Tag: Don Davis

House On Haunted Hill (1999)

The ghost of an ooky kooky spooky 1950s William Castle is haunting the set of the Nine Inch Nails ‘Closer’ music video (or vice versa). That’s the experience of House On Haunted Hill (1999), the first movie from Dark Castle Entertainment, a production company from Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver and Gilbert Adler, initially set up to remake the movies of William Castle. The original House On Haunted Hill is one of my favourites, available widely since it’s out of copyright, and even with the dated, creaky effects, it is lots of fun, especially with the great Vincent Price’s lead performance. This Halloween I have been catching up with a lot of the Dark Castle Entertainment productions as I never saw them on release (Thir13en Ghosts, Ghost Ship), and this has been the best of them alongside the House of Wax remake. A wealthy theme park designer Steven Price (Geoffrey Rush) with a taste for games and pranks hosts his wife’s (Famke Janssen) birthday party at the “House on Haunted Hill”, a deserted art deco mansion. Back in the 1930s, the mansion was an institute for the criminally insane, presided over by a murderous doctor (a great, silent Jeffrey Combs from Re-Animator). Invited to the party are five strangers – Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Peter Gallagher, Bridgette Wilson and Chris Kattan (!) – who are offered a million dollars each if they successfully spend the night there. What was a nasty parlour game turns deadly within this evil, living house. The House On Haunted Hill remake is a great meeting point between old school schlock and goth-horror cliches from the time, even some gloopy CGI near the end, and era-defining casting (how about singer Lisa Loeb and Spike from Buffy in supporting roles? That late Nineties enough for you?). But there’s mostly practical effects and dashes of style (Riami, Lynch, etc) from director William Malone with an eerie, pumped up score by Don Davis (The Matrix). Much like a lot of big budget horror from this time, it becomes a bit of an action movie by the end with quips and explosions. Yet it’s a fun, eclectic cast (its great in particular to see Famke cut loose like this) that doesn’t outstay its welcome with a 90 minute run time. While it might be that scary, and would have been a perfect gateway horror flick back then, there’s still some eerie moments (such as the post-credits silent stinger) along with its over-the-top theatrics. Recommended.

Payday (1972)

When Rip Torn passed away, several film critics and publications would talk about his performance in the forgotten film, Payday (1972). Once you see it (and so far, the full thing is available to watch on YouTube), you won’t forget Torn’s performance as country singer Maury Dann, an unrelenting prick. Opening with him and his band performing at a bar for the nice folks out there, the rest of the film sticks with Dann and his entourage including his current girlfriend (Ahni Capri) and fastidious tour manager (Michael C. Gwynne) as they hit the road, travelling to the next engagement. While a popular star with the people, indulging them with his “good ole boy” persona, the film bitterly shows the ways that Dann uses and abuses people, his band members, the fans he comes into contact with, his ex-wife, his personal driver, only really caring about the titular transaction, the payday (that, and booze, drugs and sex). Shot on location in Alabama (with a realistic faces in the supporting cast and the extras), written by Don Carpenter and directed by Don Davis (who also directed the Elliott Gould thriller, The Silent Partner), this almost keeps daring the audience by escalating every evil the protagonist inflicts in his whirlwind tour. Rip Torn’s shark-tooth smile makes Maury Dann a compellingly watchable character, and his performance grounds him from being simply being one note, offering a rounded portrait of capitalistic restlessness and toxic rage. In support, Jeff Morris (from The Blues Brothers) is great as one of the band and Elayne Heilveil as a young girl who is swept up in the road tour lifestyle. Recommended.