Jason versus The Legend of Hell House

Along with Robert Wise's The Haunting, this is the granddaddy of haunted house movies; a creepy and atmospheric scare flick that ranks up there with the classics.

A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic and the only survivor of the previous visit are sent to the notorious Hell House to prove/disprove survival after death. Previous visitors have either been killed or gone mad, and it is up to the team to survive a full week in isolation, and solve the mystery of the Hell House.

First off, this movie has multiple shorts shitting moments, and that's without adjusting for inflation given that this mofo was made in 1973. That's right, The Legend of Hell House is one year younger than I am and it's scarier than me. Wanna fight about it!?!?

What's awesome is that Hell House achieves its scares through atmosphere, camera and sound effects, and editing. There was no CGI in 1973, so director John Hough and screenwriter Richard Matheson -- adapting from his own novel -- had to do things the old fashioned way, and it's so refreshing to watch. This movie is scary and gets under your skin. Can't say that about most of the shit that comes out these days.

Great cast too. Roddy McDowall owns in this pre-Fright Night performance. Pamela Franklin and Clive Revill bring intensity to their roles. And Gayle Hunnicutt . . . all I can say is rrowwwrr! Nicely done!

I was hungry for an old-school horror movie and The Legend of Hell House delivered. This is a scary haunted house flick for the ages, and one worth watching again and again. A Good from me.

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