Return to House on Haunted Hill

October 15, 2007

Rated: NR Runtime: 81 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Even though we gave the first movie in this series 2 stars, we did enjoy it due to some unique setups and great environment. Will the sequel carry on in the same manner or will it improve on the formula? Well, the only thing this movie really has in common with it’s predecessor is the house itself, and that works in its favor.

Return to House on Haunted Hill This time around a college professor is looking for a statue, and thinks it may be in the house. Unfortunately for him it’s quite valuable and some bad guys have also followed the trail to the house. I’m leaving out a lot here.. there’s a sister, a diary, and some other stuff.. but it’s not important. What matters is you have two groups in the house looking for a statue, and its an evil statue.

Like every good horror movie, the first thing that has to happen is to split up a group into pairs who can then easily get separated for easy killing. After all, the only reason we’re watching this is to see creative ways for the house to kill these folks off, right? Oh, and for boobies.. don’t forget the boobies. If you recall we took issue with the first Haunted Hill movie because it had babes but no skin to speak of. Well, that’s been fixed this time around and there’s plenty to see. There’s even some haunted lesbo action to enjoy. We’re guys.. so we’re easy to please. Put in some creative deaths, nudity, and funny one liners and we’re happy.

Happy isn’t perfect though and to get an above average score you’ve got to be outstanding in one of those areas, or surprise the heck out of us with a good plot. Return to House on Haunted Hill doesn’t excel at any one thing, it’s quite average. The effects are passable but aren’t gonna knock your socks off, the acting is on par with other horror movies (there’s a backhanded compliment for ya!), and the creativity is just ok. I don’t recall a single death that I haven’t seen done in other movies, and that’s a shame.

One thing is really gets right though is the length, the credits roll at 1:14:51. That honestly is a compliment! Most horror movies take too long to get moving, throw in some useless romance, try to drag a chase out too long or SOMETHING that drags the movie out past 90 or even 120 minutes. It’s just nuts. This is a HORROR movie! Keep it short and to the point. Bravo! Bravo! In the end though it balances out to 3 stars, so be sure to put this in your rental queue or just add it to your collection if you enjoyed the first movie.

Oh, do be sure to fast forward to the end of the credits though as there’s a bit more of the movie there designed to setup the next movie in the series. Don’t care? Blonde, topless. There’s your motivation.

Posted by John | Filed Under 3 Stars, Amanda Righetti, Andrew Pleavin, DVD, Erik Palladino, Horror, Jeffrey Combs, NR