>>>Watch HEINEKEN TOM, legendary traveler<<<
Even though this is a far from perfect movie I still really do believe that lots of modern horror flicks could really learn from this one!
This movie does certain things really. So, basically here we have yet another haunted house flick but with as a big difference that this one actually works out pleasantly and even somewhat original. It's all due to the way how the movie is handling its horror. You could say that this movie is a poor man's "The Haunting" (I'm talking about the 1963 movie version of course) but it at least seems to understand what made "The Haunting" such a great movie and incorporates lots of the elements from that movie successfully into this one.
One of the things that it does well is handling the buildup. It's very slow (without becoming boring) and lots of scenes feel stretched out but there is always a payoff. Sometimes the movie is being subtle, at others it features more flat-out scare moments. There is a pretty good balance, that provides the movie with an almost constantly present creepy atmosphere and great sense of mystery. It besides also ensures that the movie has plenty of surprising moments in it. The movie can get pretty creative at times with its horror, without ever turning into a generic gory and bloody flick.
Another thing modern genre movies should take from this movie is that you don't necessarily need to feature a bunch of partying and naive teens. This movie mostly has a bunch of 30-40 year olds in it (and some younger ones) which makes the movie so much more engaging to watch and besides actually adds to the movie its horror. It's far more realistic to see a bunch of seasoned adults responding to- and dealing with a bunch of weird and scary stuff.
And yes, there is a whole lot of weird and scary stuff happening in this movie! It's basically about a house messing with a bunch of people and I mean really messing. Rather than just killing everyone at once, the house decides to have some fun instead. Like I said, the movie gets pretty creative at times, making sure that this remains a pretty good and enjoyable little genre movie, all throughout.
The movie also has some pretty good special effects in it, especially when considering that this is an 1978 movie, that probably didn't had a whole lot of money to spend.
It seriously is one of the better and more original haunted house flicks that I have seen in a long time.
7/10
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