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| COVER GALLERY |
| Film vitals |
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· Year: 1973
· Director: John Hough
· Writer: Richard Matheson
· Cast: Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall
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| Series info |
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· Based on Hell House, by Richard Matheson.
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| If you liked this, try |
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| Purchase |
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Amazon.com
· Book: Paperback screenplay · Book: Paperback Screamplays (with screenplay) · Book: Paperback Cinematic Hauntings (essay on film) |
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| Synopsis |
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Four people--a physicist, his wife, a mental medium, and a physical medium--spend a week in "Hell House," a secluded English mansion, to study what may be a supernatural presence. Within days, they--like those who performed a study twenty years before--are fighting for their sanities, lives, and souls.
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Rank:
#9
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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93
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| COLD ANALYSIS |
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ATMOSPHERE
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GORE
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HUMOR
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SCARES
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TENSION
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Nothing beats Hell House for pure atmosphere. The entire film is pervaded by a cloying, dead air that reeks of corruption, perversity, and rot. The sets are amazing as well; never before or since has a cinematic haunted house seemed so organic. The performances are excellent, the minimal score is remarkable, and John Hough's directing is unique and succeeds all too well in stimulating our fear of the unknown and unseen. Any lack of character depth in Richard Matheson's screenplay (based on his novel Hell House) is countered by the structure of the film: tight, smart, and perfectly formed.
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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| COLD ANALYSIS |
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ATMOSPHERE
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no rating - GORE
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no rating - HUMOR
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SCARES
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TENSION
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The Legend of Hell House is the best haunted house film ever done! Director John Hough brought the "realism" of what a true haunting could be to the big screen. Since it was filmed in the very early 1970's, computerised special effects were exempt from this film, and as a result it relies entirely on writing, acting, and directing. The Legend of Hell House is The Exorcist of haunted house films!
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