Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Brilliant and touching

The acting in this movie is really good.

The Hollywood remake machine goes into auto-production with this thinly-plotted and rather unnecessary rehash of William Castle's classy fun-filled fright fest, which utilised the talents of an exceptionally hammy Vincent Price and had plenty of macabre laughs to keep things moving. Forty years later, only the quality of the special effects have improved, but the film falls down everywhere else. It's a sad state when the art of film-making actually appears to have gone into regression instead of progressing.This admittedly glossy production starts off on the right foot with an old-fashioned "inmates taking over the asylum" scene complete with bloody torture, gruesome murder, and a cameoing Jeffrey Combs as a crazed doctor complete with goggle glasses and a demented grin. From then on the film plays out much of the plot of the original, right down to the guns encased in little coffins, but it ruins things by actually making the film too complicated. While the first film had a nice, simple to follow plot with a clear beginning, middle, and end, the remake tries to have too many plot strands and ends up coming off as a muddled mess. It's a shame, really, as there are some really nice ideas swimming around in this mess of a film (I especially liked the bit with the video camera, and some of the artier supernatural moments).By the ending, things have predictably become routine, with the survivors running away from a special effect and trying not to get killed. Things are pretty frantic, but it all rings a bit hollow to tell the truth. The whole subplot concerning Price's wife having an affair with a guest is totally spoilt by having one too many twists and turns and ends up being pointless anyway as all three are dead by the end of the film. The acting is pretty bad; the actors and actresses here really should have learned the meaning of the word "restraint" as they ham for all they're worth, especially in the cases of Geoffrey Rush (a surprise, considering his recent Oscar winning) and Famke Janssen (annoying). The only thing of note about Rush is his uncanny resemblance to Vincent Price; otherwise, his hammy routine quickly becomes a bore. Of the rest of the cast, only Taye Diggs and Ali Larter come out with any respect, as the rest of the actors are a totally charisma-free bunch.The tone of this film is a light one, but oddly enough there are a number of very dark and grisly scenes too. These lie oddly together, and the film unsuccessfully tries to blend the horror and comedy genres, but sadly fails. Gore highlights basically consist of dismembered and mutilated corpses, which run the gamut from decapitation to total dissection. The special effects are good, yes, but it all gets a little CGI-heavy towards the ending. Once again we have some great SFX trapped in a below average film, with a clichéd and unoriginal plot and poor acting too. Whichever way you look at this, you're bound to be disappointed.

Eccentric millionaire Steven Price (Geoffrey Rush) throws a birthday party for his wife (Famke Janssen) at a haunted house that used to be an insane asylum before the inmates revolted and killed everyone inside. A group of strangers invited to the party are offered $1,000,000 each if they can survive the night in the house. As strange things start happening, the guests question whether Price is behind it all or if there really is some evil force at work in the house on haunted hill.Being a big fan of the original House on Haunted Hill, a classic B movie from William Castle, I had low hopes for this remake at the time it was released. I figured going into it that it would have the worst excesses of modern horror films (more violence, gore, nudity, F bombs every other word, clichéd jump scares, etc.). And while it certainly does have some of those things (although not to the degree I was dreading) it also has a lot of humor and a self-awareness about it that makes it fun to watch. The cast is pretty good with Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen the standouts. Their scenes together are the highlights of the movie. Chris Kattan is amusing but his part in the climax is the stuff of unintended comedy legend. Also love the nods to Vincent Price with Rush's character. The CGI effects aren't the best but that's a minor complaint in a movie like this. It's not scary in the least but it is entertaining, something it has in common with the original. Not bad for a remake of a classic.

Surprisingly, not as bad as I had expected, but nowhere near as good as the original, as another multimillionaire invites another group of misfits to spend the night in another supposedly haunted place. This time, instead of being a mansion on an isolated hilltop, it is an abandoned asylum, with a slaughteriffic history of violence and bloodshed.It's creepy, and has more than enough atmosphere and visuals, and a great looking trio of girls, but it's also not as much fun, gimmicky, or noirish as the original. Geoffrey Rush is a good actor and does well in the role, but he is not even close to Vincent Price's campy suaveness. Famke Janseen look very sexy, but her character is too mean spirited to evoke much sympathy. Lisa Loeb's cameo seems to be a bit too self aware, but that scene does have a good shock twist to it.Film degenerates in the final act, especially in the final fifteen minutes, when the black smoke appears to consume them all. That's it? That was the best they could do for an ending?

An amusement park owner has refurbished a former asylum where a doctor had murdered many patients. He (Geoffrey Rush) and his wife (Famke Janssen) has invited guests (Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Chris Kattan) for her unique birthday party. He offers them $1M each to spend the night in the haunted house.Like the amusement park rides in the beginning, it's all flash and amusing. You know everything is fake, and it's nothing to be taken seriously. It's very cheesy. Whether it's Rush's mustache or Kattan's silliness, you just have to shake your head at it all. The set is completely fake and the people too. Sadly they didn't embrace the cheese fully to draw out a couple of chuckles.