In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Friday, 23 January 2015

The Legend of Hell House (1973)

Ignore the misleading poster art. It’s a classic British-made haunted house story that relies on atmosphere and dust, not blood and gore. It’s the usual setup: a small group of people, among them a parapsychologist and a medium or two, enter a haunted house to search for evidence of ghostly activity. What’s unusual is the stylistic framing and the very eerie audio that when paired with some fine performances from the small cast help it exceed its failings in other areas. The story, adapted to screen by Richard Matheson from his own book Hell House (1971), takes a few odd turns that will divide viewer opinion, but they add to the strangeness of it all.

4 residuals out of 5

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