The Legend of Hell House
Tags: boring, gothic, paranormal, haunting, good versus evil, sadist

Plot synopsis:
Physicist Lionel Barrett is enlisted by an eccentric millionaire, Mr. Deutsch, to make an investigation into "survival after death" in "the one place where it has yet to be refuted". This is the Belasco House, the "Mount Everest of haunted houses", originally owned by the notorious "Roaring Giant" Emeric Belasco, a six-foot-five perverted millionaire and supposed murderer, who disappeared soon after a massacre at his home. The house is believed to be haunted by numerous spirits, the victims of Belasco's twisted and sadistic desires.
Accompanying Barrett are his wife, Ann, as well as two mediums: a mental medium and Spiritualist minister, Florence Tanner, and a physical medium, Ben Fischer, who is the only survivor of an investigation 20 years previously. The rationalist Barrett is rudely sceptical of Tanner's belief in "surviving personalities", spirits which haunt the physical world, and he asserts that there is nothing but unfocused electromagnetic energy in the house. Barrett brings a machine he has developed, which he believes will rid the house of this energy.
Though not a physical medium, Tanner begins to manifest physical phenomena inside the house. When, after a quarrel with Tanner, Barrett is attacked by invisible forces, he suspects that Tanner may be using the house's energy against him. Meanwhile, Fischer remains aloof, with his mind closed to the house's influence, and is only there to collect the generous paycheck.
Ann Barrett is subjected to erotic visions late at night, which seem linked to her lackluster sex life. She goes downstairs and, in an apparent trance, disrobes and demands sex from Fischer. He strikes her, snapping her out of the trance, and she returns to herself, horrified and ashamed. A second incident occurs a day or so later; this time, she is awake but uninhibited due to alcohol. Her husband arrives a moment later to witness her advances to Fischer. He is resentful, and spurns Fischer's psychic ability, claiming that "Mr. Deutsch is wasting one-third of his money!" Stricken by the accusation, Fischer drops his psychic shields but is immediately attacked.
Tanner is convinced that one of the "surviving personalities" is Belasco's tormented son, Daniel, and she is determined to prove it at all costs. She finds a human skeleton chained behind a wall. Believing it to be Daniel, Tanner and Fischer bury the body outside the house and Tanner performs a funeral. Nevertheless, Daniel's "personality" continues to haunt Tanner; she is scratched violently by a possessed cat. Barrett suspects that Tanner is mutilating herself. In an attempt to put Daniel to rest, Tanner gives herself to the entity sexually, but the entity brutalizes her.
Barrett's machine is assembled. Tanner attempts to destroy it, thinking that it will harm the spirits in the house, but Barrett prevents her from doing damage. She enters the chapel, "the unholy heart" of the house, in an attempt to warn the spirits, but she is crushed by a falling crucifix. As she dies, she leaves a symbol written in her own blood. Barrett activates his machine, which seems to be effective. Fischer wanders the house afterwards, attempting to sense psychic energy; he declares the place "completely clear!" in astonishment. Violent psychic activity soon resumes and Barrett is killed.
Fischer decides to confront the house, and Ann accompanies him despite her misgivings. Deciphering Tanner's dying clue, Fischer deduces that Belasco is the sole entity haunting the house, masquerading as many. He taunts Belasco, declaring him a "son of a whore", and that he was no "roaring giant", but likely a "funny little dried-up bastard" who fooled everyone about his alleged height. Even as objects begin to hurl themselves at Fischer, he continues to defy the entity, until all becomes still. A stained glass partition in the chapel shatters, revealing a hidden door.
Fischer and Ann discover a lead-lined room, containing Belasco's preserved body seated in a chair. Pulling out a pocketknife, Fischer rips open Belasco's trouser leg, discovering his final secret: a pair of prosthetic legs. Fischer realises Belasco had had his own stunted legs amputated, and used the prosthetics in a grotesque attempt to appear imposing. Belasco had the specially built room lined with lead, presaging the discovery of the electromagnetic nature of life after death.
