Product: The Haunting [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 4.0
Artistic Masterpiece
The story here is centered around Eleanor, a young woman who's led a repressed life and wants to start a new one. When a mysterious person calls and offers her the chance to be part of an experiment for insomniacs, she readily agrees and goes to Hill house, where the experiment will take place. Hill House is an extraordinary mansion with huge halls, gothic statues, and dark paintings. It is there she meets the other two insomniacs: Luke, a cute and witty guy, and Theo, a gorgeous and free-spirited artist. At first, things seem to go well for Eleanor; she loves the darkly beautiful house and enjoys the company of her eccentric new friends. Her happiness is soon shattered when strange things begin to happen: voices whisper to her at night, unseen forces pound on the doors, and bloody footprints lead down hidden passages. Eleanor soon comes to believe that the house is alive and is calling to her alone, but when she tries to warn the others of the danger,they don't believe her and start to question her sanity. Whether this movie was true enough to the book or not, I don't know. What I do know is that it's awesome and very well-made. The actors did a great job, the special effects were wonderful, and the creepy-yet gothicly beautiful house simply couldn't have been better. I'm not sorry I watched it. It's worth every minute and every penny.