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The Legend Of Hell House (1973)   Directed by John Hough   Based on the Richard Matheson novel Hell House, The Legend of Hell House is a classic haunted house story that knocks the spots off a lot of modern films.  Special effects in the film are minimal but a solid story like this one has little need of technical trickery to impress the viewer. Having said that, I suppose it is possible that those viewers who have grown up with a diet of CGI and other special effects may not find the film quite to their tastes. It is just a personal opinion, but I sometimes think that these days people are more concerned with the 'Wow!'  factor than with power of a story. If you were born during the seventies, or before though, the chances are that you will remember the days when the story was the important thing and should be able to appreciate The Legend of Hell House for the great film that it is. In its most basic The Legend of Hell House is the story of what happens when four people are thrown together and sent to investigate a haunted house. Clive Revill stars as Dr Lionel Barrett, a physicist and expert in parapsychology, who is hired by dying businessman Rudolph Deutsch to find him the definitive proof -- one way or the other -- of survival after death; and where better to find that proof than in the most haunted house in the world, The Belasco house, more commonly known as Hell House. Deutsch insists the doctor take two other people with him, both of them mediums. Florence Tanner, who is a mental medium and Benjamin Franklin Fischer, a physical medium and the only survivor of a previous investigation of the house. The fourth member of the group is there by Barrett's own choice: his wife Ann, played by Gayle Hunnicutt The plot of the film is fairly true to Matheson's book; a few scenes are missing, but nothing so crucial that it spoils anything. The only major difference I noticed between book and film is that in the book Barrett is a cripple and in the film he is not. The story does, I feel, work a little better with him as a cripple, but who am I to quibble? And viewers who have never read the book will not notice the difference anyway. My favourite characters in the film are Fischer and Tanner. I have always been a big fan of Roddy McDowall and he makes a very believable Fisher, remaining quiet and aloof for a lot of the film. He is still so shell-shocked by his previous visit to Hell House that he has closed himself off from the house completely and has erected a protective psychic barrier.  Initially it is the money that has brought Fischer back, but as the investigation progresses he strikes up a friendship with Tanner and eventually comes out of his protective shell and, as his anger towards the house grows; Fischer goes on the attack and becomes the real hero of the film.  Pamela Franklin, who plays Tanner, made he on screen debut, at just eleven-years-old, in the 1961 film The Innocents (based on Henry James' masterpiece The Turn of the Screw) so she was no stranger to horror films. Tanner is young and confident and very easy on the eye; it is her that the house seems to work on -- or perhaps through -- and she is present during  lot of the film's scariest scenes. It is tanner who is attacked by a black cat in her bedroom, Tanner who discovers the body bricked up in the cellar. She also attracts the attention of the dead Daniel Belasco who tells her that he cannot move on unless she shows him the love that he never knew in life and forces his incubus-like advances on her. And when the dining room becomes the centre of a poltergeist maelstrom, an injured Barrett, believes that Tanner is also responsible for that. Tanner though is convinced that the house is using Fischer's energy to power its activities. The ever calm Fischer, however, agrees with the professor and tells her, "You're the one who is being used, not me." The professor remains very much the man of science throughout the film and is, in his own way, as closed off as Fischer. He is also a man who appears to be more married to his work than to his wife, Ann, who tries to be supportive of his work, but is also a woman with needs of her own. Those needs are not being fulfilled and the house is quick to work on Ann's sexual frustrations. The sexual shadow play taking place on the bedroom ceiling proves a bit too much for her and when Ann turns to the bottle for solace she becomes under the influence of spirits in more ways than one. The house is out to destroy all of its guests and it has an awful lot of tricks up its sleeve. The biggest trick of all is only revealed at the end of the film and by then it is much too late for some members of the group. One of the things I like about this film is how creepy it feels and the choice of soundtrack probably has quite a lot to do with this, the incidental music works a treat. A dark and brooding atmosphere is maintained throughout the film and from the moment that Barrett and his team arrive at the house and stand gazing at up at it through the fog it is obvious that Hell House is not the sort of place anyone would choose to go if not for the rather large monetary incentive offered by Deutsch. As mentioned earlier in this review The Legend of Hell House is probably not the best choice for those who are dedicated seekers of the 'Wow!' , it will, however, always remain somewhere near the top of my own list of favourite horror films. To the best of my knowledge, it has never been remade, and if ever it is I am sure that a large injection of the CGI Wow! will be included somewhere in its makeup, but I have got to say that, for me, the film is wow enough already and some things are best left as they are. CAST  Pamela Franklin  ...  Florence Tanner  Roddy McDowall ...  Benjamin Franklin Fischer  Clive Revill ...  Dr. Lionel Barrett  Gayle Hunnicutt ...  Ann Barrett  Roland Culver ...  Rudolph Deutsch  Peter Bowles ...  Hanley   DVD Information: Run Time 94 mins Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Language English HOME