Product Details

• Actors: Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart
• Directors: William Castle
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Legend Films
• DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0026KJP76
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,604 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #5 in	Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Cult Directors > Castle, William
  #5 in	Movies & TV > Horror > Horror Masters > William Castle
  #19 in	Movies & TV > Comedy > Parody & Spoof > Mystery Science Theater 3000

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If an eccentric millionaire were to offer you a large sum of money to you spend a night in a haunted house, you might think to yourself, "How did I wind up in an episode of Scooby Doo? Or perhaps a Simpson's Halloween special? Or any one of the countless other TV shows or movies that have employed this hackneyed plot device?"

But every cliche has its origins somewhere, and House on Haunted Hill may be the very first movie where a random assortment of guests are summoned to a haunted house. In this case, the haunted house just happens to reside in the Haunted Hill district of town, and it's presided over by a ghoulish master of ceremonies played by Vincent Price. Murder, mayhem and clumsy romance ensue. Fortunately, three of the guests at this party are Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of RiffTrax.com and Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, on hand to heckle the House on Haunted Hill!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Favorite Classic, One Bunch of Favorite Nitwits, July 24, 2009

By	Petite Fleur - See all my reviews

As a fan of old black and white "B" horror movies, I've always loved "House on Haunted Hill." It's pretty lame by today's blood & gore standards, but I saw it as a kid and found it scarey. I have quite a few DVD's of this movie, bought for a mere $1 during Halloween. That said, I'm also a fan of the good-ole MST3K nitwits, and this was my first Rifftrax rental. Don't expect the MST3K stuff like skits, shadows of the guys watching the movie, or even an introduction! The movie starts and the guys immediately riff in the background. You simply just HEAR, but never see them! When the movie ends, they sign off. I thought the riffing was good, especially for the two lame-brained leads who (of course) always place themselves in danger. "Lance" is always just one step away from the next concussion. They barely touch Vincent Price, but he's such a good actor and one of my favorites, so that's okay with me. I'm happy to hear the guys, even if I can't see them. That's probably why the Rifftrax DVD's are more affordable.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A workable, if spartan, package, July 1, 2009

By	David Starner (Lowell, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a nice high-quality DVD of House on Haunted Hill. It was touch spartan; there's no subtitles of either the movie or the riffing, there's no MST3K-style video introduction (which would have been nice; would it have been hard to put a five minute pre-movie warmup, using whatever set came to hand), there's no shadows on the screen (which I've seen done with just subtitles, on the Ghostbusters DVD, IIRC), and there's not even a coming/available advertisement. There's just the movie, and two soundtracks, one with and one without riffing.

As for the meat of the material, House on Haunted Hill is a fairly classic old movie and moderately riffable. I'd place the riffs here about average for an MST3K and there was enough classic horror movie shtics and movie-specific jokes to make it worth my while.

But it is a good classic horror movie, and well worth your time watching it unMST3Ked before ruining all the surprises in the comedic mode. If you've got the DVD and haven't seen the movie, take the time to watch the original first.

5.0 out of 5 stars Vincent Price is Right, November 6, 2009

By	Jorge A. Zarco (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

My siblings and I grew up watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes on VHS tapes and on cable/satellite TV. We were disillusioned and upset when the Sci-Fi/Syfy Channel canceled it in 1999. Thank goodness for these Rifftrax DVD's. It feels like we're reunited with old friends. One can watch House on Haunted Hill(1959) with or without the audio commentary. Other than that, there are no other extra features. MST3K's Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett poke fun of the decent, albeit gimmicky horror film House on Haunted Hill(1959) starring Vincent Price. Price plays an eccentric rich guy who offers people a million dollars to spend the night in a haunted house. This film was remade in 1999, I think.

Screaming woman: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Kevin Murphy: Someone found John Goodman on the toilet!

(A woman shoots Vincent Price with a gun)
Bill Corbett: That was for Thriller! Do you know how many people in this country were traumatized by it?

(Commenting on actress Carol Ohmart)
Mike Nelson: She's nude and she looks like Hayden Panettiere!

I hope Legend Films keeps pumping out low priced Rifftrax DVD's. Mystery Science Theater 3000 lives on...more or less.