House on Haunted Hill w/ Bonus Last Man on Earth Disc IN COLOR

"House On Haunted Hill", is an old favorite late night movie from my teen years. Vincent Price the movie King of Creep, often as the tragic anti-hero is the sort of guy you would not want as a neighbor. I also remember Mr. Price in noir films, again as a tragic anti-hero. Here he is a dark brooding rich husband looking to murder his wife. Sorry, no tattling.

The logic (or lack thereof) in the story of "House on Haunted Hill" is so ILLOGICAL that an eight year old might question the plausibility of the plot points. . It's never explained, for example, why Vincent Price's character has replaced his wife's party guest list with an assembly of strangers, nor why he's volunteered to pay them each $10,000 if they can last the night.(Spoiler alert) The movie is set up as a haunted house picture and by the end, we realize that not a single thing we've heard or seen was a result of the supernatural (and yet the Pritchard character ends the film by saying "They've got one more now....(turns to camera) Next they'll come for YOU!" as a chorus of ghostly laughter carries us through the fadeout. What ghosts are laughing here? The ones that never existed in the plot til now?I realize it's silly to pick apart the plot lines of schlocky B-movies. If they had to be logical, the genre could hardly exist. Still, who can resist a chuckle when Vincent Price displays the vat of acid in the cellar (in which a murder was committed--and no one ever drained the vat afterwards!). "You mean there's still acid in there?" says one character. A dead rat is conveniently found and dropped in as a test, splashing everyone's legs and feet in the process. They hardly respond. The rat floats to the surface as pure bones, yet no one who got splashed is burned.Later on, a human skeleton arises from the vat of acid that turns out to be a string puppet. What kind of string did they find that was acid-resistant? Likewise, Vincent picks up the still-dripping toy skeleton with his bare hands (after using it to lure his wife to her acid-y death) with nary a burn.And what about the caretaker's wife, who isn't in on the conspiracy, yet appears in the basement like a witch, mouth open in silent cackle, twisted fingers outstretched, before literally ROLLING OUT THE DOOR on wheels? Apparently she just wanted to give party guest Nora Manning one more thing to scream about before running out of the room (as the character who gets the brunt of the "haunting", she has plenty of opportunities to scream--and does so non-stop throughout the film).And of course, there is the matter of an impossibly rigged house with the requisite doors that fly open and shut, lock and unlock by themselves, a hanging rope with a mind of its own, with the power to snake through a window and coil itself around a screaming ingenue's feet (while she waits patiently for it to do so), and a bevy of other impossibilities never explained at the end.Then there is the logic of the final plot twist, the "Scooby Doo" explanation for what exactly happened here and why. For people who have not seen the film, I'll refrain from explaining it, suffice to say that it makes absolutely no sense and is the absolute last way anyone would go about trying to accomplish the desired goal.In addition, everyone seems to have forgotten Vincent's promise to pay them $10,000 in the final scene. Apparently, the writer couldn't think of a reason (other than as a necessary plot device to explain why strangers would agree to spend a night in a haunted house) so they just leave!The most striking thing about "House on Haunted Hill" is that these gaping holes in the plot hardly matter. In fact, they're part of the fun. This is rather a trademark of schlockmeister William Castle. He knows how to entertain you even as you should be left feeling your intelligence has just been insulted. His films reduce you to a kid in a spook house again, who doesn't question what being spritzed with water on the way out had to do with anything or why a skeleton pops out from behind the mirror for no purpose. They just enjoy the ride. When you watch a William Castle picture (and I'm a fan of many) you turn your adult mind off for 90 minutes and just giggle as the skeletons pop out from behind the mirrors. You're a kid again. And that can't be all bad, can it?

Such a great period horror film and its success was an inspiration for Hitchcock to make his movie "Psycho". Vincent Price is the most Vincent Priceiest!

