Starring: Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Gayle Hunnicutt, Clive Revill, Roland Culver, Peter Bowles
Director: John Hough
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Run Time: 95 minutes
Film: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
I remember as a kid seeing the VHS box for this film and never renting it. In fact, I still had never seen the film prior to this Blu-ray release. “The Legend of Hell House” has a sort of Hammer feel to it but takes too long to get going and the pay off is not worth the wait. There is a point when not seeing anything gets old. I expected some of that and then some reveal but it never came. Roddy McDowall is always great to watch though. Hardcore horror fans might dig having this on Blu-ray.
Official Premise: A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic and the only survivor of the previous visit are sent to the notorious Hell House to prove/disprove survival after death. Previous visitors have either been killed or gone mad, and it is up to the team to survive a full week in isolation, and solve the mystery of the Hell House.
I feel like Shout! Factory could have done a bit more with this release to be honest. It is not being released as a combo pack just a Blu-ray. The transfer is good but nothing spectacualr for the age of the film it looks ok but feels a little bit muted to me. The DTS-Master Audio Mono track does work with the successful score and the dialogue. The special features are bit lacking as well. There is a new interview with Director John Hough as well as a new audio commentary With actress Pamela Franklin. Both are good but we usually get more from Shout! Lastly there is an original theatrical trailer included.