With the room now open, Fischer activates Barrett's machine a second time, and he and Ann leave the house, hoping that Barrett and Tanner will guide Belasco to the afterlife without fear.

Review: And it works very well.One of the all time best haunted house movies ever, this one is definitely worth buying.
The Legend of Hell House is one these exceptions 'cause it really serves up some decent scares and maintains a very creepy atmosphere throughout.The plot is similar to The Haunting.
Needless to say the house is indeed very haunted and pretty soon these people are fighting for their lives.Featuring excellent performances by all, first rate direction and production values, a solid script; The Legend of Hell House is really a first rate horror film in most respects..
The wealthy Mr. Rudolph Deutsch (Roland Culver) promises a small fortune to the physicist Dr. Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill); to the mental medium Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin); and to the physical parapsychologist Benjamin Franklin Fischer (Roddy McDowall) to investigate survival after death in the notorious Belasco House, a.k.a. Hell House.
"The Legend of Hell House" is a creepy and atmospheric horror movie with a good story of haunted house.
Four psychic investigators (Roddy McDowall, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt) are to spend a week in the Mount Everest of haunted houses to see if life does exist after death.
"Legend Of Hell House" is everything that turkeys like "The Haunting" tried to be.Kudos to everyone in the cast, especially Roddy McDowall as Fisher, the only man to survive a previous expedition.There is also some interesting dialogue regarding combatting the supernatural with science, a topic that popped up in later films such as "Ghostbusters."MANY horror movies have been made on much larger budgets than Legend Of Hell House, but very few can match it for pure psychological terror.
This eerie movie starts when a multi-millionaire enlists a team of subjects formed by a medium (Pamela Franklyn) and parapsychologist scientists (Clive Revill , his wife Gayle Hunnicutt and Roddy McDowall) to stay for a study and resolve weird deeds into his newly acquired house .
Beginning in television series (Avengers, Protectors) , making Hammer films (Twins of Evil) , Adventures (Island treasure, Black arrow) , wholesome Disney fare (Return and escape to witch mountain) , regency romantic drama (Duel of hearts , Ghost in Montecarlo , Hazard of hearts , The lady and the highwayman) and Horror movies (Howling , American Gothic , Bad karma) and his best film , Legend of Hell House .
John Hough directed this adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel about four people; a physicist named Dr. Barrett(Clive Revill) his wife Ann(Gayle Hunnicutt) Florence Tanner(Pamela Franklin) and Benjamin Fischer(Roddy McDowall) sole survivor from the previous expedition.
Dr. Barrett does not believe in the supernatural at all, and has brought with him scientific equipment to cleanse the home of the negative residual energy, but not everything is as he believes, and not all of them will leave the house alive...Effective and scary film creates a real atmospheric mood of dread, with good direction and acting.
The direction is tight, the cast work exceptionally well to bear out the interpersonal conflicts before the final battle against the paranormal kills or defines them?Working well as a haunted house spooker of some considerable substance, and intelligent and interesting with its themes of paranormal psychology and investigation of such, The Legend of Hell House is a classical supernatural thriller.
By far the scariest movie I have EVER seen, bar none; the synthesized "score" just creeps me to the bone every time, VERY effective, much more than a "music" score would have been; totally ahead of its time in 1973.I first saw it around age 15, now at 41 I STILL have to look away from the screen during the "ectoplasm" scene ("leave a sah-mple in the jah, please") -- but over the last quarter century I've worked up to where I can watch the rest of the flick without flinching (too much).Roddy McDowall is brilliant, as is Pamela Franklin.Yeah, the ending is a bit hokey, but everything else more than makes up for it.
Easily the best of all haunted house movies, this movie has a good story, surprise twists, a good cast (including the gorgeous Pamela Franklin), and most importantly - a high visual quality and atmosphere without which almost any horror film is doomed.
