Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity.
People stare about in terror and squeak: 'The house, it's alive!' The picture, it's dead.
– ,
TIME Magazine,
19 Oct 2008
rotten:
Makes more goose pimples than sense.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
9 May 2005
fresh:
What makes the film so effective is not so much the slightly sinister characterisation of the generally neurotic group, but the fact that [director] Wise makes the house itself the central character, a beautifully designed and highly atmospheric entity.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
23 Sep 2006
fresh:
Pretty effective when it came out; it may be a little stiff in the joints by now, but it's still a much better scare show than the recent stinker remake.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
25 Sep 2007
rotten:
The artful cinematic strokes of director Robert Wise and staff are not quite enough to override the major shortcomings of Nelson Gidding's screenplay.