House on Haunted Hill (1999)
- written June 2005
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Steven Price loves scary places and exciting rides. But one night he's planned will be killer. He figures the best way to start his new enterprise is to take a large mansion and as a publicity stunt, offer each of 6 contestants $1 million to anyone who stays the night and wakes up alive. But his original list is lost on the computer and an unknown force creates a list for him. One of these is Price's estranged wife, Evelyn. Once there and all the scary stuff all set-up, the house begins the nights adventures without permission. Despite all Price does, his guests have their own agendas and even they must figure out ways to survive. But one by one, people begin to disappear and their connections to the house begun to come to light. But the house, once home to a fiery disaster taking the lives of more than a hundred mental patients, comes to life and finds a way to end everyone else's.
Overall: The film is fairly inconsistent. During the beginning, the ghost of the deceased doctor starts the slaughter but by the end the doctor has vanished and the house's energy does the killing. The story is based on a 1958 film but even still, the way the people are brought there is too fantastic and unrealistic to even make sense. Decent cast includes Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine) but this film may turn out to be the end of his career, as "Last of the Mohicans" ended Daniel Day-Lewis' career. The films is definitely not a must-see. Comparison: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire meets Amityville Horror |
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