HORRORx52 (2020)

16. Based on a book
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After the pseudo-documentary opening (which I loved!) my interest plumeted when it seemed as if The Haunting was going to be another riveting ghost film with no ghosts to be seen and no scares to be had. It still turned out to be a ghost film with no ghosts to be seen but it sure wasn't without scares after a while! The door to the nursery standing open and seemingly leading into a dark abyss was a top tier visual and the constant use of the word "it" when referring to the ghost at least worked great on me because it made my mind wander to some places. Much more effective than the ghost being refereed to as a person as that just makes me think of a pale person moaning about some sad backstory that nobody cares about.

I also loved the character banter! I even liked that old-timey dudebro after a while! Most interesting among the cast however were the two female leads with their obvious romantic tensions that I feel was pretty much as explicit as they could be a for mainstream film from the 60's! I didn't care for the main character narrating things as they happened though, that just felt really out of place in a film that relies so much on "less is more"! And her relation to the old haunted house felt really tacked on and quite overcomplicated, something simpler I feel would be far more tense.

So yeah this was a pleasant surprise! A nice cast of characters and some proper ghost tension. I just wish it cut back on some of the narration and unneccesary backstory for the main heroine and the house, that would make this a far more enjoyable film for me atleast.