The Belasco house was built in 1919 by Emeric Belasco (Michael Gough). Belasco was known as the “roaring giant”. He was a vicious sadist who was believed to participate in torture, drug abuse and all forms of evil including cannibalism and necrophilia to the point where the house itself is believed to be infused with evil and haunted. Two expeditions have previously entered the estate to investigate the house and its strange occurrences. Both were disasters resulting in the deaths of eight people. The only survivor was a psychic, Ben Fischer (Roddy McDowall) from the 1950 expedition. Since then, the house has been locked, and no one was allowed to enter.
When the Belasco family ran into financial difficulty, they sold the house to publisher Rudolph Deutsch (Roland Culver). Deutsch, aware of the house's history, is hoping to discover if survival after death is possible. To that end he hires Dr. Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill), a noted physicist studying parapsychology, Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin), a mental medium, and Ben, a physical medium and the survivor of the last investigation. Also accompanying the investigators is Ann (Gayle Hunnicutt), Dr. Barrett’s wife.
The four investigators arrive at the Belasco mansion, or “Hell House” as it is often referred to, and settle in. Fischer gives the group a short history of the house, including the fact that when the house was finally breached all of the 27 guests that were visiting the house at the time were dead. Belasco’s body was not among them. An impromptu séance is performed using Florence as the medium. Florence manages to channel a spirit she believes is Daniel, Belasco’s son.
Before long, strange events begin to happen. Ann starts to act as if she is possessed by a sexually deviant demon. Others are targeted by what Florence believes is the spirit of Daniel. Florence herself is attacked by a cat that seems to have access to the house. As the occupants of the house continue to be assaulted by unseen forces, more secrets are revealed.
“The Legend of Hell House” was released in 1973 and was directed by John Hough. It is a British and American gothic supernatural horror film. The movie was based on the 1971 novel “Hell House” by Richard Matheson.
There are a lot of similarities between this film and the 1959 film “The Haunting”. Both are about teams of investigators in large old, haunted houses looking for ghosts. The main difference is that in “The Haunting” the focus is on character driven psychological events and “Hell House” is more about actual manifestations and physical action. As far as scary movies are concerned, The Haunting was creepier and more forbidding but “The Legend of Hell House” was bloodier. Both movies are good, for different reasons.
Richard Matheson, who wrote the novel, also wrote the screenplay so the film, for the most part, is cohesive and covers most of the important points resulting in some really nice continuity throughout the film. Atmosphere is prominent, giving the film a gothic view that is similar to Hammer Films’ style of storytelling. There are lots of suspense, and some actual chills. It’s a good movie done well.
Michael Gough, who plays Belasco, is uncredited. Although his is the main subject of the film, he is only seen briefly.