The Haunting

G

1963

1h 52m

Horror

List

87%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

82%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist with an interest in psychic phenomena, takes two specially selected women to Hill House, a reportedly haunted mansion. Eleanor (Julie Harris), a lonely, eccentric woman with a supernatural event in her past, and the bold Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has ESP, join John and the mansion's heir, cynical Luke (Russ Tamblyn). They are immediately overwhelmed by strange sounds and events, and Eleanor comes to believe the house is alive and speaking directly to her.

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Critics Consensus

Both psychological and supernatural, The Haunting is a chilling character study.

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

An elegantly sinister scare movie, literate and expensive (though basically a traditional ghost story), with those two fine actresses Claire Bloom and Julie Harris.

Jul 6, 2022

Full Review

Ian Freer

Empire Magazine

Wise brilliantly uses black and white widescreen to strand his characters in odd-shaped rooms or corridors, making the watcher's eye skitter frantically over the letterbox screen to catch every ingeniously rendered detail.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 8, 2020

Full Review

James Powers

Hollywood Reporter

When The Haunting digs into the internals of its story, summons its spirits and lets them play havoc with cold reason, it has a power and fervor unmatched by any film ghost stories.

Nov 2, 2018

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Wise's use of the camera is vital to creating a sense of tension and atmosphere; it's practically its own character. Meanwhile, Theo is a vital LGBT character in horror history: an out woman in a 60s film is a true rarity.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 1, 2023

Full Review

Samantha Allen

them.

Dripping with queer subtext, this 1963 adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is a master class in reading between the lines.

Oct 27, 2022

Full Review

David Reddish

Queerty

The Haunting endures as a horror classic, albeit one that doesnt quite the credit it deserves as an unusual queer love story. Heres a movie both scary and romantic as Hell.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 20, 2022

Full Review

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babarizam D

Film doesnt follow its own plot apart from one point where one character mentioned geometric flaws in construction of the place. Movie did one good job to create fear. Apart from Doctor, none of them was qualified for the job and even at the end of the movie, doctor declared place is haunted without an emperical data to support. Lead character was traumatised and found psychological relief in that place. She had no other place where she could relate to so she wants to stay. I think director was fascinated by hitchcooks work

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/12/24

Full Review

Sadie M

- Hot doc - Queercoding - The kind of acting that you can't decide whether it's good or bad Everything a person could ask for in an old movie (especially of the horror variety).

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/25/24

Full Review

g j

A fairly stuffy and dull affair, albeit one with great camera work and one or two iconic set-pieces.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/24

Full Review

Tim O

One of the scariest, pure-suspense - no monsters, no gore, no actual visible ghosts - just actors, sets, and very effective sound effects & score. A definite fave.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/18/23

Full Review

Joseph D

I saw the remake first, & yeah, this one was way better! So much atmosphere, doing so much with so little! It's a classic!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/06/23

Full Review

Tamara K

One of my favorite horror movies. It proves you don't have to see any boogeymen to be terrified.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/21/23

Full Review

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Robert Wise

Director

Julie Harris

Eleanor "Nell" Lance

Claire Bloom

Theodora "Theo"

Richard Johnson

Dr. John Markway

Russ Tamblyn

Luke Sanderson

Lois Maxwell

Grace Markway

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Synopsis

Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist with an interest in psychic phenomena, takes two specially selected women to Hill House, a reportedly haunted mansion. Eleanor (Julie Harris), a lonely, eccentric woman with a supernatural event in her past, and the bold Theodora (Claire Bloom), who has ESP, join John and the mansion's heir, cynical Luke (Russ Tamblyn). They are immediately overwhelmed by strange sounds and events, and Eleanor comes to believe the house is alive and speaking directly to her.

Director: Robert Wise
Producer: Robert Wise
Screenwriter: Nelson Gidding
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures International
Rating: G
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 52m

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