This House Possessed (1981) (TV)

Director:

William Wiard

Writer:

David Levinson (writer)

Release Date:

6 February 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

After having a nervous breakdown, a rock singer has to spend some time in hospital. A private nurse is hired...

Plot Keywords:

House | Nurse | Mental Institution | Ghost | Mental Breakdown

Cast

Parker Stevenson	...	Gary Straihorn
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Sheila Moore
Joan Bennett	...	Rag Lady
Slim Pickens	...	Arthur Keene
Shelley Smith	...	Tanya
Bill Morey	...	Robbins
Jan Shutan	...	Helen
David Paymer	...	Pasternak
Jack Garner	...	Feeney
K Callan	...	Lucille
Barry Corbin	...	Lieutenant Fletcher
John Dukakis	...	Donny
Amanda Wyss	...	Holly
Ivy Bethune	...	Martha
Philip Baker Hall	...	Clerk

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Goofs:

Continuity: Gary and his nurse Shelia break out of the house. Right before the hose entangles Gary, the gate slams shut, and the wheels aren't lined up, but in other shots they are.

Quotes:

Rag Lady: This house loves you, and it will never let you go.

Great! I'm just desperate for a DVD/Soundtrack (*gasp*) release!

A haunted house where the haunting manifests most of the time through the computer that controls nearly every part of the house... fascinating. Yet the haunting is so powerful it can kill/watch/manipulate people miles away, and it seems the force inside the house has feelings, since it's main aim is to bring the person it loves into it's power. The script of this movie is highly original and most of the scenes are really great - the "bloody shower" scene or the very atmospheric scenes at the beginning, when the house watches the people through some monitors at night...just sitting there and waiting... - this movie really gets in your mind and stays there. Throw in a very good performance by the female leads and a convincing performance by the male lead, a really great score that helps much to enhance the thick atmosphere created by the extremely good directing, editing and photography, and here you have it: a really outstanding haunted house movie! One reviewer here criticized the use of "suddenly opening doors" in this movie: Well, yes, at one point a door opens itself, but since the house is alive a lot of stuff moves itself here, so you can't criticize that, unless you want to criticize that the movie doesn't need a lot of blood and gore to create tension... Yes, the fire at the end looks not so good at the indoor shots, but, since most of this seems to be shot outside a studio in a real (great-looking) house, I guess they just couldn't burn this great house down! But just look at that cool "breathing-wall" shot! And maybe they were low on budget, too, and if this is true, then it makes the movie even more greater, since to create such a great movie with a low budget is really a masterpiece!