#18 - House on Haunted Hill (1999)
During the first half or so of this movie, I was all set to write something about how it is unfairly maligned and actually holds up pretty well when compared to the 1959 original, but then the rest of the movie happened and I realized why people hate this version. It starts off as a pretty strong update with the same basic premise, but where the original relied on subtlety and plot development, this one just vomits CGI effects and loud noises at you, and the last 30-40 minutes are just a blur of nonsense and "scary" imagery.
That's not to say that there isn't anything worthwhile here - the opening scenes at the amusement park are great, and Geoffrey Rush works pretty well as a stand-in for Vincent Price. The decision to change the house to an old insane asylum wasn't necessarily a bad one, nor was it a bad idea to go in a different directions and make the story overtly supernatural. However, these new elements are handled really poorly, and it gets so stupid by the end that it's hard to believe anyone thought it was a good idea to even make this film.
Even the poster kinda sucks. "Six strangers have the chance to make $1,000,000 each..." Actually, it's five strangers who are there for the money, and there are seven people total in the house counting Price and his wife, so I'm not sure where they got six from. Also, "Evil loves to party" is a horrible tagline. I'm pretty sure the poster designer didn't actually watch this movie, which was probably a smart move.
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