This movie is full of things like that which makes it a classic in my book.Rich multi-millionaire Rudolph Deutsch (Roland Culver) hires Lionel Barrett and his wife (Clive Revill & Gayle Hunnicutt) to investigate the hauntings that are taking place at the notorious Belasco manor.
Barrett takes along Benjamin Fisher (Roddy McDowell) and Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin) as mediums to flesh out the spirits and find out how to dispel them from the property.What THE HAUNTING was for the 60s, and POLTERGEIST was for the 80s, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE is what I consider one of the definitive ghost stories (it ties with THE CHANGELING) of the 1970s.
I liked this one, it reminded me of "Burnt Offerings" a little bit with the creepy house story and the acting was amazing, especially Roddy McDowell in his strange demented character.
Mrs Tanner is convinced that the evil spirit belongs not to Belasco but his son Daniel.This film has great use of suspense and should not be missed by any horror fan.The acting: The performances are great but Roddy McDowall's performance is outstanding.
These elements form a thrilling experience while showing the importance of shadow and darkness for this media !In a short: Good story, excellent cinematography and interesting use of light make "the legend of hell house" a fine example for well done horror.
Unfortunately TLOHH seem to have been left behind a bit compared to The Haunting (there's not even a remake!!).I am bringing the movie up as I've just finished reading the book and was impressed by how much the movie stayed true to it (well I believe Richard Matheson also wrote the screenplay which would explain a lot).The premise is very similar to The Haunting...a scientist, his wife, and two pychics go to investigate the possibility of ghosts at the bequest of an aging millionaire who wants to know if there is life after death.
It probably means I should see it, too...Anyhow, on to The Legend of Hell House, which I HAVE seen, and which I absolutely love (which makes me wonder how in Sam Hill any movie could be better).
Now, let's look at what makes Hell House so darn good...1) Every actor and actress in this film puts in a solid performance, and therefore every character has an appropriate effect on the audience.
It is the best of its kind, better than "The Haunting" (I'll probably get guff for that remark, but I don't care).John Hough better established a dark and utterly cold atmosphere for the house in this film.
And Richard Matheson, I think, did a better job on the screenplay for this film than his original novel "Hell House" (which is a rareity).The actors all performed excellently as well.
Each shot of her batting away the evil stuffed cat toy (obviously hurled haphazardly at her by a stage-hand off-screen) is followed by a scene of a real cat hissing at the camera from the floor.This sequence, in addition to the fulsome, pedantic "scientific" explanations of the paranormal and an inexplicably massive ghost-killer machine (that looks more like one of those ice-boxes outside convenient stores), makes this movie a complete howl.The secret to the film is obvious: Hell House is haunted by Merry Maids, Inc. Notice how the house gets cleaner--dust bunnies and spider webs disappearing left and right--as the film progresses.The film definitely would have been livened up by an unmanned Hoover chase or two.Saved by fine, earnest performances, especially from the Dowall(as always).
This is a very different type of 'haunted house' movie with an excellent cast including Roddy McDowall and Clive Revill.
THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoA group of psychic researchers are hired by a wealthy invalid (Roland Culver) to prove the theory of life after death by spending time in Belasco Mansion - 'the Mt. Everest of haunted houses' - but their investigation prompts a series of violent supernatural manifestations.Scripted by Richard Matheson from his novel 'Hell House', and produced at a time when Hammer's influence on the horror genre was being challenged by a new breed of spine-chillers emerging from the US and mainland Europe - spearheaded, of course, by THE EXORCIST (1973) and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) - THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE employs the familiar trappings of Gothic melodrama - it's set mostly in a fog-shrouded country mansion - but takes a very modern, scientific approach to its subject.The film's potency has been diluted over time, but individual scenes are as vivid as ever: The first 'sitting', in which medium Pamela Franklin (cast in tribute to her appearance in THE INNOCENTS [1961]) becomes possessed by a former occupant of the house; the all-out supernatural assault on scientist Clive Revill as he sits at the dining-room table; and the unforgettable moment when Franklin pulls the covers from a writhing figure on her bed to reveal...
THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE is one of those movie with everything going for it: fascinating story, believable acting, some good fx and some truly spooky scenes peppered here and there.
Here the expedition is led by a skeptic, Dr. Barrett (Clive Revill), who believes that "hauntings" are manifestations of residual energy rather than of surviving personalities--and who considers the Belasco house an ideal opportunity to put his theory to a practical test.He is accompanied by his wife Ann (Gayle Hunnicutt) and two mediums: Benjamin Fischer (Roddy McDowall), who has the distinction of being one of the few individuals to have previously visited Belasco House and lived to tell about it, and Christian spiritualist Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin), who soon clashes with Dr. Barrett over his skepticism.
And although Dr. Barrett has meticulously planned this investigation into Belasco House, from the moment the party enters the doors nothing turns out the way any of them expect.The great thing about the film is Pamela Franklin, who was one of the most interesting actresses of the 1960s and early 1970s, first making her mark as a child in the memorable thriller THE INNOCENTS and then giving a devastating turn as one of her teacher's pets in THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE.
Perversely, it also suffers from a determination to explain away everything it can, and the result is often somewhat anti-climatic.Due to Franklin's performance and McDowell's strong support, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE will likely satisfy viewers who prefer their ghost stories strong on atmosphere and psychology.
Most notable is Roddy McDowall as an initially creepy, nerdy and seemingly mentally damaged physical medium who gradually hits notes of sympathy and turns out to be the unexpected hero of the piece.It packs a lot into it running time, does HELL HOUSE, and doesn't rely on buckets of gore or cheap jump-scares for its thrills and chills, instead managing to be quietly and insidiously unnerving – setting up an intriguing scenario populated by flawed and believable individuals.
Fischer (McDowall) has been here before – the only survivor of the last "expedition" to the Belasco House – and has no intention of letting his guard down, mentally shutting himself off and with a plan to just wait it out and collect the dough come payday.Ghostly manifestations, possessions and violent poltergeist activity kick in early on, and the house itself seems to have a personality of its own – with a deadly agenda to boot.If you've read Matheson's book, you'll perhaps find the movie version tame and watered down – the sexual elements and depravity factor de-intensified to a much lower setting.
Four Psychic Investigators (The late Roddy McDowall, Gayle Hunnicutt, Clive Revill and Pamela Franklin) are hired by an eccentric millionaire Mr. Deutsch (The late Ronald Culver) to investigate "The Mt. Everest of haunted houses", It's the Legend of Hell House at the Belasco residence.
One of the best haunted house films, sure its a bit dated but so are many of the classic horror films, it also manages to get good few scares in as well considering when it was made.
They consist of scientist Dr. Barrett (Clive Revill), mental medium Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin), Dr. Barretts' tag along wife Ann (Gayle Hunnicutt), and physical medium Benjamin Franklin Fischer (Roddy McDowall), the only person to survive previous investigations of Hell House.Richard Matheson scripted, from his own novel "Hell House".
It looks beautiful.Atmospheric as Hell!Creepy-@ss Scary...Absolutely LOVELY cinematography.Effective, taut direction.Excellent acting.Very beautiful lighting and set design.And, the soundtrack REALLY helps rack up the tension.If you like Supernatural Retro-Horror films, especially effective ones about Haunted Houses, and ones that are taken DEAD seriously...
Brilliant haunted house movie directed by John Hough and penned by the great Richard Matheson, who adapted his own novel for the screenplay.
It makes zero sense.On the other hand, as I said, there are many things to like about "Hell house": it's never boring, the acting all around is competent -although I kept asking myself if Roddy McDowall was wearing a bad wig or not- and, specially, British director John Hough managed to infuse it with a great deal of atmosphere.
