When I first heard about a sequel to the remake of House on Haunted Hill I was a bit skeptical about how a sequel would be presented. I didn’t really care much for the remake to say the least, but admired the concept it had as it related to the original film. Well what good about this direct to DVD sequel is that it does start off pretty much where the original left off.
Return to House on Haunted Hill starts off with a young women named Ariel Wolfe whom is the sister of the survivor of the first film Sara Wolfe. Ariel is told that Sara has committed suicide, however Ariel and Sara did not keep in touch because Ariel thought that Sara was crazy after spending the night in the” house”. However Sara had sent the diary of the mad doctor of the “house” to Ariel before her death, as many people were after it, as it holds the secret to a famous idol that can control the dead. The rumor is this idol is in the house and is what is controlling the spirits. When Arial is kidnapped by a money hungry group of treasure hunters she is bought to the house, and the group gets trapped in the place along with a college professor and his assistant, and the sprits of the house begin to pick them off one by one. Now Ariel and her friend Paul need to find a way out of the house before the house kills them all. But not until they find the idol first.
The script for the film is alright, it has a great premise and everything and I liked the way the film takes place pretty much right after the original film, however there were a few noticeable mistakes the film made in relation to the first film, but nothing that anyone who remembers the 1999 film, will remember. There was a lot of relation to the character of Sara and how she escaped the house, but we were never told how she got off the ledge of the house. The character development is not that bad, the script mainly focuses on Arial and the rest of the characters are not as developed as her; but still have enough development to relate to them. The plot I found does move faster than the original film did, but was not as detailed in story as the first film was. Where the first film had a lot of back story and mystery to it. This sequel is pretty straight forward with it’s story and is very easy to follow. Pretty much it’s one dimensional.
The acting is not half bad in this film. I found that it really depended on the scene weather or not the acting was good or not. I really enjoyed Amanda Righetti in the lead role as Ariel, her performance was pretty good. The rest of the cast was alright, and the performances were up and down depending on the character. Jeffery Combs although in a silent part for most of the film was perfect reprising his role as Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt. Combs is a very versatile actor and can take on any role and here is another role to add to his credit of greatness.
As far as the production value goes I honestly can say that I found everything about this film’s production value to be a hell of a lot better than the original remake. I think the fact that the budget was not as big as the first film played a big part in the look of the film. In the first film I found that they overused the CGI and visual effects to the point where the film lost it’s scares. The big black shadow ghost at the end is what ruined the first film for most people. In this film the CGI and visuals are not over done at all, and in fact the visuals look great in this film. The gore factor is not as high as you would think it is, but the kills are for the most part original, and do give the film that uneasiness and creepiness that it needs. Not to say that it’s really scary, but It does provide a few good scares.
Overall, I did enjoy this sequel a lot more than I did the original remake. It has an easy story to follow and the film comes off as another creepy Dark Castle film. It’s not the greatest film in the world, but it’s a pretty decent sequel to a film that I didn’t think would ever garnish one. If your in the mood for a decent ghost story and found the first film to be alright, I’m sure you’ll think this film is better if not just as good as the first. It’s a fun and scary ghost film with a few jumps and scares.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
