college student dies alone in a jail cell, after leaving his girlfriend to die alone in a seedy guesthouse, following a botched abortion. Aideen O'Donnell is incredibly beautiful as the girlfriend and the ghost - why have we not seen more from this actress? Not a slasher or shocker, just a slow-burning drama about guilt and how it haunts us. I enjoyed this movie and recommend it to those who enjoy psychological dramas.

hershiser2 Save your money if you're looking for a good haunted house flick. This isn't even a bad haunted house movie... it's just a bad movie. I was bored 15 minutes in, and it never got any better. First of all, the direction is poor, as is the cinematography... it looks poorly done and cheap... there's a story, if you stay awake to follow it. It sure doesn't move quickly. If you're looking to be creeped out, stay away. If you're watching because your class is reading the story... well then tell your teacher that the class should read a more interesting Henry James story.

Darrin Upon reading other viewers' comments, I have to wonder if we saw the same film! Despite the awful, B-movie title, this was far and beyond the most visually beautiful film I've ever watched. The cinematography was stunning, and the atmosphere was appropriately dark and brooding. The entire town seemed "haunted," with fear and evil oozing from every stone, every tree, nearly every character. I could almost feel the dank air in my own living room!Having read "Turn of the Screw," and found it particularly unsatisfying (imagine the most overacted, melodramatic soap opera you've ever seen . ..then put it in novella form), and seen previous comments placing this film on a LOWER level than Screw's supposed glorious pinnacle, I admit my expectations weren't too high. Instead, I found the story much more intriguing than Screw, with a couple of little plot twists in rapid succession toward the end. (Saw the first coming, but not the second.) Some may find it depressing because it lacks the Happy Hollywood Ending so typical of American films; however, the screenwriter's refusal to pander to Disneyfication only serves to further raise the level of my esteem for this production.If you like your movies event-based (like slasher flicks, all about the scary moment, with lots of filler in between and actresses doing bizarre things to get from one event to the next) rather than story-based, you probably won't enjoy this film. If, instead, you like a good story in which nasty ghosties play a role, this is the film for you.