William Malone, to me, is one of the most imaginative minds currently working in the horror genre, who, unfortunately, has not earned the success of the other extraordinary horror directors out there in Hollywood. This film may have a considerable cult following, but he is not at the level of, say, William Castle, the director of the original House film. This, however, is his magnum opus and he has managed to create a truly terrifying horror film, paying a great homage to its predecessor.
Obviously, this remake doesn't quite match up to its predecessor. But regardless, Malone creates a surprisingly creepy horror film that really captivates the atmosphere and feel of William Castle's original film, the atmosphere of the fun houses in amusement parks we all enjoyed as a kid.
Basically, here's the back story: Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt, a sadistic brute of a doctor is the director of the critically celebrated, R.B. Vannacutt Asylum for the Criminally Insane. He performs bizarre experiments on the patients taken into his care, including vivisection and electroshock treatment. In late 1931, the patients grow tired of the tyranny of Vannacutt, so they burn the asylum to the ground, cutting the doctor apart in the midst. All but 5 of the staff's doctors die in the fire (these probably would have been different statistics, but Vannacutt locked the entire place down using the asylum's security system- "if he was gonna die, they were all gonna die"). Enter Stephen Price 60 years later, the owner of Price Amusement Parks. He is a bitter, cynical, sarcastic man - the point of blame for these traits seem to be his unwilling marriage to his wife, Evelyn Stockhard-Price, the kind of bitch you just love to hate. After seeing a documentary on Dr. Vannacutt, Evelyn decides to have her upcoming birthday party in the recently-restored House. Price tries to change her mind, but she's set with it. Price invites a group of money-hungry guests to the party - for some strange reason, the people who arrive are an absolute different group of strangers. Why, why? The reasons, of course, are revealed later on in the film. Things get interesting as the lock-down mechanism (last used when the place burned down) mysteriously activates again.
The acting is superb. Geoffrey Rush has a great time with his role as Steven Price, the bitingly sarcastic Greg House-like billionaire, whose role is an obvious tribute to Vincent Price, the actor of the original millionaire in the 1959 edition. Famke Jannseen delivers a great performance as his equally sarcastic and sadistic wife. Comedian Chris Kattan pulls off the broken-down, tittering, Watson Pritchett, the seemingly cursed owner of the Asylum who's accepted his inevitable death ("I'd love to get laid before I died"). The rest of the supporting cast (Peter Gallagher as Dr. Blackburn, Taye Diggs as Eddie Baker, Ali Larter as Sara Wolfe, and Bridgette Wilson as super-bitch Melissa Marr) delivers decent performances, and, even though their characters are not the most interesting, deliver their fair share of good one-liners. And, Jeffrey Combs, who definitely deserves a mention, plays the demented Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt - the director of the asylum that started all the trouble in the first place. Combs, though having at the most, 5 minutes of screen time, pulls the role of Vannacutt off terrifyingly well. The way that he walks around the house scared the hell out of me, and the look of his character in itself is dominating.
The asylum is excellently designed. The exterior is so bizarre and offbeat, it looks like a lighthouse-turned-prison. Rather normal during the day, but terrifying at night. And the interior itself is beautiful in a very dark sense - I really wouldn't mind living there were it not for it being haunted by Vannacutt and the rest.
So why doesn't this movie work? Well, the ending has to do with most of this. The screenwriter, Dick Beebe, creates a very intense buildup in his story throughout the first hour/half-hour of his film, and I was really expecting a final twist in the plot for the ending. Unfortunately, Mr. Beebe throws away his efforts and concludes the film by throwing in some evil spirit and killing off the remaining characters in a very overplayed fashion. It's a shame, considering what the finale could have been.
To say the least, this is worth a rental. There are some truly entertaining and terrifying scenes in this remake (Price's trip in the Saturation Chamber, to name one). Even if there are some cheesy moments and lines, and some overplayed CGI at the end, you'll have fun watching it.
Obviously, this remake doesn't quite match up to its predecessor. But regardless, Malone creates a surprisingly creepy horror film that really captivates the atmosphere and feel of William Castle's original film, the atmosphere of the fun houses in amusement parks we all enjoyed as a kid.
Basically, here's the back story: Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt, a sadistic brute of a doctor is the director of the critically celebrated, R.B. Vannacutt Asylum for the Criminally Insane. He performs bizarre experiments on the patients taken into his care, including vivisection and electroshock treatment. In late 1931, the patients grow tired of the tyranny of Vannacutt, so they burn the asylum to the ground, cutting the doctor apart in the midst. All but 5 of the staff's doctors die in the fire (these probably would have been different statistics, but Vannacutt locked the entire place down using the asylum's security system- "if he was gonna die, they were all gonna die"). Enter Stephen Price 60 years later, the owner of Price Amusement Parks. He is a bitter, cynical, sarcastic man - the point of blame for these traits seem to be his unwilling marriage to his wife, Evelyn Stockhard-Price, the kind of bitch you just love to hate. After seeing a documentary on Dr. Vannacutt, Evelyn decides to have her upcoming birthday party in the recently-restored House. Price tries to change her mind, but she's set with it. Price invites a group of money-hungry guests to the party - for some strange reason, the people who arrive are an absolute different group of strangers. Why, why? The reasons, of course, are revealed later on in the film. Things get interesting as the lock-down mechanism (last used when the place burned down) mysteriously activates again.
The acting is superb. Geoffrey Rush has a great time with his role as Steven Price, the bitingly sarcastic Greg House-like billionaire, whose role is an obvious tribute to Vincent Price, the actor of the original millionaire in the 1959 edition. Famke Jannseen delivers a great performance as his equally sarcastic and sadistic wife. Comedian Chris Kattan pulls off the broken-down, tittering, Watson Pritchett, the seemingly cursed owner of the Asylum who's accepted his inevitable death ("I'd love to get laid before I died"). The rest of the supporting cast (Peter Gallagher as Dr. Blackburn, Taye Diggs as Eddie Baker, Ali Larter as Sara Wolfe, and Bridgette Wilson as super-bitch Melissa Marr) delivers decent performances, and, even though their characters are not the most interesting, deliver their fair share of good one-liners. And, Jeffrey Combs, who definitely deserves a mention, plays the demented Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt - the director of the asylum that started all the trouble in the first place. Combs, though having at the most, 5 minutes of screen time, pulls the role of Vannacutt off terrifyingly well. The way that he walks around the house scared the hell out of me, and the look of his character in itself is dominating.
The asylum is excellently designed. The exterior is so bizarre and offbeat, it looks like a lighthouse-turned-prison. Rather normal during the day, but terrifying at night. And the interior itself is beautiful in a very dark sense - I really wouldn't mind living there were it not for it being haunted by Vannacutt and the rest.
So why doesn't this movie work? Well, the ending has to do with most of this. The screenwriter, Dick Beebe, creates a very intense buildup in his story throughout the first hour/half-hour of his film, and I was really expecting a final twist in the plot for the ending. Unfortunately, Mr. Beebe throws away his efforts and concludes the film by throwing in some evil spirit and killing off the remaining characters in a very overplayed fashion. It's a shame, considering what the finale could have been.
To say the least, this is worth a rental. There are some truly entertaining and terrifying scenes in this remake (Price's trip in the Saturation Chamber, to name one). Even if there are some cheesy moments and lines, and some overplayed CGI at the end, you'll have fun watching it.