My World Dies Screaming

This one has some historical value do to the Psycho-Rama, all that means is it's the first movie ever that tries to add subliminal messages and images to the film. It's a bit comical to watch, at times almost distracting but the movie is good nevertheless.

This one has a two or three plot twists that will keep it from getting dull - pretty interesting story. The ending is not exactly what one would expect from a film like this... they didn't use the standard ending in a way that I expected anyway.

Sheila Wayne and Philip Tierney have just gotten married in Switzerland where she had been living for most all of her life. She's been seeing a psychiatrist while there about her bizarre nightmares but her new husband wants to take her to Florida so they go. Driving some back roads they come to a house, she screams in terror because that is the house in her nightmares. Philip insists they go inside and they meet up with a strange caretaker of the old house and then Philip insists to the caretaker they will take the place (rent it). And then our bizarre story begins.

I will say that Sheila is weird but Philip is even weirder even though he's the one that seems sorta normal yet very odd from the beginning.

I would say this film is worth watching if you like the older mystery films. Again, plenty of twists that are a bit unexpected.

8/10

While the film is watchable to the degree that it does have a story about a woman returning to a house she has seen in her dreams, the ultimate feeling left upon the viewer after seeing this is that it wasn't anything special in any way. The budget is suitably low. That means there are no special effects to speak of, save the house which on the outside looks creepy with huge decaying palm trees but looks rather nice(save the wallpaper in the bedroom) inside. The acting talent is indeed meager with no one giving a good performance. The female lead Cathy O'Donnell is adequate, but the guy that plays her husband is awful. He is the kind of guy that grates on you and you want something to happen to him fast. That was one wish un-fulfilled. His name by the way is Gerald Mohr(he looks kind of like a young Morton Downey Jr.). The most interesting performance is given by John Qualen as an old caretaker. He is at least acting with some ability and able to make a unique characterization. The story is not anything special either as it tells about a woman reliving her past and surrounded by people she cannot trust. Nothing new there nor is it done any differently than countless of other times. The major claim to fame of the film is that it was filmed in Psychorama which is when subliminal pictures pop on for seconds and then disappear. Too bad they didn't disappear altogether as they are very aggravating because you are trying to see what they are, and when you do, you say, "Hey, it's a painted face of a red devil...Big Deal!" At the very least, that will give you something to think about as you watch the film.

Terror in the haunted house resembles a William Castle horror film it has gimmicks,subliminal messages during the film.they flash images of skulls and cartoon monsters and even the word scream in blood red colors,but this movie is pretty good without the subliminal messages.its creepy and pretty entertaining,it stars Gerald Mohr who a few years later starred in the great b movie the angry red planet.and Cathy O'Donnell(related to Rosie?)and William Ching.a new bride is having visions of a haunted house,well nightmares and is later on a trip with her new husband to America from Switzerland.to an old plantation mansion that turns out to be the house from her nightmares, its kind of like the screaming skull only much better.i seen this years ago on VHS from rhino video when they redid all the subliminal messages.and if you run it in slow motion you can clearly see these goofy and cartoonish subliminal images.as a fan of b movies and old horror movies i enjoyed terror in the haunted house,even though it is not as great as the infamous house on haunted hill.but alas it is better then the screaming skull and yes the really inept hillbillies in the haunted house.i recommend terror in the haunted house.7 out of 10.

Many of the reviews I have read complain that this film is boring or mediocre. I think they are forgetting that it was made in 1958. Considering that, I thought it was very exciting for its time. I certainly loved the acting, but that too is very much in the style of the 50s.

It is the plot twists that make the movie worth watching today (That is, for normal people, not just nostalgics like myself.) You know that the woman is not evil, but what about the two men, Phillip and Mark, and that servant Jonah? Just when you think you have them figured out, the movie flips them again. If you follow it, and don't get too easily bored by the 1950s effects and black and white, I think you will be surprised by how it turns out.

I gave it 9 out of 10. It was a masterpiece of its time and still entertaining today, though I might suggest watching it more as a mystery/drama than a horror film. My only complaint is the title itself, for I was hoping for a haunted house, but there was nothing supernatural about it. No ghosts or ghouls or anything. Ah yes, and I stopped noticing the 'subliminal messages' about 15 minutes into it. They really serve no purpose.

I will start off by saying that I, personally, enjoyed this movie VERY much. Yes...Sadly, I must place emphasis on the word "personally" because I seem to be the only experimental/nostalgic-viewer that shares this optimism...drag!

I praise this movie for it's decent, but at times in-consistent acting, music-score, and wonderful plot! The male-lead, Philip (Gerald Mohr) was VERY good through the picture especially. The female-lead (and ONLY feature female at that), Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell) had some dull and predictable character moments (characther moments not at all uncommon for Female roles in 1958).

As for the ***"Subliminal Messages"***, they were nothing more than a minor headache at best, and were used VERY sparingly. (Incedently, I own this movie on a Rhino Home Video cassette and took the liberty to view the "subliminal messaging" in slow motion). I found some of the ORIGINAL messages were quite vivid and disturbing once they were slowed-down, but it seems that AT SOME POINT later on, after Rhino Home Video had apparently bought rights to this movie, decided to implement their own messages during the last ten minutes before the climax...("Rent Rhino Videos Every Day" was my favorite) HAHA! Very funny, guys at Rhino! You sure know how to use media...(Kinda scary if you think about it)...

Anyway, after looking beyond the fact that, YES, this movie is OLD, you will discover a VERY true and stirring romance that I REALLY was able to identify with. The idea that you might have met your wife, or girlfriend, or loved-one many many years ago, then became suddenly separated from them during childhood (when young-love is the most impressionable and dream-like)...and then to have met that same person again in the future, not remembering who they were, and yet you fall in love with them just the same :)...if that makes sense!

Seriously, watch this film and try to imagine yourself in Philip's position. What if YOU searched high and low for your long lost loved-one, only to find them decades later in a deteriorating mental state...and only YOU can bring them back to reality! Very moving indeed, I love it!