Few horror films are as rich in content, craftsmanship and subtext as "The Haunting" (the 1963 original version, that is). Last night's CineVerse foray into the macabre, and the last of our Shocktober Theater series, proved to be an insightful one. Here is what we learned from this flick:
HOW IS “THE HAUNTING” DIFFERENT AND DISTINCTIVE FROM
OTHER HORROR FILMS, ESPECIALLY MOVIES OF THIS TIME PERIOD IN THE EARLY 1960s?
·
It’s a movie that relies on psychological
subtext and suggestion instead of monster/ghost manifestation: it’s what we don’t
see that scares us the most in this film, as opposed to showing horrifying
monster makeup and special effects.
o This
is in keeping with the Val Lewton formula for horror; director Robert Wise was
part of the Lewton horror unit at RKO in the 1940s, and he learned how to
exploit the audiences’ fears of the unknown and show less rather than more.
·
Nearly everything in the film can be explained
as a figment of Eleanor’s unhinged imagination; we’re not shown any concrete
proof of ghosts or hauntings here, although the scene with the booming sound
and bulging door definitely suggests the supernatural. Keep in mind, however,
that the film is told through Eleanor’s disturbed point of view, so we could be
seeing and hearing things that the others in her group do not.
·
The film is one of the first to feature a
lesbian character, especially one who is depicted as feminine instead of
predatory.
·
The film is shot in black and white at a time
when that was no longer in vogue.
·
The sound design employed functions as a character
unto itself: it’s often what we hear, and not what we see, that unnerves us so
much; moments of stillness are suddenly disturbed by unsettling noises, from
booming walls and doors to eerie chanting and child cries.
·
It’s arguably the first picture made about a
serious scientific investigation of a house that is haunted, which became a
subgenre in itself that continues today.
WHAT ARE SOME RECURRENT MOTIFS, PATTERNS AND THEMES FOUND
IN “THE HAUNTING”?
·
Psychological persecution: Eleanor feels closed
in upon and her psyche is fragile, ready to break at any time.
·
Alienation: The group in the house form a bond
of sorts, but Eleanor is continually separated and alienated from the others.
·
Mirrors, reflecting the duality of a character
and suggesting characters who second-guess what they see or their own natures.
·
Statues—silent stone figures placed around the environment
as if they’re eerily watching the proceedings with cold impartiality, yet with
an insinuation that they could come to life at any moment.
·
Lights that turn off and on, seen both from the interior
and exterior, implying perhaps that supernatural forces are at work, or that
the sleuths are sometimes in the dark before and during their investigation of the
house.
·
The same writer also posited: “Life leaving a
character is suggested by a falling object:
o (the
death of) Hugh Crain’s young wife…is represented by her bracelet sliding along
her wrist.
o The
second Mrs. Crain’s death is resprented by her keys that fall and that she cannot
hold/grip anymore.
o Abigail
Crain’s death is represented by the stick that falls because she cannot hold it
anymore.
o The
companion’s death is represented by one shoe that falls in the void.
o Eleanor’s
death is represented by her wrist that lies with no life.
WHAT DO THE FILMMAKERS DO VISUALLY TO INCREASE THE
SUSPENSE AND CREATE INTERESTING SHOTS AND IMAGES THAT FIT THE TONE AND TENSION
OF THE STORY?
·
As is common in many horror, suspense and film
noir movies shot in black and white, the movie employs high-contrast, low key
lighting the emphasize shadows, character complexity and things that cannot be
seen in the darkness.
·
Some of the haunted home’s exteriors were shot
with infrared film to give it a weirder look.
·
Many shots are filmed from low angles and lit
from below for a more horrifying cinematography approach and to accentuate
ceilings, which suggests a claustrophobic feeling.
·
The film features an unusual number of moving
camera shots (such as the camera following along the spiral staircase), creepy
tracking shots, unconventional pans (camera moving from left to right or vice
versa), and shots using distorted lenses to evoke a warped, bent look.
·
As critic Glenn Erickson put it: “The
compositions stress the location over the people, dwarfing them in wide shots
or ornate rooms, or leaving them off-balance in tilted angles, which
necessitates constant reorientation.
o Also,
notice how Nell and Theo in one scene are placed in the middle of the frame,
either collectively or separately. But eventually, shots progress throughout this
scene that show them drifting apart, coming back together, then drifting further
apart.
o There
are also other scenes where the characters are visually shown growing farther
apart from each other, ultimately leaving Eleanor completely alone and
isolated.
WHAT’S INTERESTING ABOUT EACH OF THE 4 MAIN CHARACTERS,
AND HOW DO THEY COMPARE AND CONTRAST?
·
Eleanor is fragile, unstable and an
untrustworthy narrator because we can’t know for certain that what she’s
experiencing is happening in reality.
·
Theodora is cunning and manipulative.
·
Dr. Markway is a trustworthy source on the
supernatural, but perhaps too clinical in his approach.
·
Luke serves as a surrogate for the audience
because he’s the most skeptical, grounded in common sense, and a type we’re
most likely to meet on the street, perhaps.
OTHER FILMS THAT COME TO MIND AFTER WATCHING “THE
HAUNTING”
·
The Uninvited
·
The Innocents
·
The Legend of Hell House
·
Ghost Story
·
Poltergeist
·
The Conjuring
OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY ROBERT WISE
·
The Body Snatcher
·
The Day the Earth Stood Still
·
I Want to Live
·
Run Silent, Run Deep
·
West Side Story
·
The Sound of Music
·
The Sand Pebbles
·
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
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