Director: Víctor García
Writer: William Massa
Tagline: [None]
Actors: Amanda Righetti, Cerina Vincent, Erik Palladino, Tom Riley, Andrew Lee Potts Jeffrey Combs, Steven Pacey, Clyta Rainford, Gil Kolirin, Andrew Pleavin, Chucky Venice
Runtime: 1h 21m
Category: Ghost, Sanitarium, Supernatural
Synopsis: Set about eight years after the events of the first film, Sara Wolfe’s sister Ariel is investigating her alleged suicide. She and her boyfriend Paul meet Richard who is a professor at the university and an unofficial expert on the Hill House. He tells Ariel that Sara had been contacting him because he was the only one who would believe her story. Back at their apartment, Ariel and Paul get kidnapped by Desmond; a former student of Richard’s who has, for lack of a better analogy, “turned to the dark side”. He takes them to the Hill House along with his entire entourage, followed by Richard, his girlfriend, and his assistant. While inside, the group experiences things that cannot be explained, and Desmond’s team is dwindling quickly. Now they all have to work together to get out alive or become just another of the victims of The House on Haunted Hill.
Review: I actually had no idea that a sequel to the remake was even in production. When I finally heard that it was being released I was ecstatic! I loved the original too, but the 1999 version is so much scarier. I would rate House on Haunted Hill (1999) in my top five scariest movies of all time…thus far. I know I may get some crap for that statement but guess what…I…don’t…care. Bring it on!
The story was unfortunately one of the weakest parts of the film. It’s not that it had plot holes or had a horribly predictable ending or even inconsistencies, even though it did, it’s more to the fact that they made it just like every other movie out there; some evil force emanating from some ancient statue that brings out the evil in mankind. That seems really familiar actually…didn’t they do that in The Lord of the Rings stories like forty-some-odd years ago, only with a ring? Yeah, they did! That’s what bothers me about the story; the fact that the ’99 version called for a house that was just evil…period. Not held captive by an evil statue trapping the souls inside for all eternity. The house was just evil…leave it that way!
The acting was not as bad as I had anticipated. I really like Erik Palladino’s acting and his ability to bring the average “smart-ass” to any character. I could have done without Miss Vincent; she just doesn’t do anything for me. But overall I thought the acting was actually pretty good for a B-quel. This was definitely not what I was expecting.
The effects and gore were almost up to par with its predecessor. They kept a lot of the same effects as the ’99 version, including gore and SFX. I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of gore in this movie. Not a lot of remakes can boast just as much gore as the first and not be lying. This one didn’t. This film took subtlety and threw it out the window. The gore is in-your-face, almost non-stop beauty that will leave you with a big smile on your face. Only us hard-core horror enthusiasts can call gore beautiful…it’s a gift to be able to see the beauty in death. As far as the effects go, I was happy to see a lot of the same effects from the first one. This kind of continuity is very important in making a good sequel, even if it’s straight-to-DVD.
Rating: Calling a spade a spade is a lot more black and white than rating this movie. Taking into account the poor story, but on the other side of the coin taking into account the wonderful gore and consistent effects, it’s a bit difficult to know where to begin. There was one little thing that made my day when I watched this movie, it was the scene where they all walk into the main hall and Richard’s assistant finds broken glass on the table…broken glass from the first film when the ceiling collapsed. That kind of consistency it unheard of in the wide world of B-quels. So, now that I’ve accounted for almost everything, (gotta leave some kind of margin for error) I think I would have to rate this movie a…21. (21of25).
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