30 Films That Made Me Who I Am - #27

The Haunting

     First things first.  I am not talking about the CGI-filled red-headed stepchild that is the 1999 remake.  I'm speaking of the classic, black-and-white, crazy scary (literally crazy scary) 1963 film directed by Robert Wise.  It is usually referred to as one of the scariest films ever made, and with good reason.  Never before, and never since, in this guy's opinion has there ever been a horror film as effective.  And I am not alone in that  view.  Numerous sources have ranked it as one of, if not the best.  The American Film Institute, Bravo's Scariest Movie Moments, and numerous critics.  But why does it work so well?

     For starters, and this is one of the many things the remake did horribly wrong, it's in glorious black and white.  Now, I know a lot of people now refuse to watch films not made in color.  They don't know what they're missing.  By 1963, color was the predominant form for films.  Very few pictures were made in black and white, and most that were shot in black and white were done so for either budget or thematic reasons.  You can play with lighting a lot easier with b&w films.  Shadows are easier to create, and that's very important in a film like this.  There's one scene in particular which could not be done in black and white, and which they do not even attempt to retry for the remake.  It's hard to explain, so here....  Let me just show you.  

    See?  Now that's one of the creepiest scenes to me.  And all it uses is sounds, a design on a wall, and creative lighting.  Fantastic!  The movie is full of scenes like this, and it's probably why the movie still scares the crap out of me.  (Besides the fact that I believe in, and am very frightened by the prospect of ghosts.)

     Another reason the film works so well is the use of camera angles.  Modern day horror film-makers should look at this film as a guide to how to make an effective film.  Current horror films use either fast editing or simply use a point and shoot method of camerawork.  This is not a great way to shoot suspense, which is what horror should be about.  (Not jumps and gross-outs.)  The use of dutch angles, tight close ups, violating match-on-action rules to make you confused, and the shifting viewpoint between Eleanor and the house are used to great effect here.  Some shots were even filmed backwards and then reversed, so that it is processed forwards to enhance uneasiness.  This is something Brian De Palma would use later for the surprise ending of Carrie.

   I first saw the movie when I was probably around 11 years old.  It was after midnight, and me and my sister decided to watch the movie as it came on the cable channel Turner Classic Movies.  Now, let me be frank here...  I was a huge scaredy-cat when I was younger.  I would seek out things that I knew would leave me frightened, and then would have trouble sleeping for weeks.  I still am a bit of a scaredy-cat, as I still sometimes sleep with the bathroom light on.  Well, this night we were in sleeping bags on the floor watching the movie in the dark.  One of my sister's friends was asleep on the floor in another bag.  Never before had I seen such a movie.  One that frightened me so much, but kept me so enthralled.  The suspense just wound me further up and up.  Then we get to the spiral staircase scene.  I'm not going to tell you what that is, or what happens, but I will say that Ms. Moneypenny has never made me scream since, but she did that time.  It's the first time I ever screamed out loud watching a movie, and I don't do that often.  The only other comparable time was a scene in the movie The House on Haunted Hill (again, not the remake!)  

     The film really effected me, and is still in my top 10 favorite films.  It showed me that I could get scared, even enough to let out a scream, and it's the high bar for when I review a horror film.  So far, no horror film has lived up to the creepiness of this film, and I'm starting to think none ever will.  After all, Hill House has stood for 90 years and might stand for 90 more. Within, walls continue upright, bricks meet, floors are firm, and doors are sensibly shut. Silence lies steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House. And we who walk here... walk alone.

   I won't describe any more scenes in the movie.  It's simply too special for me to do that.  It would spoil the surprises.  Watch this film!  Watch it without distraction... with all the lights off... at night...  Alone or with someone else who won't distract you.  And if you feel someone gripping you hand, make sure whoever you watch it with isn't on the other side of the room.  Don't crack jokes to keep your suspense down.  Let the movie's feel wash over you.  That's how horror films work.  A closed mind is the worst defense against the supernatural... If it happens to you, your liable to have that shut door in your mind ripped right off it's hinges! 

*Yes there were a few quotes from the movie in those last two paragraphs.  I do not own them.