I can't think of any truly good haunted house films that have come from Hollywood in recent years. There was that absolutely horrid 13 Ghost movie that was a remake of a film that wasn't any good in the first place. There was also The Haunting, which was a remake of a film that was based on a book by Shirley Jackson. The original film was an excellent exercise in suspense and spookiness; the remake was just another excuse to blast us away with some over the top special effects. I guess you can call the recent Haunted Mansion a haunted house movie even if it is based on a ride. I haven't seen that film yet, but since the film starred Eddie Murphy we know it was played strictly for laughs even if there might not be any in it. Then there's this film, The Uninvited, which I have read was the first serious attempt by Hollywood to tell a straight forward haunted house story. If this was truly a first serious effort in the genre, it's a darn good one.
While vacationing on the English coast, Roderick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) come across a long abandoned mansion. When their dog chases a squirrel into the house, they enter the house themselves to retrieve the dog and save the squirrel. After exploring the dwelling, they fall immediately in love with the house and decide to try and purchase it. The owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) is only too happy to sell in order to provide a nest egg for his granddaughter Stella Meredith (Gail Russell) and because previous tenants had spread rumors about the house being haunted by the Commander's deceased daughter, Mary Meredith, who met an untimely death by taking an unscheduled dive off a nearby cliff. You know without me telling you that the haunted house rumors aren't rumors at all as Roderick and Pamela soon find out for themselves after moving into the home. Why the house is haunted, and by whom is yours to gleefully discover as the film slowly unravels the secrets hidden within the walls of the house.
There is no doubt that The Uninvited is a talky film. There are many conversations that take place but most are not here just as screen filler. Each conversation seems to unlock a part of the mystery. All this is complicated by an added love story as Roderick begins falling for the young Stella, who is drawn to the house by the ghost of her dead mother who may or may not have good intentions. The film is in black and white, but if ever there was a reason for black and white films The Uninvited tells us why. The stark cinematography by Charles Lang perfectly captures the eeriness of the house to perfection, especially in the dimly lit night scenes which are lit only by flickering candles. Candles flicker when they shouldn't; the house is filled at night by the uncontrollable sobbing echoes of an unseen entity. A flower inexplicably wilts in a matter of seconds. Anyone who enters the studio where Stella's father painted her mother is overcome by a huge sense of dread and depression. Pets refuse to go up the steps. While playing a love song for Stella on the piano the music Rod is playing turns haunting and surreal. This is great stuff folks, told with mysterious atmosphere and a continual sense of foreboding that edges slowly toward its climactic ending. Not one single headless rotting guts hanging out corpse makes an appearance. Yes we do see the ghosts, but by using the simplest of special effects, they are more realistic and haunting than any amount of CGI could ever hope to duplicate. To top it all off, we are treated to what I consider to be is of the best séance sequences I've seen in any film.
A film like The Uninvited will probably not appeal to many of today's youthful film watchers. Things like subtlety and atmosphere are too foreign to those waiting for the next special effects extravaganza to hit the big screen. For a serious film viewer, who wants to see what a true haunted house film should be, The Uninvited is a must see. It's a genuine puzzling mystery film that will leave you guessing and a truly chilling ghost story with just enough romance and a few light comedic touches thrown in to top things off. And if a film can combine all of these elements together as well as this The Uninvited does, I have no choice but to give it my grade of an A.
So how does one see The Uninvited? The last time I saw it was quite a few years ago when it ran on American Movie Classics before that network became just another network selling soap, deodorant and tampons. I also had the foresight to tape it that night. It is supposedly available on Vhs but not on DVD so you may find it somewhere in that format. Other than that, one can hope it pops up on Turner or some other cable network.
While vacationing on the English coast, Roderick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) come across a long abandoned mansion. When their dog chases a squirrel into the house, they enter the house themselves to retrieve the dog and save the squirrel. After exploring the dwelling, they fall immediately in love with the house and decide to try and purchase it. The owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) is only too happy to sell in order to provide a nest egg for his granddaughter Stella Meredith (Gail Russell) and because previous tenants had spread rumors about the house being haunted by the Commander's deceased daughter, Mary Meredith, who met an untimely death by taking an unscheduled dive off a nearby cliff. You know without me telling you that the haunted house rumors aren't rumors at all as Roderick and Pamela soon find out for themselves after moving into the home. Why the house is haunted, and by whom is yours to gleefully discover as the film slowly unravels the secrets hidden within the walls of the house.
There is no doubt that The Uninvited is a talky film. There are many conversations that take place but most are not here just as screen filler. Each conversation seems to unlock a part of the mystery. All this is complicated by an added love story as Roderick begins falling for the young Stella, who is drawn to the house by the ghost of her dead mother who may or may not have good intentions. The film is in black and white, but if ever there was a reason for black and white films The Uninvited tells us why. The stark cinematography by Charles Lang perfectly captures the eeriness of the house to perfection, especially in the dimly lit night scenes which are lit only by flickering candles. Candles flicker when they shouldn't; the house is filled at night by the uncontrollable sobbing echoes of an unseen entity. A flower inexplicably wilts in a matter of seconds. Anyone who enters the studio where Stella's father painted her mother is overcome by a huge sense of dread and depression. Pets refuse to go up the steps. While playing a love song for Stella on the piano the music Rod is playing turns haunting and surreal. This is great stuff folks, told with mysterious atmosphere and a continual sense of foreboding that edges slowly toward its climactic ending. Not one single headless rotting guts hanging out corpse makes an appearance. Yes we do see the ghosts, but by using the simplest of special effects, they are more realistic and haunting than any amount of CGI could ever hope to duplicate. To top it all off, we are treated to what I consider to be is of the best séance sequences I've seen in any film.
A film like The Uninvited will probably not appeal to many of today's youthful film watchers. Things like subtlety and atmosphere are too foreign to those waiting for the next special effects extravaganza to hit the big screen. For a serious film viewer, who wants to see what a true haunted house film should be, The Uninvited is a must see. It's a genuine puzzling mystery film that will leave you guessing and a truly chilling ghost story with just enough romance and a few light comedic touches thrown in to top things off. And if a film can combine all of these elements together as well as this The Uninvited does, I have no choice but to give it my grade of an A.
So how does one see The Uninvited? The last time I saw it was quite a few years ago when it ran on American Movie Classics before that network became just another network selling soap, deodorant and tampons. I also had the foresight to tape it that night. It is supposedly available on Vhs but not on DVD so you may find it somewhere in that format. Other than that, one can hope it pops up on Turner or some other cable network.