The Haunting

Rating:
Summary: IT'LL MAKE YOUR TOES CURL UP IN YOUR TENNIS SHOES
Review: The new version may have state-of-the-art special effects, but give me this old one any time. Somehow it's even creepier in black and white; the shadows look like there might be something lurking in there. I'm not sure what makes this movie so scary -- the occasional shots of weird statuary, the bizarre old house, Julie Harris's wonderful portrayal of a lady who's very near the edge? I know that things imagined are much more frightening than things actually seen, and this movie gets your imagination up and running, for sure. I was afraid to turn out the lights after I saw a rerun of it on TV a few years ago. A definite toe-curler.

Rating:
Summary: 30 years & I still can't watch it before going to bed.
Review: Less is more is certainly the bottom line here. Imagination is far more terrifying than any special effects Hollywood come up with. Black & white and sound effects is all you'll find here. But even now I will not let my hand fall over the edge of the bed without thinking of this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Goose-Bump Classic!!
Review: Yes folks, this is one creepy movie. Have you ever been alone in your house, and had the feeling you've just missed something out of the corner of your eye, or half-heard a strange, unexplainable sound? That's the effect this movie has. It's very understated and leaves much to the imagination. The result is a deliciously frightening. Unfortunately, Hollywood is giving us what looks like a big-budget, special effects- laden remake. What a waste!

Rating:
Summary: I have never been more frightened by a movie than this one.
Review: I was 7 years old in 1963. While we watched this movie my seating position went from sitting on the couch to crouching behind the couch. I rented this movie again last year and still found this movie very intense and scary. The sound track, the camera work and the acting are first rate. This movie again proves that you do not need to spend millions of dollars on special effects and computerized graphics if you have a great director and cameraman who simply knows how to work with light and camera angles.

Rating:
Summary: Still terrifying after all these years!
Review: The first time I saw this movie, I was 18, and my mother and I watched it on late-night TV. We were both so scared, we had to turn it off. For years afterward I searched for the movie in TV listings so I could see it through. I finally saw it a few years ago, and was just as terrified! The black-and-white photography, Julie Harris' Eleanor and Claire Bloom's Theodora, the pounding sound and the eerie music, and the House as Character all add up to a cerebral, but gut-wrenching, scare! For the many people who love this movie, I recommend reading Shirley Jackson's book. It won't be spoiled by your knowing the story. You will literally get chills from it.

Rating:
Summary: The only film that truly scared me and still does!
Review: Watched this film with my sister over 20 years ago and we were truly scared!!! But I loved every minute of it! One of the truly great movies.

Rating:
Summary: A brooding masterpiece .. in the night ... in the dark
Review: I remember how this movie terrified my in 1963. The exceptional use of stills, shadows and the dark lurk in the back of my mind. While many younger viewers will find it too slow-paced, certainly compared to the current remake, the "less is more" principal is the key to the success of this thriller.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST TERROR FILM EVER!!
Review: I only saw this film a year ago, but I can't get the movie out of my mind. Every time I watch the movie I get goosepimples all over my legs and arms. The way that Wise uses sound is the most terrifying aspect of the entire film. The deaths at the beginning are necessary in setting the stage for the rest of the film unlike films now that just shock by showing you the most disgusting ways to die and what the victim goes through. There was a lot of good acting, especially by the character Theodora(Claire Bloom). If you like to analyze movies than it's got a lot to offer, but if you just like to sit back and be taken away by a movie than this film is sure to engross you from start to finish. This film is sure to petrify even the bravest of souls.

Rating:
Summary: Can't believe this isn't in your "Essentials" section
Review: The scariest horror movies are those that dispense with the blood and gore and go straight for the psyche. "The Haunting" accomplishes this superbly. A great setting and a great cast make this one of the best in the genre.

Rating:
Summary: scared the crap outta me when i was 10!
Review: don't bother to see the horrible looking wretched remake, it looks like they are trying waaay to hard to scare you in that one. claymation looks more real than CGI! now for this film, pretty much will scare the hell outta you but in a BOO(like scream) type way. the real scariness comes in after you have watched the film and are alone in your house at night with no lights on! the creepiest part of the film has got to be when the woman who is messed up in the head is talking to the stone statues, now in the remake they move around trying their best to look scarey but in this one the statues just sit and stare. i don't know whats so dang scarey about that but it will freak you out. the knocking up and down the hall is freaky, the hole in the ceiling with the eye peeking through will give you nightmares. i could go on for days about this film but i won't.