GHOSTS OF HANLEY HOUSE (1968)
Article 2160 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-13-2007
Posting Date: 7-12-2007
Directed by Louise Sherrill
Featuring Elsie Baker, Barbara Chase, Wilkie de Martel

A group of people stay the night in an old house that is reputed to be haunted. It is.

There are some things I quite like about this movie. I like the non-Hollywood ambiance of the location footage of the town; it looks like the sort of small-to-medium size towns I’m familiar with. I also think the movie does some interesting things with sound. There are even moments where it recalls NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, but they’re just moments. Unfortunately, the movie has a lot of problems; both the direction and acting are abysmal, the lighting and sound are inconsistent, and it has the pace of a drugged sloth. As a result, the movie causes you to drift off in your easy chair rather than pulling you to the edge of your seat; even a bloody flashback sequence does nothing to liven the proceedings. It’s a shame; a better production might have brought out some of the nicer touches and made the movie more interesting. As it is, it’s a snoozefest.