House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Five diverse people are invited to a 'haunted house' party. They are offered $10,000 each (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: William Castle
Written By: Robb White
Starring: Vincent Price, Elisha Cook Jr., Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carol Ohmart, Carolyn Craig, Julie Mitchum, Howard Hoffman, Leona Anderson
Genre: Horror
Country: USA
Where to Stream
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House on Haunted Hill belongs to 25 collections
1. Features under 91 minutes (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 56 stars)
2. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 40 stars)
3. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
4. Passed the Bechdel Test (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 29 stars)
5. B-Movie (collaborative - 15 stars)
6. Public Domain (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 12 stars)
7. Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See (public: jimmyjazz - 12 stars)
8. Ghosts (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 8 stars)
9. Rifftrax (collaborative: moderated by x-human - 8 stars)
10. Horror Franchises (collaborative: moderated by mattburgess - 8 stars)
11. Available on YouTube (collaborative: moderated by utube-cinema - 5 stars)
12. Haunted House (collaborative: moderated by Moribunny - 4 stars)
13. Remade (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 4 stars)
14. The Films Mentioned In American Grindhouse (2010) (collaborative: moderated by Coheed - 3 stars)
15. mwgerb's Netflix Instant Queue (public: mwgerb - 2 stars)
16. 50 Horror Classics Collection (collaborative: moderated by mwgerb - 1 star)
17. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror 1950s (collaborative: moderated by RoyalB - 1 star)
18. Golden Age of Sci-Fi and Horror from the 50s and 60s (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx - 1 star)
19. Films Available on Archive.org (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
20. Available on Divicast (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
21. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 33 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
22. Owned (public: ribcage)
23. Forrest Watch List (public: ForrestQ)
24. Movies Dad Owned (public: Mr.Pupkin)
25. The Price is Right (public: puevfp)
Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
5 | ![]() |
TimeCapsule | 72 68th |
Like a spooky haunted house game of "Clue"(1985), this delightfully campy 50's horror cheese is a fun classic watch for genre fans. While many might prefer the more genuinely spooky haunted house atmosphere of something like "The Haunting"(1963), William Castle's gimmicky thrills make this movie a lot of fun for me, and should make for a decent lark this Halloween season.
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Paxton | 73 73rd |
I've seen so many horror movies that jump scares are like a giant, "Wah-waaah." And then there is the basement scene in this movie. Rivaled only by Wait Until Dark, and maybe, just maybe, any scene from Hocus Pocus featuring a Sarah Jessica Parker closeup.
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Jasongirl67 | 35 20th |
A first time watch for me It's not too bad the effects feel pretty corny though
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MartinTeller | 87 89th |
Tons of fun with chills and thrills... vats of acid, floating ghosts, skeletons, severed heads, falling chandeliers. It's a grand old time. The movie has the expected camp appeal, with over-the-top characters and silly situations. It's also a pretty damn good thriller, one that doesn't feel too predictable. The script is compact and contains some delightful dialogue. Good performances too. It's hard not to get swept up in it, it's just a wickedly fun movie with some gothic stylings.
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Carpetgiant | 82 48th |
Director William Castle was known for using weird gimmicks that broke the fourth wall in his movies. I have to commend him for "Emergo", which is the one found in "House on Haunted Hill". I realize this movie was designed to be watched in a movie theater, but it is still effective at home. The moment the plastic, glow in the dark skeleton suspended by wires appeared and floated around my living room, I started screaming like a little girl.
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Alex Watkins | 3 38th |
Hokey fun with Vincent Price, skeletons and a random pool of acid.
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BeeDub | 85 63rd |
Nowhere near as spooky as, say, The Haunting, but fun in its own campy way.
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PeaceAnarchy | 89 92nd |
Magnificent atmosphere and a plot that twists and turns in interesting ways. Pretty good performances too, which isn't all that common in B-movies, though it's expected from Vincent Price.
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KasperL | 75 77th |
It's not even remotely scary, but it's loads of fun. However, and this is something I almost never complain about, it's clearly way too short. I desperately wanted the shenanigans to keep going.
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INDYATMN | 76 45th |
It's easy to see why this is considered a classic - it's presumably huckster-director Castle's best work. Despite a low budget he comes up with some arresting imagery that still carries some creepiness & well crafted camera reveals of ghostly figures that must have influenced many horror filmmakers. The talking heads opening is compelling & so is the mystery he sets up. The big problem however is that the eagerly awaited explanation is riddled with plot holes & egregious implausibilities
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EgbertSouse | 65 26th |
This comment is in Emergo!
