The Haunting (1963)

over the next few weeks, i'll write reviews of the top 11 horror movies in no particular order and cheekily insert some amazon links too, considerin the site has gotten the green light for the affiliate programme. make no mistake fellas, this is MY list and the wolf does not watch scream nor gruntin zombies, nor the rest of them pseudo-scary thrillers which do well at the box-office because of an a-list hollywood cast and funky CGI. we're talkin sharp story-tellin, good pace, appropriate texture and well-shot films which suggest the fear, not bleedin poke it in your face and go "boo, i'm scary! be scared now! hello? leave the popcorn for a while will you?".

it must be a sign of the times, that most of the world have to suffer appallin remakes before ever watchin the originals. havin first seen that horrible 1999 thrash remake with catherine zeta-jones and owen wilson, i condemn that even more now after seein this.

this is definitely one of the scariest movies that i know. nothin explicitly supernatural is shown, which is just the way i like it. it's black and white with some amazingly beautiful wide angle shots. you can always tell a well-made movie if each frame could be made into a paintin. screenplay aside, the film has a great cast and the story dwells on the psychology of the troubled woman and narratives through the voice in her head.

synopsis: a haunted house is investigated by an enthusiastic professor, helped by a poncy skeptical lad and two other lasses. one of the lasses will prove to be the key to the story.

cast: this dude richard johnson with the tache is really good and the problematic lass is played convincingly by julie harris but my eyes were fixated on claire bloom. damn it why don't 60's chicks exist today. just look at her here. there's a beast in this woman, you can just tell.

most memorable line: when that fuckin succubus of a housekeeper said "No one could. No one lives any nearer than town. No one will come any nearer than that. In the night. In the dark." fuck those eyes.

best scene: well i won't spoil it for you then, but one scene was with a bendin door and the other wonderful scene is when she's standin at the balcony lookin up when suddenly... aha well get the dvd.

wolf trivia: this was based on a best-sellin novel. also, i noticed that there's a line in which the professor says "look, i know the supernatural is something that isn't supposed to happen but it does happen." i remember now that this is the openin for a white zombie song.

paws up: excellent actin, wonderful screenplay, correct pace and very engagin.

paws down: perhaps the characters could be more fully-written, especially the young man. and well i wouldn't half mind it if theo was a bit more scantily-clad.

wolf rating: 7/10

ciao.

p/s now is the time to flood me with your suggestions before i make the 11.
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Word Of The Wolf today is supernatural

adjective.
1. Of or relating to existence outside the natural world.
2. Attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural forces.
3. Of or relating to a deity.
4. Of or relating to the immediate exercise of divine power; miraculous.
5. Of or relating to the miraculous.

"When people believed the earth was flat, the idea of a round world scared them silly. Then they found out how the round world works. It's the same with the world of the supernatural. Until we know how it works, we'll continue to carry around this unnecessary burden of fear."

-Dr. John Markway in The Haunting (1963) directed by Robert Wise

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin super + naturalis, from natura, nature.]