cinema history class: the haunting

Session: Get Your Haunted House On, Week 1
Movie: The Haunting (1963)
Directed by Robert Wise

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A small group of paranormal investigators are trying learn the secret of thea notorious haunted mansion. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
I have this perception that haunted house stories usually involve spirits that have taken up residence in a house. In The Haunting, it seems that the house itself has a consciousness. I don't know if my perception is wrong, but it did strike me as interesting. Another movie that I recall as featuring a living house is the 2006 animated children's feature, Monster House.* Now, this might not be worth mentioning, except that a lot of the way the house was portrayed reminded me of that animated film. I have to wonder if the creative team behind Monster House was familiar with The Haunting.

This movie also reminded me of Carnival of Souls (1962) because of the use of odd camera angles that put the viewer on edge. And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn;t note the way this played like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. At the very end, I almost expected Rod Serling to step out and say something along the lines of "For Eleanor Lance, the nightmare is over. She is now living her dreams in a house in the twilight zone."

Putting aside the comparisons to other movies, this thing stands very well on its own terms. Dave from class put it well when he noted that the movie felt claustrophobic yet expansive at the same time**. That has to do with the fact that most of the film takes place within "Hill House" -- which is really the true star of the movie. The hallways give the feel of being trapped, but the large rooms -- especially the library -- serve to give the feeling of space. Adding to the disconcerting effect is the use of what Sean called (though he credited the term to HP Lovecraft) "alien geometries." The angles don't seem quite right. And the distorted perspectives throw the audience off.

Notably, the movie doesn't really offer much explanation for why the house is alive and (arguably) evil. The closest is that the house is said to have been "born bad." But in a sense that explanation is really all that's needed. I suspect that, if they had tried too hard to provide a real explanation, it would probably have proven to be distracting and annoying.

Ratings:

Me: 9

Dave: 10

Ethan: 9

Joe: 10
Sean: 3 out of 4

*Admittedly, Monster House can be viewed as a hybrid of these types. If I recall correctly, the house is alive, but it's alive because it somehow absorbed the spirit of the wife of the man who lives in it. It's been a while, but I think it has something to do with her tragically falling into the cement foundation as it was drying, and becoming part of the house. How very Poe.

**Those weren't his exact words, but close enough.