Here, dying millionaire Deutsch (Roland Culver) sends the team off to ascertain if there really is such a thing as "survival after death." The team consists of a physicist, Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill), who is accompanied by his beautiful wife, Anne (Gayle Hunnicutt); a mental medium, Florence Tanner (former child actress Pamela Franklin, top billed here); and a physical medium, Ben Fischer, the only survivor of a previous Hell House investigation (Roddy McDowall).
Roddy McDowall heads the cast of this extremely creepy chiller about four psychic investigators and the dark,brooding mansion called Hell House.It's already destroyed one team of researchers.Now this brave quartet ventures in for another try at unraveling its ghastly secret.With a screenplay by Richard Matheson,adapting his own novel "Hell House","The Legend of Hell House" is a very creepy piece of horror that contains enough shocks and surprises for the dedicated horror buffs.The film has strong characters and a compelling story.The acting is excellent and the atmosphere of dread and fear is simply overwhelming.The house itself is a truly scary place filled with dark shadows,creepy corridors and spider webs."The Legend of Hell House" contains almost no gore,but it scared the hell out of me.Highly recommended.10 out of 10..
With what I knew from having read the book, I could blend my thoughts in with what I saw, giving me a pretty darned good movie viewing experience.The story itself had me scared out of my wits, what with the atmosphere, the characters with their external and internal conflicts, the subtlety, meaning that special effects were at a minimum, and fabulous acting.
Like I say, I think this is a very good (if not one of the best) haunted house films ever.
This movie probably won't terrify you, but as a haunted house story, it is pretty good, and technically well done.
The cast is also universally excellent, Roddy Mcdowell is very good as the only survivor of a previous stay in the house, Pamela Franklin is also great as the young medium.The Legend of Hell House almost has too much action.
I first saw this film as a teenager and its always been one of those ghost films that sticks in the mind.Its only ever been shown on UK TV very late at night,and this is probably why so many people have never seen it.Made in 1973 and apart from the actors clothes the film hasn't dated at all,its still as atmospheric and creepy as ever.And because the film is done in a diary form from day to day it makes the film more realistic.I was lucky enough to find it on DVD yesterday in a second hand shop so there must be other copies out there.I watched it last night and found it was just as good as i remembered it to be,the DVD is of good quality, and it only cost me £2.The film is also quite ahead of its time as in this era paranormal investigation programmes are at their height in popularity,when you have programmes like Most Haunted,Ghost Hunters,Dead Famous,etc,this film was made long before any of these programmes were thought of,and sort of paves the way for things to come,well apart from the horror aspect of it.When i was watching this film last night i had to laugh to myself,as i was wondering if the Most Haunted Team would ever stay in a place like that.
The Legend of Hell House remains true to Richard Matheson's horror ghost novel and captures the eerie, background tension and the creepy sound track lends riveting and haunting mystery surrounding the Bolasco House.
Another piece of horror that l'd watch in 1984 and l still remembered how spooky it's was,so after a long waiting this movie come out officially on DVD and unfortunately no bonus material,at least with a classic dubbed version,the script mix up Horror,Sci-fi and thriller,well in advance the famous Poltergeist we'd The Legend of Hell House,All four main characters are fantastic in their roles especially Pamela Frank and Clive Revill!!
From the gloriously overdone fog to the exaggerated screaming, everything about this film was designed to accentuate everything that is good about this type of movie.Hell House is set in a haunted mansion/castle, with 4 intrepid investigators attempting to solve the mystery of the building's history and rid the place of all evil spirits.
As a sort of dying wish, an old and wealthy man hires a scientist (Clive Revill), his wife (Gayle Hunnicutt), and two paranormal investigators to spend a week in Belasco House and determine if there is such a thing as life after death, and if the rumors of spiritual hauntings in the house are true.The film's star is likely Roddy McDowall, who plays investigator Benjamin Franklin Fischer.