The Haunting (DVD, 2003)

This is the finest horror film ever, based on the finest horror novel ever. If you are a fan of blood and gore, superfluous sex and idiotic behavior, you will hate this story. But if you love great horror without gore and sex, this is you story. Suspenseful, wonderfully paced and it literally pulls you into the action. There is not even a monster, creature or ghost appearing onstage. This is the old fashioned "OH MY GOD!!" horror, when plot and characters were still important.

i bought this DVD because I love horror films, and this one in particular because it is a classic, the essence of the film is the story, something that has seemingly become lost in the modern day obsession with eye-candy, this one still scares on the merit of the story, not the dazzle.

Someone once asked Stephen King what was HIS favorite horror movie? And without hesitation he said.... It has to be "The Haunting" That movie gives me the creeps....And I had to agree because....I remember sitting in a dark movie house watching this amazing movie unfold on screen. I was mesmerized and to this day this movie can still deliver the same goose bumps and prickly hair on the nape of your neck. It's not what you see...It's what you don't see...What is lurking in this old, dark house that wants to evade your dreams. When Eleanor is trying so hard to keep quiet while listening to the abominations emanating from the very walls of this monstrous house....while Theo is seemingly crushing her hand in fear, as they tremble in the dark... and suddenly the lights are on and you see that Theo is way on the other side of the room huddled in her bed and hanging in mid air is Eleanor's tortured hand still gripping..WHAT...OH MY GOD...WHO'S HAND WAS I HOLDING!? After all....don't you want to know what you've touched?..........

quite possibly the best horror movie ever!! i love this movie.... i wanted to add this to my collection of horror movies, then i found it on ebay, without even leaving the house... unlike the horror movies of today, there is absolutely no blood or gore, very few effects... just what a haunted house might actually look like.. believe me, it is hard to watch with the lights out (alone)... would like to see more movies like this...

The idea that a house is evil is the basic element of the plot.This is a classic psychological thriller movie. It builds slowly and inexorably with tensions. The camera is a character a much as the actors. The shots full of angles and tilts are beautifully composed for type of hysterical distortion being presented. The cutting is designed for shock effect, especially in the library scene and the final car escape. The denouement is sudden and logical on a number of levels.