In the spirit of the season, I think it's time to start up another horror thread (you can never have too many, yanno). Vampires have definitely been covered, as have werewolves, and although I haven't checked, I'd bet there's a zombie thread around here somewhere too. But according to my search results, there hasn't been a discussion of favorite ghost/haunted house movies.
So what are some of your favorites? Of course for me, my favorite ghost film is also my favorite horror movie:
The Haunting (1963)
I have a full review here, but here's an excerpt to whet your appetite for this gem:
I'll post others later, but for now I'll leave it up to you guys to list/discuss some of your favorites of this sub-genre.
So what are some of your favorites? Of course for me, my favorite ghost film is also my favorite horror movie:
The Haunting (1963)
I have a full review here, but here's an excerpt to whet your appetite for this gem:
I like the way the film works on several levels. First, the fact that the house is, indeed haunted, but there is also the psychological aspect: Eleanor has a seemingly fragile psyche, and needs desperately to belong. She not only falls under the spell of the house, but also that of Dr. Markway, who unintentionally leads her on.
The character of Theo, the psychic, is an interesting one as well. I have always wondered how much of the way in which her lesbianism is subtly introduced was the idea of the director to begin with, and how much of it was due to the convention of the times. It's very entertaining to watch Theo come on pretty strongly to Eleanor, only to be rebuffed, and then watch her reaction when Eleanor displays her obvious attraction to Dr. Markway.
The character of Theo, the psychic, is an interesting one as well. I have always wondered how much of the way in which her lesbianism is subtly introduced was the idea of the director to begin with, and how much of it was due to the convention of the times. It's very entertaining to watch Theo come on pretty strongly to Eleanor, only to be rebuffed, and then watch her reaction when Eleanor displays her obvious attraction to Dr. Markway.