Tanz der Totenköpfe

"The Legend of Hell House" does an exceptional job of setting a scary and haunting mood. However, while it is worth watching, the ending did very little for me--as if they'd created this wonderful mood but weren't exactly sure what to do about it.

The film begins with a very old rich guy meeting with a physicist and amateur parapsychologist. He offers the man 100,000 pounds to investigate the most haunted house in the world--a death house nicknamed 'Hell House'. It seems that of the last 9 people who investigated this place, only one came out alive! Now, the physicist/parapsychologist will take a team into the bricked out house to determine the secret of this god-forsaken house. Once inside, weird things start happening--and the malevolent spirits in the house begin to possess various members of the group. What happens next? Tune in and see.

Overall, this is worth seeing, as it's creepy as can be. The ending you might like--I wasn't all that impresses--especially since I don't know how lead would cause the least bit of difference. I would, however, say that this is among Michael Gough's best performances--far more subtle and less shrill than most.

Under-rated, unduly over-shadowed, and quite rightly the most notoriously scary and deadly place (billed by American author, Richard Matheson, as "The Mt. Everest of all Haunted Houses" in his novel on which this British interpretation is based). The Author, in his attempt to write the be-all and get-all of all Gothic adventures, threw everything conceivable into the mix; cannibalism, sexual deviance, drug induced homicidal and suicidal tendencies, and a walloping ending which explains the mystery of this heretofore unsolved monster of a puzzle. Even in Hough's film, with a serviceable Matheson script, the basic formula remains intact; the smug para-psychologist, the traumatised evangelist, the cautionary medium and 'smug's' sexually frustrated wife, all come to the doorstep of Belasco House, and enter at their own risk. If you read the novel first, then the film will come to mean much more, and is better appreciated.

The wealthy Mr. Rudolph Deutsch (Roland Culver) promises a small fortune to the physicist Dr. Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill); to the mental medium Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin); and to the physical parapsychologist Benjamin Franklin Fischer (Roddy McDowall) to investigate survival after death in the notorious Belasco House, a.k.a. Hell House. The house belonged to "Roaring Giant" Emeric Belasco that promoted orgies in the house and had mysteriously disappeared after a massacre. Fischer is the only survival of a previous investigation and the Dr. Barrett goes with his wife Ann Barrett (Gayle Hunnicutt). Along the days, Florence believes that there are entities in the house, including Belasco's son Daniel; Fischer keeps his mind closed expecting only to earn the promised money, and the skeptical Dr. Barrett brings a machine to drain the energy in the house. Will they be successful in their intent?

"The Legend of Hell House" is a creepy and atmospheric horror movie with a good story of haunted house. The ghost story is supported in lighting, make-up and camera work and only few special effects and is effective. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa da Noite Eterna" ("The House of the Eternal Night")

In spite of some questionable motivations and a fairly silly ending,

this horror drama has become a real favorite.

The excellent cast has a field day with the talky script; and

director John Hough (best known for "The Avengers) does an imaginative

job using fresh, distorted set ups that keep you off center. And The

movie looks great. High praise must also go to the score and use of sound effects. If

the ending was a little better, this would be a real classic. But for

horror fans, it's a nine out of ten. Roddy, you were enjoyed.

I have heard this movie be described as menacing and that is a great way to describe it. This has to be one of the darkest of the haunted house movies out there. With an extremely creepy soundtrack and an equally creepy storyline, throw in actors that can play there parts well, and you have a classic film.

Four people must go to a house known as "Hell House" and must exorcise the ghosts that torment and murder all that have gone in prior. Roddy McDowell plays as the one surviving group members from an earlier trip.

A simple storyline, yes, but the way it holds itself up is amazing. The acting is just excellent and convincing. Also, this movie has virtually no special effects at all. This actually works to the movies advantage as we, the audience, must rely on the atmosphere to terrorize us. And it works very well.

One of the all time best haunted house movies ever, this one is definitely worth buying. 8/10