PodBill
Just what I expected
Crwthod
A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Martin Bradley
Of course, it's terrible but then what would you expect coming from William Castle. It's also camp fun in a terrible kind of way but again what would you expect from a movie with Vincent Price in the lead and a ham-fisted cast that includes Carol Ohmart, Elisha Cook (at his hammiest) and Alan Marshall. The premiss is simple; a group of people have to spend the night in a haunted house and if they survive they each earn $10,000 and the movie does exactly what it says on the tin, though it's never actually frightening despite ticking all the boxes. Like most Castle films it was perfect drive-in material and actually lead to a much more expensive remake which I have managed to avoid. Terrible then, but tolerable.
Ilikehorrormovies
This is a classic even though I didn't see the reboot of it (The Dark Castle one). I like it like I'd enjoyed like I don't care if it's black and white like back then they're no colors back then for movies like this. I'd enjoy this film like it's fun to watch in my opinion. This is truly a classic like I wish they sell it in stores. I'd recommend this film for people who like classic films.
mark.waltz
The laughs and chills come a mile a minute in this tongue in cheek haunted house film so filled with gimmicks that you can't imagine the writers not laughing as they put it all down on paper. Vincent Price, a horror film legend, joins forces with Elisha Cook Jr., a film noir legend, along with Price's obviously gold digging wife (Carol Ohlmart), host a party at the house owned by Cook and rented by Price. Richard Long and Carolyn Craig, two of the guests, search the house, and each of them have frightening moments, but never when the other one is around. The funniest one is spotted by Craig, a floating witch like creature who appears out of nowhere at the most inopportune moments. Those of the chosen guests who make it through the night alive get $10,000 from Price, not without objection from the greedy Ohlmart. You have to watch this straight through without interruption in order to find all the thrills. They pop up unexpectedly, resulting in a sudden scream followed by laughter in response. At least that is how I rescued, certainly not the characters, especially scream queen Craig. Price takes the part seriously with a glint in his eye revealing that he's having a blast making it. Cook, insisting that there have been brutal murders even long before he was given the house, is pathetic looking and thus fantastic as the horror increases.But this is a William Castle film and thus is filled with delicious gimmicks. This was the first of his films to utilize this tactic, perfected in "The Tingler" and "Thirteen Ghosts". It's obvious from the start who the guilty party(s) are/most likely are, but certain details are dropped that will keep you guessing. While the exposition gets a little talky at times and slows it down, it's never for long. And in regards to the leading man, where there's Vincent, you know that the Price is right!
Leofwine_draca
They don't make 'em like this anymore. More's the pity, as William Castle's cheap and cheerful little spine-chiller is camp entertainment all the way. The budget is low, but Castle makes the best of his small location by filling it with macabre gags: a bloody severed head in a suitcase, a wraith of an old woman who slides around, a body hanging from a noose. These shocks are all served up in the best, nostalgia-ridden time-honoured tradition, with plenty of shrieks and screams as Castle derives maximum terror from each of the slight supernatural occurrences that he builds up.As an added bonus, horror star Vincent Price is cast in the lead role of Frederick Loren, a demented joker with plenty of tricks up his sleeves. Price is at his campest, jovial best here when talking sinisterly with his "amusing" wife, who has thrown the party. It turns out that his darling has tried to poison him on at least one occasion - but she makes out it's the other way round to a gullible guest (then again, what red-blooded male wouldn't fall for her charms?). The role seems to have been written for Price, either that or he just naturally fits it like a glove, and I really couldn't imagine any other actor in the role.Fleshing out the cast are Carol Ohmart as the lovely but devious wife, Alan Marshal as a stern doctor who hides some terrible secrets, and Richard Long as the young dashing hero. Only Long comes off badly - but his role is a poorly-written one, with much time taken up with indecision and a lack of action. Elisha Cook Jr. (who appeared again with Price in Corman's THE HAUNTED PALACE) enjoys himself as a spaced-out drunk who regales us with stories of murder and death, and it's a role he would essentially play in most of his latter-day films. The casting directors duly noted: if you needed an old-time and comical drunk, Elisha Cook was your man.Okay, so the direction is strictly by the book and the plot rather simplistic, but Castle concentrated here on the gimmicks of which he was so fond - this was the film where his infamous 'Emergo' came into play (a rubber glow-in-the-dark skeleton sailed past cinema-goers at a vital moment in the action). The opening of the film is a spooky masterpiece - disembodied heads introduce the cast and tell tall stories while screams and chains rattle in the darkness. And the best effect of all is saved until the end, where a woman is attacked by a ghostly skeleton which pushes her into an acid bath! It all turns out to be Price's work, as he's rigged up the skeleton as a puppet - although you're required to suspend disbelief in his fantastic mechanism. This skeleton moment is the highlight of a richly entertaining film, delightfully old-fashioned and catered for the kid in all of us. A remake followed in 1999 but obviously there's no substitute for Castle or Price. Just sit back, dim the lights and enjoy!
