alexanderdavies-99382 To give this masterpiece a 6.8 out of 10,is to under-rate it.This film offers an imaginative and atmospheric viewing experience - and does not resemble a Hammer horror film by any means. Unlike "The Haunting," the above film actually delivers what it promises - chills, thrills and suspense. A rare British film in Roddy McDowall's career - he takes the acting honours but all the cast do well.Richard Matheson adapting his own book is all for the good. I like the Gothic look that this film has.

lathe-of-heaven I'll keep this REAL simple because many others here have already described the excellent qualities of this classic Horror film. I will mention again that the Blu-ray Restoration that they did is truly stunning. It looks beautiful.Atmospheric as Hell!Creepy-@ss Scary...Absolutely LOVELY cinematography.Effective, taut direction.Excellent acting.Very beautiful lighting and set design.And, the soundtrack REALLY helps rack up the tension.If you like Supernatural Retro-Horror films, especially effective ones about Haunted Houses, and ones that are taken DEAD seriously... then you should really enjoy this excellent, haunting, and chilling classic.

LeonLouisRicci There are Three Haunted House Movies from the Pre-CGI Era that are Usually Mentioned as Favorites. The House on Haunted Hill (1959), The Haunting (1963), and This One. All are Solid Entries on Anyones List, but Here, Richard Matheson's Screenplay from His Book Hell House is an Abbreviated Version and the Movie Suffers with its Condensed Composite. Things Seem Rushed and Not Fully Fleshed Out and this is One of those Movies where if Opened Up a Bit and was Longer would have Made it a Much More Satisfying Experience. As it is the Film is just too Short and Nothing has Time to Settle and Make its Mark Endellable.As is, the Movie is a Very Good Ghost Story with a Heavy Dose of Sex and Debauchery that Emerges Quite Often and Adds to the Creepiness. Pamela Franklin's Young Medium Endures the Brunt of it but Everyone Must Deal with the Sinister Sensuality. There is a Good Soundtrack and a Willing Cast, Including a Very Creepy Roddy McDowell, and Gayle Hunnicutt is Along and Suffers Some Humiliation. The Atmosphere is Appropriately Ominous, but the Ending is a Letdown. What with the Scientific "Box" and a Good Deal of Shouting Explanations, the Movie Comes to a Clunky Conclusion.

Hot 888 Mama . . . for scads of very cheap-looking, low-budget horror flicks (many would say, "bad movies") which continue to plague us to this day. THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE people only paid six actors, two of which have on-screen cameos at the beginning of the film lasting mere seconds. The script writer substitutes pseudo-scientific Mumbo Jumbo for special effects, and the director tries to foist off "quick cuts" to black cats as real scares. The "thinking" behind THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE is that you can "eat up" about half the audience's expectation of a 90-minute film running time by inserting on-screen "time stamps" lasting five seconds each EVERY THREE MINUTES of your movie's brief duration, and couple that time-wasting device with the clumsy exposition of a constantly changing and internally inconsistent "back story." All the violence here happens off-screen, so your "horror" budget is out the cost of a bottle of Catsup for "special" effects. One of the two HELL HOUSE actresses gets naked, but the lighting is so poor that the producers probably escaped paying her the standard "nudity premium." That's the REAL horror of HELL HOUSE.