Few genres have evolved as drastically as horror. We’ve come a long way from the old-school, practical scares of creature features and haunting psychological slow burns, but there’s still plenty to learn from the B-movies of old.
That’s especially true in an era that values IP above all; when it comes to finding the next franchise, no story is off-limits. Remakes and sequels are more prevalent than original ideas, and classics like William Castle’s House on Haunted Hill have joined a growing list of stories ripe for recycling. The 1950s film starred horror legend Vincent Price in one of his most famous roles, and has been remade before, with mixed results. Whether another addition to the franchise is necessary is, as always, a question worth asking, but the team behind a new adaptation might find a way to justify it.
An exclusive report from Bloody Disgusting has confirmed the cast and crew of the upcoming House on Haunted Hill remake. Underground director Dustin Ferguson will helm it, with Victoria Price, Vincent Price’s daughter, set to produce. She’ll also play a role in the film, although details have yet to be revealed.
Price won’t be the only one carrying on the legacy of the original Haunted Hill, as Ferguson has also chosen Mitchel Wyatt, the great-grandson of Haunted Hill actress Julie Mitchum, to star. Brinke Stevens (of Slumber Party Massacre fame), Daniel Roebuck, Jennifer Moriarty, August Kyss, C. Courtney Joyner, and Erik Anthony Russo round out the cast.
The upcoming film is a direct sequel to Castle’s Haunted Hill. The original follows a sadistic millionaire (Price) who invites five strangers to a haunted house and offers $10,000 to anyone who can survive the night, but with paranormal horrors lurking around every corner, that’s easier said than done. The Haunted Hill remake is reportedly set 17 years later, in 1976. Rather than a group of strangers fighting for a life-changing amount of cash, our heroes are a team of reporters “investigating the infamous Hill House on live television, only to face dire consequences.”
There’s no telling how the sequel will measure up to its predecessor, but the presence of two legacy actors does speak to the project’s intent. Maybe the new Haunted Hill will recapture the magic of the original; if not, it could at least offer an update on the old-school spookiness that turned Vincent Price into a horror icon. If nothing else, it would be hard to do worse than the ‘90s version.
