The Haunting

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The Haunting

G

1963

1h 52m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist with an interest in psychic phenomena, takes two specially selected women to Hill House, a reportedly haunted mansion. Eleanor (Julie Harris), a lonely, eccentric woman with a supernatural event in her past, and the bold Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has ESP, join John and the mansion's heir, cynical Luke (Russ Tamblyn). They are immediately overwhelmed by strange sounds and events, and Eleanor comes to believe the house is alive and speaking directly to her.

Critics Consensus

Both psychological and supernatural, The Haunting is a chilling character study.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

07/06/2022

An elegantly sinister scare movie, literate and expensive (though basically a traditional ghost story), with those two fine actresses Claire Bloom and Julie Harris.

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Ian Freer

Empire Magazine

09/08/2020

5/5

Wise brilliantly uses black and white widescreen to strand his characters in odd-shaped rooms or corridors, making the watcher's eye skitter frantically over the letterbox screen to catch every ingeniously rendered detail.

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James Powers

The Hollywood Reporter

11/02/2018

When The Haunting digs into the internals of its story, summons its spirits and lets them play havoc with cold reason, it has a power and fervor unmatched by any film ghost stories.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

03/01/2023

4/5

Wise's use of the camera is vital to creating a sense of tension and atmosphere; it's practically its own character. Meanwhile, Theo is a vital LGBT character in horror history: an out woman in a 60s film is a true rarity.

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Samantha Allen

them.

10/27/2022

Dripping with queer subtext, this 1963 adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is a master class in reading between the lines.

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David Reddish

Queerty

03/20/2022

4/4

The Haunting endures as a horror classic, albeit one that doesnt quite the credit it deserves as an unusual queer love story. Heres a movie both scary and romantic as Hell.

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Fumi A

@Lordoflords Mar 31

Fantastic movie. The best version! Not that TV stuff!

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Farah R.

@Farah Mar 16

Having watched other iterations of Shirley Jackson’s famous novel, I decided to give the OG a shot. It sadly doesn’t live up to its cult status and fails to deliver the horror Flanagan’s series mustered and the compelling narrative of the 1999 adaptation.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Feb 15

Other than the spiral staircase scene which was nerve wracking, I don’t get the cult hype. It was plain dull. Watched on DVD.

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Will G

@Kingofthepixies Jan 10

This film absolutely scared the pants off me when I was a kid.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Dec 30

The worldwide gross is $847.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Luis Ivan M

@RT79996638 Nov 12

A pioneering but uneven horror film. It’s easy to overlook this film’s flaws as products of its time, but I was genuinely surprised by how well the technical aspects hold up. Despite being an early entry in the genre (preceding the horror boom of the ’70s and ’80s) the film features creative camera movements, solid special effects, and effective use of sound that together build an eerie, haunting atmosphere. It’s not particularly scary by today’s standards, but as a 1963 production, one shouldn’t expect shocking imagery or jump scares. Where the film struggles is in its plot and character development. Several narrative elements are introduced, about the characters and the house itself, but they never quite come together cohesively. Many threads feel underdeveloped or irrelevant to the central story, leaving large portions of the film confusing or unsatisfying. The pacing is also sluggish, taking too long to reach the supposed thrilling aspects of the plot. Ultimately, the film falters in its basic narrative structure and rhythm, weaknesses that can’t be excused by its era. As a black-and-white horror film that’s not particularly frightening and narratively uneven, it’s hard to recommend except for those interested in studying the evolution of the genre. It’s watchable and occasionally engaging, but there isn’t much to take away from it beyond its historical value.

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Robert Wise

Director

Julie Harris

Eleanor "Nell" Lance

Claire Bloom

Theodora "Theo"

Richard Johnson

Dr. John Markway

Russ Tamblyn

Luke Sanderson

Lois Maxwell

Grace Markway

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Synopsis

Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist with an interest in psychic phenomena, takes two specially selected women to Hill House, a reportedly haunted mansion. Eleanor (Julie Harris), a lonely, eccentric woman with a supernatural event in her past, and the bold Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has ESP, join John and the mansion's heir, cynical Luke (Russ Tamblyn). They are immediately overwhelmed by strange sounds and events, and Eleanor comes to believe the house is alive and speaking directly to her.

Director: Robert Wise
Producer: Robert Wise
Screenwriter: Nelson Gidding
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures International
Rating: G
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 52m

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