Is this 1999 remake better than the original classic horror movie it’s based on?

Warner Bros. Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures

Twenty-five years agone today, head William Malone’s House connected Haunted Hill premiered successful theaters. Based connected head William Castle’s 1959 movie of nan aforesaid name, this scary movie follows an eccentric millionaire who invites a group of group to an abandoned psychiatric infirmary and offers $1 cardinal to anyone who tin enactment successful nan allegedly haunted institution for a full night.

Though this remake had nan support of acclaimed shaper Robert Zemeckis (Back to nan Future), it was still panned by critics upon release. Nevertheless, Malone’s movie premiered astatine nan apical of nan container agency and made $43 cardinal against its $19 budget. Remakes seldom unrecorded up to fans’ precocious expectations, but here’s really 1999’s House connected Haunted Hill really compares to nan original movie.

Same story, different execution (no pun intended)

Warner Bros.

The halfway conception of some stories is fundamentally nan same, pinch nan cardinal quality being nan quality of nan haunted location itself. The remake portrays nan location arsenic a haunted psychiatric infirmary wherever doctors utilized to taxable their patients to horrible experiments successful a mode inspired by nan Nazis. The location is besides inhabited by an evil entity known only arsenic “The Darkness,” which is nan culmination of each nan spirits that reside successful nan house. Though nan location successful nan original movie is nan tract of a fewer murders, it isn’t haunted astatine all. The “supernatural” occurrences that hap successful nan movie are revealed to beryllium staged arsenic portion of an elaborate execution scheme consecutive retired of an Agatha Christie enigma novel.

The deficiency of an existent haunted location successful nan original movie makes its communicative a clever psychological scary communicative astir nan destructive effects of lust, greed, and paranoia. While nan remake retains nan clone execution twist, it still goes against that by showing nan location is really haunted successful nan end, resulting successful a cliché shade communicative that fails to modernize nan root material. Coincidentally, this movie fails to reinvent nan communicative successful nan aforesaid measurement arsenic The Haunting, nan remake of a akin scary classical released that aforesaid year.

Cast is stacked, but their characters are underwhelming

Warner Bros.

House connected Haunted Hill features a cavalcade of ’90s stars for illustration Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of nan Caribbean), Famke Janssen (X-Men), Taye Diggs (How Stella Got Her Groove Back), Ali Larter (Final Destination), Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live), Peter Gallagher (Grace & Frankie), andJeffrey Combs (Justice League Unlimited). Despite specified a talented cast, they springiness specified barren portrayals of their loathsome, one-dimensional characters and are saddled pinch unrealistic speech that it’s nary astonishment that they neglect to hook nan film’s audience. However, it’s only adjacent to mention that immoderate footage astir Larter’s protagonist losing her occupation was removed from nan theatrical cut.

Monogram

In contrast, scary icon Vincent Price leads nan formed of nan original movie pinch a capacity oozing pinch his famously fiendish charisma. Though not each characteristic successful nan root movie is expected to beryllium likable, each character portrays them pinch their ain marque of campy, classical charm that makes them nosy to watch. The movie besides introduces each of them very well, establishing their circumstantial reasons for wanting nan money promised by their mysterious host. The remake whitethorn person nan guests beryllium descendants of nan house’s original staff, making them targets of nan Darkness, but that hardly adds thing of genuine liking to their characters aliases their arcs.

Classic scares vs. dense metallic horror

The original House connected Haunted Hill builds hostility and suspense to nan constituent that it achieves immoderate terrific jump scares. Despite really inexpensive nan movie whitethorn look today, it much than makes up for it and its deficiency of R-rated gore by unnerving and shocking its assemblage nan infinitesimal it begins.

Meanwhile, nan remake presents what is fundamentally “heavy metal” horror, bombarding audiences pinch violent, gory images of evil shade doctors and dormant infirmary patients. It’s nan benignant of point audiences would spot stepping done a haunted infirmary taxable parkland ride. It besides doesn’t thief that nan movie features unconvincing ’90s ocular effects erstwhile presenting nan eldritch Darkness, which undermined its clever creation that is reminiscent of a Rorschach test.

All successful all, 1999’s House connected Haunted Hill feels much for illustration an amusement parkland thrust than an existent film. Its bladed communicative and flat, unappealing characters neglect to get audiences invested successful what happens successful nan story. Even nan film’s talented formed couldn’t prevention it pinch nan worldly they were given. It tries to do thing caller by adding a supernatural constituent surrounding nan house’s erstwhile patients. Not only does it dilute nan themes that made nan original truthful distinctive, but it besides goes against its bully intentions pinch its sensationalized and dehumanizing portrayal of group pinch intelligence wellness issues.

The 1959 type of House connected Haunted Hill is streaming connected Tubi. Beware: it’s nan colorized version. The 1999 type is besides streaming connected Tubi.