The Haunting

The film the Haunting created in 1963 by Robert Wise shows the genre of psychological horror at it’s best. The film follows a group of researchers who go to stay in a house that they believe there may be of ghost and supernatural presences present. The film is mainly centred around one character in particular, Nell. Throughout the film I noticed the interesting use of sound. In scenes where the character’s express fear, music has been used to create tension and convey the character’s dramatic reactions to strange things happening in the house. Another interesting aspect of the film is how the director uses light. This adds movement to particular areas of the house such as the floral patterned wall. The moving eye on this wall is particularly frightening to me because of its normal appearance and decorative style. However the moving eyes and mouth suggested the wall itself was alive. This idea of giving an ordinary object features we associate with living things is what makes the featured house so frightening. Overall the Haunting shows a combination of media used to create dramatic and frightening imagery.