The Legend of Hell House

The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Director: John Hough
Cast: Roddy McDowall, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt
Memorable Line(s): "What's to tell? The house tried to kill me. It almost succeeded."

An intensely evil house and four individuals set out to find what's happening inside the house. A classic ghost story and also a very scary movie.

The Plot of The Legend of Hell House The Belasco House has a rich and dark history. Several years ago a group of renowned psychics entered the house to discover it's secrets. Only one made it out alive. Physicist, Lionel Barrett, (Revill) along with his wife (Hunnicut) lead a team to re-enter the the house for the first time in many years. Accompanying them is the only survivor of the earlier team (McDowall) and a very young psychic (Franklin) who develops a disastrous connection to the house. The initial contact seems benign enough, but the longer they stay, the stronger the force within house oppose and attack the group. The physicist's wife starts sleepwalking as if possessed. The young psychic is attacked physically and mentally again and again. The survivor from the earlier expedition, Benjamin, keeps the forces of the house at bay as long as he can. The team becomes divided on how to rid the house of it's malevolent forces -- the physicist has a scientific approach and the psychics have a different take all together. And being wrong can have deadly consequences.

The Performances, Writing and Direction of The Legend of Hell House The script was written by famous macabre writer Richard Matheson and is based on his book which is solid foundation for the movie. The story is both suspenseful and chilling, playing like a psychic mystery. The performances for the most part are quite convincing, but can be a bit histrionic at times. McDowall brings the most solid performance, but Pamela Franklin also shows a broad range in her role. Director Hough shows restraint, avoiding using too many special effects and this make the movie even more effective. The camera work and sound effects carry the load when it comes to creating the most effective chills. The audio track is so influential to the movie that at times it seems as if the movie could have been just as effective as an audio play.

Summary Judgment on The Legend of Hell House The Legend of Hell House is more than a haunted house movie because of the strength of Matheson's story. It provides a depth that gets the viewer beyond the surface level scare of most horror movies and provides a more substantial experience. Some compare it to Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963) and while Hell House is good, The Haunting is superior. Still, if you want a movie that gets past just the "boo" of most horror films, then The Legend of Hell House could be for you.