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William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll, Kay Lenz, Mary Stavin ... see more see more... , Michael Ensign , Susan French , Erik Silver , Mark Silver , Alan Autry , Billy Beck , Dwier Brown , Jim Calvert , Ronn Carroll , Joey Green , Jayson Kane , Bill McLean , Stephen Nichols , Peter Pitofsky , Felix Silla , Mindy Sterling , Steven Williams , John Young , Curtis Scott Wilmot , Elizabeth Barrington , Renee Lillian , Steve Susskind , Donald Willis , Ronn Wright , Robert L. Joseph , Jerry Maren

A mild box-office hit for New World Pictures, this lightweight attempt at horror parody from Friday the 13th producer Sean S. Cunningham stars former Greatest American Hero William Katt as a best-sell... read more read more...ing pop-horror novelist Roger Cobb (à la Stephen King) who suffers an insurmountable case of writer's block after separation from his soap-star wife (Kay Lenz) and the disappearance of their young son. Hoping to purge his personal demons by writing his Vietnam War memoirs, he moves into the massive mansion once occupied by his deceased aunt (who hanged herself in her bedroom), and finds himself surrounded by demons of a completely different kind. Roger takes the weirdness in stride, attempting to face down marauding monsters, interdimensional trap doors, and other supernatural horrors while concealing his predicament from the neighbors (except for the befuddled Harold Gorton [George Wendt], who tries gamely to play along with Roger's hare-brained monster-fighting schemes). ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Flixster Users

51% liked it

12,325 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

10 critics

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Steve Miner

Release Date: February 28, 1986

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DVD Release Date: June 26, 2001

Stats: 560 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (560)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    November 21, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    A fun cliché ridden horror film, director Steve Miner's House blends horror and comedy albeit not effectively well. Still, the film is entertaining and fun. Blending haunted house elements with monster film elements, director Steve Miner crafts a unique comedy horror film that de... read morelivers a good time. The film could have been made better, and there are things that could have been changed, but for the most part, house (Ding Dong, You're Dead) is a thrilling horror flick that uses its clichés in a creative manner and makes this film a fun, entertaining experience. House is a silly film that is more fun than terrifying. The acting is quite over the top, but like I said, it's all in good fun. House is unsure of what it wants to be, a straight forward horror film, or a comedy horror film. At times, the film is pretty creepy, and it does have potential in being an effective, scary horror film. Unfortunately, the film is a bit too silly at times, and potential for this film in being a memorable horror film that could have been an effective haunted house / supernatural film is stripped away. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this film, but I just think the producers went way too overboard on the comic relief and tried to do too many things at once with this film. The films biggest problem and its biggest weakness is that it tried to pack too much material in a short running time. Thus, the film seems to be all over the place, it's a haunted house film one minute, the next minute it's a monster film and the next minute it's a comedy horror film. House is an entertaining film that is lots of fun to watch. However the film does leave a lot of improvement to be desired. Even with its faults, this is still an entertaining little film worth watching.
  • ajv2688
    January 27, 2011
    ajv2688
    This movie tries to be like the Evil Dead movies with outrageous gore, but there's little story and the characters aren't very interesting. It's really cheesy and a lot of things don't look how you'd expect them to, but I also thought this movie was kinda funny in it's cheesines... read mores. Overall, it's okay.
  • WrenchLT
    January 25, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Mild horror comic. Not a big lover of horror comedy so I wasn't quite feeling this one at the beginning, but the film got better as it went along. It's humorous at times and it's got some good 80's creature effects and make-up. It's a bit silly and weird though and parts of the p... read morelot are left unexplained, but it's a good time filler.
  • superclerk25
    October 6, 2010
    superclerk25
    This is a funny and creepy movie about a haunted house. William Katt does great at keeping the movie in both those moods at the same time without it coming off as silly.
    I liked the story as well. This is one that I think slips past many people but one I would easily recommend.
  • stormyweather980
    August 15, 2009
    stormyweather980
    I've been watching "House" ever since I was a kid and I still like watching it. Horror novelist Roger Cobb (William Katt) decides to go back to the house he grew up in to write a novel about his past Vietnam experiences. He soon finds out that the house is haunted when he keeps h... read moreearing noises and encounters his Aunt Elizabeth as a ghost. Roger doesn't believe that his son, Jimmy, is dead and he wants to try to find him after he keeps hearing his voice in the house. Roger must try his best to keep finding clues in order to find his son and to keep from falling in the hands of the house's haunted wrath.
    "House" is a classic horror movie and it will always be one of my favorites. It has good effects and one of the best storylines of any horror movie up to date. If you like great horror movies, I recommend getting "House." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. Classic classic...the movie, not my review.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 22, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Awesome movie. A father (William Katt) and his son move into a tricky house with hidden horrors, which ends up being a lot of fun. The revealed source of the evil really adds to the story.
  • drblood
    June 24, 2007
    drblood
    Alternating between outright horror and horror comedy this film contains just about every cliche in the horror filmmaker's repertoire.
  • Deano78
    March 30, 2007
    Deano78
    A very strange horror film quite funny at times but with some cool creatures!
  • deano
    March 18, 2007
    deano
    Good comedy thriller about an author who moves into an old mansion left to him by an aunt who committed suicide. The cast is good, but the shocks are predicatable.
  • roygutteridge
    November 5, 2006
    roygutteridge
    Shows more imagination than most horror flicks for it's day.

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Critic Reviews

Alex Sandell
September 28, 2005
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

The movie borrows from all the right places, including Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-Tale Heart and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. Full Review

Jake Euker
March 10, 2004
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)

Mediocre horror.

Ken Hanke
September 18, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Pleasantly goofy horror time-killer.

David Nusair
February 24, 2003
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

A guy running around in a monster suit isn't enough to sustain a full-length horror flick... Full Review

Robert Roten
August 25, 2002
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope

Shows more imagination than most horror flicks.

Staci Layne Wilson
August 9, 2002
Staci Layne Wilson, Fantastica Daily

May a house fall on the director's sister.

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 12, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Mark Palermo
April 12, 2005
Mark Palermo, Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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House (Ding Dong, You're Dead) Trivia

  • William Katt starred in what 1986 movie?  Answer »
  • What horror movie had the tag line "Ding Dong You're Dead"  Answer »
  • MOVIE TAGLINE; "Ding dong. You're dead."  Answer »
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