I love this subgenre but find the vast majority of contemporary haunted house movies to be uninspired garbage; some of them are admittedly fun (I liked the campy, over-the-top remake of "House on Haunted Hill"), but they're not exactly high art. The haunted house movies from the '70s and '80s are hit or miss. I feel like I've seen many of the older cornerstone haunted house films—"The Uninvited," "The Haunting," "The Innocents"—I love all of them. What are some other solid entries in the subgenre? I'm talking pre-late-'60s, all the way back to silents.
My favorite horror genre, too, but I never seem to find the right movie.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | November 2, 2020 1:58 AM |
I wanted to like "The Haunting" so much, because of what I've read and heard. But when I saw it on TCM the other night, I just couldn't. Julie Harris was just so damn annoying, and her constant voice-overs drove me nuts. (Claire Bloom was great, though).
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | November 2, 2020 2:08 AM |
"The Old House," famously James Whale's 1932 go at a supposedly haunted house, created a lot of the tropes we enjoy in the subgenre.
It has a fine cast, an absurd story, great moments, some fun performances, and the enjoyment of seeing some things done for the first time.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | November 2, 2020 2:10 AM |
A second vote for “The Old Dark House”
Spooky, hilarious, amazing cast.
My favorite James Whale movie (yes, even more than Bride of Frankenstein”
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | November 2, 2020 3:39 AM |
A creaky but fun movie is The Bat Whisper (1930), There is also a colorized version on Youtube.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | November 2, 2020 4:05 AM |
Love The Univited, it’s my favorite.
Miss Holloway would definitely be a Datalounger.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | November 2, 2020 4:07 AM |
Oddly enough, although I love haunted house movies, there actually don't seem to be as many of them as you would think. Most "haunted house" films are simply films set in big houses that have something frightening lurking adjacent to them (a serial killer, a demon, etc.). The house is simply the incidental setting, not the actual source or permanent home, if you will, of the problem.
Of the classic trope, The Haunting and the Shining are my two favorites, although The Uninvited is very good as well. The Others was a high quality film with solid acting and truly chilling atmosphere. The Grudge was beyond terrifying. The Japanese film "House" is wonderfully quirky and oddly charming, but I'm not sure it's a haunted house film, despite the title.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | November 2, 2020 4:35 AM |
I love this room in “The Uninvited”.
I could really do something with it!
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | November 2, 2020 6:05 AM |
R9 you couldn’t have any bouquets in there.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | November 2, 2020 12:16 PM |
While not horror, both "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" and the original "Rebecca" could fall into this category. To a certain extent, "Wuthering Heights" could also be in that genre too.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | November 2, 2020 1:20 PM |