The Legend of Hell House – 1973
Ahh, supernatural horror; “ghost stories”, if you will. That entire subgenre has always been a favorite of mine. I love all kinds of horror, but the “haunting” ones have always inspired a special kind of “creep out” to me when huddled in my La-Z-Boy in the in the darkness save for the flickering screen. In my opinion, a movie of a supernatural bent has to have one particular element to be successful: atmosphere. High-end special effects, pretty faces and expensive sets don’t impress me in the context of a ghostly film if atmosphere isn’t there; if I don’t get a feeling of menace or oppression, it’s just not gonna click with me. Some movies get it, some don’t.
1973 saw the release of a film that I personally think got it very well; The Legend of Hell House. As far as “haunted house” movies go, I feel that this work did an excellent job of giving us the goods without needless (and typically devolving into silly) exposition, all the while fostering a delicious sense of dread throughout the film.
The story begins at the home of a certain Mr. Deutch, a wealthy (obscenely wealthy; you could play softball in his foyer) old man, meeting with Dr. Barrett, a man whom we learn is a brilliant physicist and parapsychologist. Deutch wants to hire Barrett to either prove or disprove “survival after death” (presumably for his own peace of mind; he’s obviously nearing the end of his road). To do so, he intends for the doctor to spend a week in the “Mount Everest of haunted houses”, the Belasco Mansion, known more popularly as “Hell House”; a site where, twenty years before, eight paranormal investigators lost their lives under “inexplicable” circumstances. Deutch believes that such a highly renowned place of ghostly activity would provide ample investigative opportunity for the answers to his questions of life beyond death.
Roddy McDowall and Pamela Franklin as Fischer and Tanner
For a wider scope of information, the old man has also secured the services of Florence Tanner, a young “mental medium” with a strong Christian faith, and Benjamin Fischer, a “physical medium” who has the unenviable distinction of being the lone survivor of the previous failed investigation. Barrett, a believer in residual energy but a devout skeptic of “spiritual survival” agrees (for the amount of cash the old man offers, he’d be nuts not to), and he and his lovely wife make their arrangements to begin immediately. Fischer and Tanner are collected, and the foursome travel to the brooding old manor. Almost at once, young Tanner feels a wrongness, a pervasive negativity about the place. Once inside, her misgivings are quickly given legs as strange drafts and sounds let us know that there is definitely something lingering within the manse. The psychic and scientific experiments the group perform manifest menacing results, but despite Tanner’s insistence on the nature of the spirits that haunt the place, Barrett maintains his disbelief. Even after physical, mental, and even sexual assaults are leveled at the group, he insists that a device of his creation, a kind of electromagnetic de-charger, will rid the house of its “residual energy” and exorcise any kind of “haunting”…but what dwells there may have other ideas…
My impression of this movie is The Haunting with a bit more payoff; whereas that original 1963 Robert Wise film had an oppressive, claustrophobic feel and a pall of terrible dread, there was very little that we actually saw; whereas this is often a good thing in supernatural films (and I do very much enjoy that older film), I myself prefer a little more substance of my antagonist. This is where The Legend of Hell House delivers: it has a very similar vibe of menace and oppression; the excellent use of clever camera movement and angles coupled with the beautiful set design promote an absolutely stygian atmosphere (it reminded me greatly of the gothic feel of old Hammer films, but with a modern flair).
Not exactly what was expected…
Along with that choking atmosphere, we get some delightful exposition of just what it is that haunts the old house; even though we don’t see a physical form, we see indisputable evidence of passing. We see shapes beneath the covers without explanation; objects such as doors and shadows moving of their own accord. We see the looks of terror on the faces of the characters done in remarkable point-of-view close-up, but from the POV of whatever is inspiring the terror. The script, adapted by Richard Matheson from his own novel, is very different from what was expected of a “ghost story” of the time, touching on such subjects as deviant sexuality and lust from beyond the grave (heady stuff back then!). For students of such things, it’s obvious that Matheson must have had Aleister Crowley and perhaps even the Marquis De Sade in mind as he crafted his tale. Much is also owed to the excellent acting; Pamela Franklin as Miss Tanner and Gayle Hunnicutt as Ann, Barrett’s wife, are both very convincing in their roles; certain scenes for both actresses required a lot of courage and talent to pull off without seeming cartoonish, and they delivered with flying colors. Clive Revill as the stoic Dr. Barrett follows in a long line of the “skeptical scientists”, but with enough warmth for his wife and passion for his work as to not be a cookie-cutter version of such. Finally, the often underrated Roddy McDowall turns in what may be his finest performance in a horror film as the frightened but knowledgeable Fischer, his fearful mannerisms and emotive responses being the most believable in the film. While the special effects are dated somewhat, what there are, coupled with the deft direction and acting, bring forth a lot of good pucker moments (one particular scene, involving a shower, is still spooky to me even after thirty-plus years of repeated viewings).
Harsh irony in the chapel
This is a forty-year-old ghost movie; going in, you should know what to expect. As I’ve said many times about older films, you have to respect the time it was made and what they had to work with. I know a lot of you Fellow Fans out there can do that, and if you’re a fan of the supernatural and enjoy a strongly atmospheric, well-made and well-acted film, you should definitely see this one.
I’m a fan, folks. In the vein of “haunting” films, it’s in my top five.
–Mouse
Andrew Thompson
