Halloween Article: The Haunting: 1963 vs 1999

The Haunting: 1963 vs 1999

posted by deedragongirl

The 1963 Poster

Hi guys, I know that Halloween is over, but I thought that I would write both versions of the 1963 and the 1999 version of the Haunting. Base on the Shirley Jackson's novel.

The 1963 Version

I saw this version on Youtube 7 years ago, and my first impression of it was amazing. There were no CGI's considering that this movie was made in the early 60's, I have always feel sorry for Nell because she was mentally unstable and has been looking after her ailing mother prior to the events of the movie.
Prior seeing this, I always thought that this version was like the 1999 version, in terms of story-line surrounding the origins of Hill House and Hugh Crain. But I was wrong upon watching it for the first time.
Unlike the 1999 version, nobody was killed in this version except Nell in the end. Due to the fact that her car crash upon seeing Grace, Doctor Markway's wife. Ironically, the tree that she crashed at was the very same tree that killed Hugh Crain's first wife!
Overall, I highly recommend you all to watch this version. How I wish that I could download it and watch it in HD, it would be perfect. Interestingly enough, Stephen King base his 2002 miniseries Rose Red from this film!

The 1999 Version

When I first watched this, I did not know that this was loosely base on the Shirley Jackson's version. To which I came to regret watching it later on! I had read reviews about it and many of them are negative and I could not agree more to them.
Jan De Bont, the director bastardised the story by turning Hugh Crain into a murderous villain by killing the children and his venomous spirit still haunts the house as well as tormenting the children's spirit within the house, I could not believe it!
The characters are way different than the original novel as well as the 1963 version, and not to forget that Luke gets killed in this version unlike his namesake 1963 version.
Doctor Markway became Doctor Marrow and unlike the former, Doctor Marrow lied to his clients. In fact, it was actually a horror test! Whereas in the 1963 version, Doctor Markway tells them the truth.
Finally, this Hugh Crain is really ugly and very unpleasant. Especially his portrait where we see when Nell enters the house for the first time and the camera focuses on his portrait, it gives me the creeps! His spirit at the end does not do justice either.

Team 1963 or Team 1999?

Okay, here are my personal thoughts on both versions, I would definitely choose the 1963 version.

Ugly poster, agree?

TheCountess likes this

TheCountess Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions on these. :) I must say that I'm not generally a fan of remakes, and in most cases, I never bother with them. I watched the original version on TV when I was little, and I believe that was the first time that I was allowed to stay home alone for a few hours. Needless to say, 'The Haunting' did a good job of freaking me out. Every little creak I heard made my imagination run wild. In the end, I think I fell asleep hiding behind a piece of living room furniture. I don't think I admitted the reason why I was there, but I was sure glad when my grandparents got back home. All in all, even though I haven't seen the remake, I feel the original didn't need to be messed with. In a lot of cases, leaving some aspects to the imagination can be far more effective than showing you what you're supposed to be afraid of. If the writers, directors, actors, etc. did their jobs well enough the first time, there shouldn't be any need for a remake. Anyways, now you've got me wanting to re-watch the original too, but unlike you, I'm lucky to have it on DVD. Finding the time to watch it, or just being in the right mood is another story though. One of these days! lol!