House on Haunted Hill (1958)


director: William Castle
release-year: 1958
genres: horror, shocktober
countries: USA
languages: English
fests: SHOCKtober 2025: The Conjuring

Vincent Price's head narrates straight into the camera, telling us about his wife's plan to throw a ghost-themed party at the local haunted house, which happens to sit atop a haunted hill (and also happens to be the Frank Lloyd Wright house that Decker lived in in Blade Runner) . When we meet Price's wife at said ghost-themed party in said haunted house, she rejects the credit and refuses to even attend. She and Vincent exchange unpleasantries, both threatening to kill each other. It's a strained marriage.

Already trying to shoot her before they pass out the guns

They've invited five total strangers for the party, offering them each $10,000 if they stay the whole night. They can leave freely any time up until midnight, when they will be locked in, wooOOooOo! The young girl says she'd like to leave before midnight, but they lock her in anyway. WoooOoOooO!

People were very trusting in the 50s

From there it's basically Clue, except slow and unfunny and with really cheap and badly executed visuals. And from the 1950s, so they keep offering the women sedatives.

Big monster hand tries to grab you?  Sedatives.

Vincent hands out pistols like candy, and nobody bats an eye. They walk around the house all night waggling their pistols around. There's a ludicrous amount of light in every scene, considering the only source of illumination is a few candles in each room.

You point a gun at me?  I'll point a gun at you!

Vincent's wife is found dead, hanging from the ceiling. Mysterious! More Clue shenanigans, some secrets, a double-cross, a triple-cross, and a plastic skeleton dancing on fishing wire. There's a vat of acid under the floor in the basement. It ends abruptly, forgetting to conclude itself.

Natural result of listening to a bunch of middle-aged mid-century men chat all night.