Is Hill House haunted or is it all just a load of bullshit? The investigators are about to find out...the hard way.
A
team of paranormal investigators is summoned to Hill House, an estate
defined by a history of eerie deaths, and their investigation intends to
either prove or disprove the mansion being host to evil entities. Only
two of those invited by the renowned Dr. Markway show up, the rest
flat-out refusing to attend. The two who do show up are Theodora (Claire
Bloom), a stylish lesbian psychic, and Eleanor "Nell" Lance (Julie
Harris), who was traumatized by a childhood experience involving a
poltergeist. Also along for the investigation is Luke (Russ Tamblyn),
the skeptical heir to Hill House who intends to turn the place into a
night club. Since her traumatizing childhood, Nell had lived a sheltered
existence with her mother, but the recent death of the mother finds
Nell relegated to living with relatives who are none too thrilled to
have the family "crazy" foisted upon them, and it soon becomes quite
apparent that Nell's inclusion in the investigation was a bad idea.
She's skittish and rather unstable, plus she's suffering immense guilt
over her mother's death, so when the spooky stuff kicks off, Nell is the
perfect mark for the dread forces that rule Hill House. By the end, it
is quite clear that the house is utterly haunted, and that the evil
spirits want Nell to join them.
Along
with THE INNOCENTS, THE HAUNTING is considered one of the first of the
1960's wave of horror aimed squarely at grownup sensibilities, and its
slow burn and lack of sensationalistic set pieces go a long way in
cementing that perception. There's no gore or violence, and the emphasis
in on suspense and eerie mood. Julie Harris as Nell is memorable, and
she's clearly unstable from the get-go, so her mental state spirals down
the toilet as the narrative progresses.
And
Theodora is interesting because films of this era barely ever depicted
LGBTQ characters, and she is treated as arguably the coolest person out
of the group. She'd be a hoot to hang out with, but even with what's
pretty much a well-rounded depiction, she is met with suspicion and
verbal abuse over Theodora's status as "one of nature's mistakes." But
what the fuck does Nell know? Theo's cool, and that's that.
As
I have stated many times over the years, ghost/haunting stories are my
least favorite flavor of horror, but I enjoyed THE HAUNTING as the
landmark work that it is. Definitely one of the best haunting flicks
ever made, this is absolutely worth a look from ghost enthusiasts and
scholars of the important works of horror cinema.
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