Time: 75 Minutes
Cast:
Vincent Price as Frederick Loren
Carol Ohmart as Annabelle Loren
Richard Long as Lance Schroeder
Alan Marshal as Dr. David Trent
Carolyn Craig as Nora Manning
Elisha Cook Jr. as Watson Pritchard
Julie Mitchum as Ruth Bridgers
Director: William Castle

I really didn’t know much about the movie going in, the impression that I got was that it was a haunted house movie from the 50s, that’s all I could gather. It ended up being a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be.

House on Haunted Hill is something of a fun haunted house flick from beginning to end, with a twisty and snappy script. While it does create an effective horror atmosphere, it is also delightful, full of fun twists, and the murder mystery aspect is enjoyable to watch. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, is definitely campy and has a dry sense of humour. It also quite benefits from its fast pace and short runtime of about 75 minutes.

The cast including Carol Ohmart and Elisha Cook Jr. are quite good, but the highlight is Vincent Price in the lead role, charismatic and delightful to watch.

William Castle directed this really well. The cinematography is good and makes creative use of its one central location at this mansion. Despite the often light and fun tone, House on Haunting Hill does generate a good atmosphere, and even has some well executed jumpscares.

House on Haunted Hill is a short, but nonetheless fun, creepy and campy haunted house horror film.