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2 | aaaaaaarrggg | 86 91st |
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Castle's best gimmick shocker. This is a thoroughly enjoyable little number with a falling chandelier, clutching hands, a ceiling that drips blood, a severed head in the closet, a skeleton in the basement, an acid vat in the wine cellar, an ugly old witch on roller skates, well -- it just goes on and on. Favorite line, Price to perfidious wife Ohmart: "Remember the fun we had when you poisoned me?"
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2 | myfavchords | 73 36th |
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This film had an original script that has been redone and made fun of numerous times. The film is dated but it still has some good moments. The cast works especially Vincent Price. Overall I would recommend this film.
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PianoSama | 65 45th |
A fun slice of classic camp that benefits immensely from having Vincent Price in it, the characters are pretty enjoyable & the performances are fine all around. There's actually a pretty effective spooky atmosphere to the house. The third act makes absolutely no sense, but it's written in such a straight-laced-yet-self-aware way that it's more endearing than annoying. Still, this isn't exactly a great example of haunted house horror- it sure is entertaining, though.
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TheDenizen | 60 40th |
Price is enjoyably goofy and Carol Ohmart is hot. Some fun horror gimmicks.
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evrana | 73 55th |
I wish that more horror movies today were like this. It is cheeky and creepy at the same time and even after 50 years, it didn't age badly. It might have been even better with an additional 10 minutes or so, the ending was a bit abrupt, but it is definitely worth seeing.
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Suture Self | 3 25th |
I laughed so hard at the floating old lady.
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Luna6ix | 79 69th |
To my surprise it had some genuinely scary parts, but on the other hand it was pretty slow moving, and at parts completely boring. The ending however did redeem all the bad parts, for this movie has a terrific plot.
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Dean Franz | 69 65th |
Fun, cheap-thrilling ghost story that, for unfathomable reasons, recieves the bulk of the praise directed at Castle. If taken on it's own terms however, it's a very easy film to love and the retarded plot just makes it all the more loveable. Price was (and you can look this up if you don't believe me) the fucking man!
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Nearphotison | 82 64th |
A classic story that falls short due to the effects of the time. However, the character development and atmosphere can set the mood much better than the, dare I say, laughable props. Very much worth seeing for a fan of classic horror films.
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heapshake | 80 84th |
Carolyn Craig is a world class screamer.
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SirStuckey | 70 56th |
While the story itself is pretty good there is a bit of a glaring plothole of the question of if the house is actually haunted or not. The acting is good, the camp factor is perfect, and the short run time kept the movie from dragging.
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mwgerb | 56 56th |
Despite the brevity, the questionable effects, and half of the female dialogue being screams, it's actually an effective haunted house tale that relies more on film-noir-style murder plans than the actual supernatural, without totally relinquishing the creepiness of a ghost story.
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FrederikA | 60 50th |
The simple "seven strangers locked in a house" set up works well with Castle's special "sensibilities", and the final twist ensures some good laughs.
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Noblet | 66 42nd |
I do like skeletons...
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ribcage | 82 80th |
simply classic, a must-watch for horror fans.
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KramYessev | 79 85th |
This single film proves why modern horror will never top the classics. There are really so many things to like. The visuals are great, Vincent Price is on usual godlike form, there are plenty of creepy moments and the atmosphere is very well done. Although the best part, for me, was the psychological element. It's never truly clarified whether something supernatural is going on and it works incredibly well, even saving the last scene from being TOO silly (still not sure how it'd work though).
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Trooth | 75 70th |
The characters, particularly Vincent Price's, are really entertaining, and it makes this an overall fun horror/mystery movie. And with a few really creative scare moments (even if one or two of them make no sense) I can see why this type of haunted-house movie is so often referenced in pop culture. The finale, especially, was brilliant. Didn't matter how many gifs of it I had already seen, I still loved it.
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joel-w-m | 5 25th |
After the unnerving opening sequence, it's mostly just an awkwardly staged melodrama with cheesy dialogue and scares and confusing characters (Vincent's villain vacillating between sinister and clueless being the worst of them), until an excellent couple of climactic twists (marred only by one ridiculously incompetent damsel in distress) tie things together in a surprisingly satisfying manner that even the rational Dr. Trent would approve of... if he survives the night, that is! Mwahaha.
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JPFerguson | 55 40th |
Don't mess with Vincent Price in a haunted house, you'll not live to regret it.
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Average Percentile 47.65% from 867 Ratings | ![]() |