The successful writer Roger Cobb (William Katt) is trying to write a book about his experience in Vietnam, but he is blocked after the disappearance of his son Jimmy and the divorce from his wife, the actress Sandy Sinclair (Kay Lenz). When his beloved Aunt Elizabeth (Susan French) is found dead hanged in her bedroom, Roger inherits the house and moves to live there. His snoopy neighbor and fan Harold Gorton (George Wendt) gets close to Roger and learns that his aunt claimed that the house is haunted. Further Jimmy disappeared in the swimming pool on the back of the house. While writing his memories from the Vietnam when his pal Big Ben (Richard Moll) was captured and tortured by the Vietcong, weird things happen in the house and soon Roger leans that the place is a gateway to a hellish dimension. "House" is one of the best haunted house films ever made. The plot is funny and recalls "Twilight Zone", with surrealistic situations. William Katt is great in the role of the writer that wants solitude but finds monsters while haunted by his past. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "House - A Casa do Espanto" ("House - The Frightening House")

After just listening to the podcast Shockwaves for weeks rave about the new House Bluray set of its franchise AND interviewing the producer/owner Sean S. Cunningham, I decided to visit the House(s.)It helps listening to all they had to say plus the interview because it was nice to pick up on the little details planted in the movie, like a Diet Coke® that Cunningham loves drinking and the "Craven" realty company due to Cunningham's (pretty much) start and admiration/friendship with Wes.The movie has some major tonal shifts that were more unsettling than some of the scenes in the movie. Most of the movie is straight horror, albeit just a haunted house story, while a good chunk is absolute slapstick humor which I did laugh out loud a couple of times. But often it went from deadly serious where I thought a character really couldn't come back from what he did to The Three Stooges-level jokes. Plus, some of the most outrageous things happen with the least amount of shock a normal person would have, namely from kids and our lead.But, the story of a divorced writer moving back into his Aunt's house where he grew up and immediately experiences the paranormal activity his Aunt warned about, was a tad fun to watch. He's also haunted about his vanished son and his numerous (shot-in-someone's-backyard) Vietnam flashbacks. If you don't take a lick seriously, enjoy the hilarious neighbor, NORM!, er, George Wendt and try to separate William Katt from The Greatest American Hero – which I found VERY hard to do, you'll probably have some fun here. ***Final thoughts: Along with the Diet Coke® and Craven realty, I also loved Don't Look in the Basement showing on the tele in one scene. When I was a kid and surely not allowed to watch horror movies, I would cherish my late night TV in my room and watch horror movies alone, unbeknownst to my parents. One I never got out of my head was: Don't Look in the Basement. That movie haunted me for years.Finally rewatched it as an adult years ago and yeah, it's a sh|t movie with a $5 budget, but for a 8-9 year old back in the early 80s, it was stuff nightmares were made of. I am proof of that.

Saw this when I was a youngster. Watched it recently, still great. They don't make movies like this anymore!!! Saw this when I was a youngster. Watched it recently, still great. They don't make movies like this anymore!!!Saw this when I was a youngster. Watched it recently, still great. They don't make movies like this anymore!!!

I have seen this movie once when I was much younger, but only remember the zombie soldier of the entire movie. So the movie wasn't particularly memorable for me. And having seen it again I can say that there was indeed a reason for it not being memorable.The story in this mid-eighties horror comedy was plain and really had nothing overly impressive to offer. It wasn't scary as all at any time during the length of the movie, nor did it have any funny moments that will make you laugh.It should be said that that effects in "House" were actually quite alright and were the best part of the movie. And the acting was also adequate, which made it bearable to sit through the movie.While I said that the movie wasn't memorable, I do stand corrected in terms of Richard Moll as a zombie was just priceless, and that George Wendt actually made something outside of the "Cheers" bar was a feat in itself.Not a particularly impressive movie, so the enthusiasm to Watch the three other movies in the series is not really peaking.