Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Return to House on Haunted Hill'

Written by Scott Edwards

It is impossible to go back to a place you have never been.  It gets tiring, and annoying, when people assume that you know everything about something your family is known for. If you were never brought up in the field that your parents work, never been to an island where dinosaurs roam, or been to a hospital where your sister was trapped for a night, you will never truly know what some places have in store for you. Trying to explain that to people who are fans or who want to utilize your knowledge does not work, since they believe that the family tie can deliver them some sort of information that they may require down the road.

Ariel Wolfe is living her life by her own rules, and if that means cutting family ties to forward her career, then so be it. Her sister Sara has been calling non-stop about the Vannacutt Asylum for weeks now, but Ariel is sick and tired of hearing ghost stories since she does not believe in the afterlife. When on a shoot for her magazine, Ariel receives a call from her mother and the news is dropped that Sara has killed herself. Asking her ex-boyfriend to go with her, Ariel ventures to her sister's apartment to investigate what happened. But she is not the only one who is interested in what happened as Dr. Richard Hammer has joined them, but he is looking for something much more intriguing than the death of the woman, he wants the note book that she had in her possession. 

Not having a clue about the note book, Ariel heads home only to find that there is something special that came in the mail from her sister. Not having time to see what the pages hold, Ariel is kidnapped by a fortune hunter named Desmond and his men and is forced to go search the asylum with them. In search of the Baphoment idol, Desmond will not back down from his hunt and will stop at nothing until his payday is at hand. Arriving at the asylum after Dr. Hammer and his team, Desmond takes control of the search and with everything that he has read about the house, he has a plan to stop it from taking over. Trying to dismantle the lock down device, Desmond is happy with heading to the basement and beginning his hunt for the lost idol, but the house has different ideas.

As every one of the inmates are reliving their deaths on a daily basis in the house, they are more than willing to share their experiences with the new visitors, along with collecting their souls. Desmond’s team quickly diminishes, and he is left in control of the college team, or so he thinks. As the house locks down despite the efforts in stopping it, Ariel escapes, but when she finds that her friend Paul is still in the building, the house invites her back in. With pistol in hand, Ariel takes control of the group and searches for a way to escape the confines of the haunted building. Even with her best efforts however, she still has to deal with people looking for the Baphomet idol and their ignorance as to what can happen if the spirits contained in the walls get to a living person. As the group moves further down into the depths of the house, they find out more about what was being done there, along with Ariel finding out the true secret behind the idol. As time quickly becomes a factor since the dead are rising faster than ever, the group has to find the idol, and dispose of it, before it is too late.

Is this a strong follow up to the retelling of House on Haunted Hill? Yes, it is. Even though the staff and crew have changed from the last film, the house still stands tall and proud and is ready to take anyone’s life that walks inside. I was happy to see that part of the story did not get taken away, as it often does in sequels. With the dead coming back more frequently, it is next to impossible for anyone to get out of the old hospital alive, but the ghosts seem to know what is happening as well. I did not like how they tried to justify Dr. Vannacutt going crazy and killing his patients on the regular, but it did seem to play along with the actual power of the idol. Close your eyes during the exterior shots since they are not even close to as good as the previous movie, but that is really the only downfall I could find with this one. It is easy to get past a couple of little one offs when it comes to movies, you just have to focus on what the story is that they are telling, and if you like it, it is a winner. Will I still continue to think twice about visiting a haunted location based on these movies, oh, heck no. I do want to see in person where all of these stories have come from about killer ghosts and if I don’t make it out, so be it. Stay Scared.

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