Original film fell into Public Domain some years ago leaving it up for grabs to transfer to video tape, DVD (or maybe Blu-ray in the future). The quality of these transfers has spanned an enormous range. Some of it depends on the quality of the print, and hopefully it's at least a 35mm even if it's badly scratched and spliced (and not a 16mm print). The film shown theatrically was supposedly 1.85:1 wide screen which is very close to 1.78:1 (16:9) HDTV. However, most of the transfers being used date to 1.33:1 (4:3) standard analog TV and use a method called "pan and scan" to severely crop enough of the left and right edges to fit the nearly square shaped TV screen.This DVD is one of the few with a widescreen transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio that fills an HDTV screen. It may not be the original theatrical ratio but it's so close that only tiny slivers are missing from the left and right edges; so thin it would make doing any panning during the scanning absurd. One gets to see what the original cinematographer and director saw and intended in each film frame instead of just a fraction of the scene. The DVD is double-sided with a standard 1.33:1 pan and scan transfer of otherwise equal quality on the flip side, a feature of some DVDs.The transfer itself is good with good detail and good grayscale. Some scenes show grain and some others seem a bit soft but I believe it's the film print used and not the transfer process itself. Audio is also good considering the source material as well. A few sections show obvious film damage but it's limited to a frame or two. Some very tiny scratches and pinholes are scattered throughout but require specifically looking for them. Restoration was undoubtedly limited to what could be done easily and quickly and the result is a clean and generally decent looking transfer.This film is a low budget grindhouse B-movie main attraction (2nd film in the double feature) cult classic with Vincent Price as the main headlining star to attract movie goers. The producer and director were noted for their kitschy schlock films and this one is no exception, albeit one of their best with higher overall quality. Don't expect any big shocks or scares, or even very much suspense. Likewise it's nearly devoid of blood or gore. Do expect some fun watching the schlock special effects and cliche screams cued in at all the appropriate points. There is a minor plot twist near the end but nearly all should see it coming well beforehand unless they've been making out in the back seat and steamed over the windows.MPAA didn't have a rating classification scheme in 1959, only a standard certification and the film meets the strict code they imposed in 1959. Undoubtedly the sole reason for the goofy monologue by Vincent Price addressing all the other surviors at the very end (any more detail would spoil the ending). In current ratings it would probably be a PG with PG-13 being a bit stiff, and I'd put the age cutoff between 8-11 depending on the child. Watch film first and use judgement about appropriateness for individual children.If I could do half stars I'd give it 3-1/2 and not 4 for a combination of good widescreen DVD transfer with minimal film restoration, and overall movie content.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the Colourised version was as I am not a big fan of the process generally.I watched it with friends who did not know the film well and they were fooled into believing it was filmed in colour and was just showing its age in terms of the quality of the colour, being a film from the 50s.I agree with all reviews that say it is the best quality print and so if don't like the colour, do as one other reviewer has said, turn it off and you still have by far the best picture quality version.Buy it if you love the film and only have a poor quality black and white fuzzy ersion as the price is starting to rise and it is still cheap. It really showcases Vincent Price at his very best .

I adore horror films from the 40s through to the 60s, especially the black and white ones. You won't be hiding behind cushions but there is something rather creepy about them in a delightful way. Even the other half really enjoyed this and she is not one for going for the golden oldies. Seek it out...at your peril...oooooooooohhhhhh

Im not a fan of colourised films but I have to say as far as they go this one was quite well done. It suffered most from skin tones being too dark - like everyone spent a month on the beach before shooting bit hey I turned off the colour so no worries.Id not seen the film in years. The plot was functional and there were some nice "jumps" and shocks. The moving skeleton was a little lame but its OK for the time it was made.Price as always is good value for money.The print used was excellent.Recommended for a popcorn no brain evening of fun.

Interesting viewing, great amongst the best

WONDERFUL tongue-in-cheek novelty haunted-mansion horror. Top marks to Legend Films for their stunning colourisation process - just marvel at the colour detail - even miniature paintings adorning the corridors and rooms are given convincing colour. GREAT FUN!