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Millionaire Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) holds an all-night party in the supposedly haunted house cared for by jittery Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook Jr), in William Castle’s classic gimmicky schlocker. The poster for the film included an illustration of a house in yet a third style, that of a fanciful four-story Romanesque structure. The exterior and interior of the house have been used in multiple film and TV productions. In 1959 the exterior was featured in House on Haunted Hill starring Vincent Price. The 1975 production of Day of the Locust also used the location as a private residence. The house became legendary as the inspiration for the apartment of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner.
A 12-Stop Road Trip of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Most Surprising Designs
Price pulls a gun on the guests, demanding to know who killed his wife. Eddie knocks him out and they lock Price in the "Saturation Chamber", an archaic zoetrope device that Vannacutt used to treat schizophrenics. When the others leave, he turns the chamber on, leaving Price to be tortured by the moving images and ghostly hallucinations, resulting in a seizure. In Vannacutt's office, Sara and Eddie find a portrait of the hospital's head staff and realize that the party guests are descendants of the five survivors of the 1931 fire.
Storyline
It’s always fun to imagine living inside of an iconic horror movie house, which is why we always like to report on such locations going up for grabs. The latest, brought to our attention by Variety, is the mansion from William Castle’s original House on Haunted Hill, which was actually also featured in Blade Runner. As The Darkness prepares to assimilate Eddie, he reveals that he is adopted and not a true descendant of the original staff. The Darkness is distracted by Pritchett long enough for Eddie to escape.
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Recent renovations have stabilized the building and it remains a private residence rarely open to the public. The 6,000 square foot house, with four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, is located in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood, and it was built in 1924 by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. The house is highly unique both inside and out, with the exterior being featured in House on Haunted Hill and the interior playing the role of Deckard’s apartment in Blade Runner. All three deleted scenes from the film were included on the 2000 Warner Bros.
Frederick is convinced Annabelle tried to poison him to acquire his wealth, which Annabelle somewhat evasively denies, attributing his suspicions to paranoia and jealousy. Watson believes the house is genuinely haunted by the ghosts of those murdered there, including his own brother; he claims to have spent one night there before and "was almost dead" when found the next morning. He gives a tour of the house, including a vat of acid in the basement, which a previous resident used to kill his wife. When Lance and Nora remain behind to further explore the basement, Lance is locked in an empty room and struck on the head, while a menacing ghost confronts Nora.
In 2007, the film was followed up with a direct-to-DVD sequel, Return to House on Haunted Hill, with Jeffrey Combs reprising his role as Vannacut and was released in both rated and unrated editions. Producer and director Castle was known for adding extra “special effects” to his B-film productions. Among these were buzzers hidden beneath moviegoers’ seats and a countdown clock reporting the time that remained for viewers to exit the theatre before viewing the frightening climax of the film. Castle’s gimmick for House on Haunted Hill was “Emergo,” a fake skeleton that flew over the audience on a wire at a key moment during the film, engendering as many laughs from the audience as screams of fright.
Audience Reviews
Warner Home Video released the film on DVD as a tie-in to the release of the 1999 remake. The color version was released on DVD the same year by 20th Century Fox. Extras prepared by Legend Films for the Fox DVD release included an audio commentary track by comedian Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000, two versions of the trailer, and a slideshow of images from the film's original press book. If you’ve ever seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Day of the Locust, or Blade Runner, then you’ve also seen the Ennis House. In the films, the property is used to depict a vampire mansion, a private residence, and an apartment building respectively.
A Christmas Story House and Museum
In 2007, the film was followed by a direct-to-DVD sequel, Return to House on Haunted Hill, which was released in both rated and unrated editions. Aroused by the ghostly sounds, David concludes that the killer is about and proposes he and Frederick split up to search the house. Lance uncovers a secret room at the end of the second-floor hall, but the door shuts behind him once he enters, trapping him. David instead meets with Annabelle, who had faked her death using a hanging harness and sedatives.
Pritchett's ghost and The Darkness fade away as Sara and Eddie watch the sun rise. They find an envelope on a ledge, containing all five checks, made out to cash. They are relieved to have escaped and won the money but are stuck on the roof of the house, unsure of how to get down. The shape-shifting creature, composed of the spirits in the house, consumes Evelyn, killing her and adding her spirit to its mass. Shortly after, Pritchett is also killed by The Darkness, allowing Price to flee.
Price tells Sara and Eddie that the only escape is through the attic. Price opens a window in the attic, then sacrifices himself to give the others time to escape. The Ennis House is an architectural gem and favorite location for film and TV production.
House on Haunted Hill marked the producing debut of Dark Castle Entertainment, a production company that went on to produce numerous other horror films, including additional remakes. The film was remade as the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill, which had a 2007 sequel titled Return to House on Haunted Hill. The 1999 film was released to negative reviews but was a box office success, while the 2007 sequel was direct-to-video and widely panned.
“In just a minute, I’ll show you the only really haunted house in the world,” Watson Pritchard, played by Elisha Cook Jr., says in the movie. Frederick Loren, an eccentric millionaire, invites five people to a party he is throwing for his fourth wife, Annabelle, in an allegedly haunted house he has rented. He promises to give each guest $10,000 with the stipulation that they stay the entire night in the house after the doors are locked at midnight, all the windows are barred, and there are no phones or radios to use. The guests are test pilot Lance Schroeder, newspaper columnist Ruth Bridges, psychiatrist Dr. David Trent, who specializes in hysteria, Nora Manning, who works for one of Loren's companies, and the house's owner, Watson Pritchard. All are strangers to both the Lorens and each other, their only commonality being their lust for money.
House on Haunted Hill, American horror film, released in 1959, that was produced and directed by popular B-filmmaker William Castle, who was known for his theatre gimmicks. Pictures supplied promotional scratchcards to cinemas showing the film, offering ticket buyers a chance to win a money prize, similar to the movie's characters. The film received negative reviews from critics, but was a commercial success, opening number one at the box office, and grossed $43 million worldwide.
House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American supernatural horror film directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, and Chris Kattan. The plot follows a group of strangers who are invited to a party at an abandoned insane asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an amusement park mogul if they are able to survive the night. Produced by Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver, it is a remake of the 1959 film of the same title directed by William Castle, and features special effects by famed make-up artists Gregory Nicotero and Dick Smith.
After Nora, Watson, and Ruth release Lance from the secret room, Nora tells them that she shot Frederick. When they arrive in the cellar, Frederick explains that he loaded her gun with blanks, that his wife and David plotted to kill him, and that they both met their ends in the vat of acid. He says he is ready for justice to decide if he's innocent or guilty. Watson remains convinced the house is haunted, with David and Annabelle now added to its ranks of ghosts, and that he will be the next victim.
Vincent Price played Frederick Loren, an eccentric millionaire who rents a reportedly haunted mansion for one night under the pretense of hosting a party for his wife, Annabelle, whom he believes to be after his fortune. He explains to his guests that any among them who survives in the house for one night—during which all communication with the outside world will be cut—will receive a prize of $10,000. Each is presented with a pistol in order to fend off the house’s ghosts. Annabelle warns the guests that she fears Loren means her harm and meanwhile plots with her lover, Dr. Trent, to trick one of the guests into shooting him. Assorted terrors haunt the guests at every turn, including ghosts, a severed head, and Annabelle’s (later revealed to be faked) death.
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