Review – The Haunting (1963)

Once upon a time there were horror movies that didn’t have the luxury of relying on a lot of expensive effects work to carry them. In fact, some didn’t even use color. Instead, they relied on script, character, shot composition, lighting, editing and other basic tools of the trade to inspire that creepy feeling in the audience. This is one of those films. To be sure, it has its drawbacks. The plot tends to wander, and the filmmakers often resort to mawkish devices like voice-overs. But overall, armed only with dutch tilt, rapid zoom and some other cheap tricks, director Robert Wise takes Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and runs with it, turning it into a first class ghost story. Worth seeing