Well folks, it seems that whatever WB exec wrote this, he was a bit confident in the film, but wasn't that big a fan of horror films all together. He likes this film, but doesn't seem to think of it as anything other than an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. Of course... that's a damn good description of the original HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL... My question is this... Will Warner Brothers be rigging up cool scare tactics at the theaters? That'd rock. Bring in skeletons, dress-up ushers as glowing ghouls and goblins and have them assault the patrons... steal their candy and popcorn. Heh heh... anarchy... A true William Castle stroke of fun... Here's 'a friend'....
This week I attended a rough cut screening of the new Bill Castle remake HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. In attendance was none other than Joel Silver, the producer, as well as a bunch of other people. It was small, intended only for other WB insiders like me, as there were not many other familiar faces present. About a dozen people that I know.
First off, they rolled the full trailer, which was pretty jam-packed with creepy imagery, including shots of the house coming alive in the form of a black wraith (cool). Bridgette Wilson and Famke looked hot, and I admit the trailer got me jazzed. Joel and the rest of us execs watched it twice, talked a while about a few specific shots, then watched it a third time. Nuff said.
Then the full picture rolled. Looked like the reels were locked, though some mixing and a little ADR was still needed. The opening titles, which reminded me of a Nine Inch Nails video, were a pleasant surprise. At least it was gonna have style, I figured.
The plot should be known to Bill Castle fans: a bunch of complete strangers wind up in a creepy house, which may or may not be haunted, and those with the guts to survive the night go home with a cash prize courtesy of a twisted entrepreneur who may or not be nuts. The original got by on a shoestring budget, offering chills in the form of a marionette skeleton and the dubious charm of Vincent Price.
This new version takes no such chances. Right from the start, you know this house is evil, and a blistering opening sequence in a mental hospital sets the tone. Hallucinogenic imagery designed to chill you at the core. It hooked me. Not to give away too much in the way of the new plot, but the twisted experiments of a mad doctor drive his patients to murder, which sets the tone for the larger story, set many years later, after the sanitarium has been converted into a private residence.
Some funny vignettes introduce the new cast of strangers, and we get to the house rather quickly. Geoffrey Rush has the Price role, and he's the smarmiest thing I've seen since Eric Idle's Parliamentary Strip Club MC sketch back on Python. Much more interesting than what he did in Mystery Men, anyway.
The rest of the cast (Chris Kattan, Bridgette and Famke, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Pete Gallagher) is solid, some more so than others, but who cares about performances? The house is the star. I don't think Silver & Co. spent a fraction what Jan De Bont did on his Haunting house, but if Blair Witch proved anything, it's that good popcorn chills don't have to cost much. And these are the real deal.
As you might expect, the strangers in the house bicker and go their separate ways, only to be picked off by mysterious forces one by one. The core leads (Larter and Diggs) drive the search for answers, and there are some surprising character and relationship twists along the way. I was grateful, since I was afraid the pic was going to be nothing more than a parade of things going bump in the night. Nice touch.
But most importantly, the promise of the trailer and the opening sequence starts to pay off in a major way as the cast delves deeper into the bowels of the house and uncovers its secrets. Think of the worst post-Taco Bell jalapeno nightmare you've ever had. The scares come at you just like that. Neat almost subliminal sounds and images galore. One of the coolest scenes involved Bridgette using a camcorder to document the experience, only to come across ghostly images visible only on her hand-held flatscreen monitor. Kicked ass.
I am no horror movie fan, because I can't remember the last time I was truly scared by a movie. (If comedies stopped making you laugh, how would you react?). And H.O.H.H. didn't snap me out of it. But I did jump, I did marvel at some imaginative use of camera angle and editing to create visceral thrills, I enjoyed watching the cast, and the whole thing left me with a goofy grin on my face. My girlfriend's gonna go apeshit for this one.
Kudos to Silver etc., it's about time somebody tapped into the Castle mythos this completely.
Signed-
A Friend
