This 1958 film, now released to coincide with the theatrical release of its big screen ,big budget remake, is nothing but pure camp, and that’s meant as a good thing, at least to some degree. Following the same essential plot line as the remake (a bunch of people try to spend the night in a haunted building for cash), this one is decidedly more talky than the 1999 version and features many more moments of characters sitting around and just yaking than actual scares.
From the opening exposition-filled moments where we see the characters’ heads as information about them is provided via voice-over narration, to most of the acting, directorial touch and overall feel, the film obviously wasn’t originally intended to be taken as a "serious" horror film (we hope), and these many years later exudes a quaint, but quite obviously campy feel to it.
Whereas the remake is designed for more unnerving and "realistic" scares, this one plays out like a trip through those old traveling haunted house exhibits that used to frequent state fairs. As such, the "scary" material looks fake and theatrically staged, and is more designed to elicit nervous giggles than any truly actual frightening moments.
That’s because the original was directed by the late William Castle, the industry’s last real notable showman, who had a knack for goosing the moviegoer with staged gimmicks during the showing of his films. His best known was the wiring of theater seats with low voltage electricity for his film, "The Tingler," that thus insured to add a little more jump to its "jump from your seat" moments.
His version of this story included a process known as "emergo" where skeletons would literally zip across the heads of audiences during key scenes. Whether he fashioned the lead character, played by horror veteran Vincent Price ("The Fly") after himself isn’t entirely clear, but by having him also being a master manipulator character certainly makes one see the comparison.
Beyond Price and character actor Elisha Wood, the film is filled with a cast of performers who never went on to any considerable fame, but it’s obvious that this film -- what with its campy performances -- wouldn’t have been their ticket to stardom anyway.
Fun enough to watch if you don’t expect much and take it on its own level and thus only for what it’s trying to achieve, this more "family friendly" version of the story (as compared to the R-rated and violently gory remake) might be "entertaining" for those who somewhat like horror films, but don’t like being scared to death.
As far the film’s presentation on DVD, the black and white image is decent, but certainly not outstanding, and the flat monaural sound mix isn’t any better than what one would expect from watching a VHS or TV broadcast of the title. A lone theatrical trailer makes up the films’s supplemental material.
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