The Haunting (Wise, 1963): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 8.30pm
This classic supernatural chiller has an atmosphere and feeling of dread and evil that is hard to shake. Guy Lodge sums that up well for his feature on the film for the Guardian here. The film also screens at BFI Southbank on May 21st with an introduction by writer, lecturer and producer Mo Moshaty.
Time Out review:
Often overwrought in its performances, this adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House
- a group of people gather in a large old house to determine whether or
not a poltergeist is the source of rumours that it is haunted - still
manages to produce its fair share of frissons. What makes the film so
effective is not so much the slightly sinister characterisation of the
generally neurotic group, but the fact that Robert Wise makes the house itself
the central character, a beautifully designed and highly atmospheric
entity which, despite the often annoyingly angled camerawork, becomes
genuinely frightening. At its best, the film is a pleasing reminder that
Wise served his apprenticeship under Val Lewton at RKO.
Geoff Andrew
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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