The Haunting

The Haunting 1964 directed by Robert Wise. Based on the story of The Haunting Of Hill House.

From very early on the film brings across a feeling of psychological terror.

It starts off giving a brief history of the house right up to when the film story starts. the history is full of death and misery.

The first scene where the main character

Eleanor Lance arrives within the vicinity of the house she is greeted in an unfriendly way by the caretaker. He is rude and immediately warns her in a roundabout way that she shouldn't be coming near the house. The film is in black and white so the use of colour is obviously lost when trying to use it to portray a feeling. However the grey shades so add to the atmosphere.

Removing the colour to create a eerie mood works and sometimes a blue tint is added instead. Tim Burton used this when making the film Sleepy Hollow (1999) and in some of his other films too.

Mike Newell used this also in the graveyard seen in Harry Potter and the goblet of fire (2005)

So the lack of colour in this 1964 film does add to the mood in some ways.

The black gate which the scene is set against in itself is a very important part of the set when creating a mood. Its wrought iron black metal bars look sharp and unfriendly, almost warning her themselves to keep out. Reluctantly the caretaker grumpily lets her pass and she continues to drive up a long winding path shadowed by thick foliage up to the house entrance.

When she gets to the house a lot of close up shots of the houses architecture is used at a low angle, making the house tower over the car and Eleanor. A voice over of Eleanor is added so the viewer can hear her thoughts. She is telling herself not to go in as the house is scaring her,

'its waiting for me'

'its evil'

but she in internally arguing with herself, willing herself to go on in as she desperately sees this as a new chapter in the life she so far was miserable in.

Yet more warnings from the housekeeper and a unsettling and unnerved feeling is perceived by Eleanor as she wanders around.

The corridors of the house seem endless and dark. In the story the seem to change and rooms are difficult to find. They are grand in design though.

When the Doctor who invited her arrives she is introduced to two others a woman named Theo who is 'psychic' and a man with 'ESP'.

Then told they are there for an experiment to prove the existence of paranormal activity.

As the story develops the viewer starts to realise that there is a likeness between the tragic event which have happened in the past in the house and Eleanor.

The story takes a turn when 'Help Eleanor Come Home' is written on the wall.

Eleanor now feels like the house is now after her. The house is very elongated and large. Double doors are used to great effect, long corridors, long shots and banging doors create the feeling that the house is truly possessed in some way.

Another thing I noticed within the film to symbolise the terror was how Eleanor was dressed in predominately pale colours and Theo always in black/dark colours. As a character Theo played a part in the misery and fear that Eleanor had when staying at the house. This was reflected in the tones of the clothes on the screen.