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Jeffrey Combs, Amanda Righetti, Cerina Vincent, Erik Palladino, Andrew Lee Potts ... see more see more... , Tom Riley , Steven Pacey

When the lone survivor of the original excursion to The House on Haunted Hill dies under suspicious circumstances, her sister returns to the foreboding mansion to solve the mystery of her sibling's de... read more read more...ath in the feature directorial debut of former make-up special effects artist Victor Garcia (Hellboy). Back in 1931, malevolent doctor Richard Vannacut and his entire staff at the hilltop asylum were killed when the patients revolted and set the institution ablaze. Ever since then, rumors have persisted that the spirits of those consumed in the inferno still haunt the hospital. Those rumors seemed to be confirmed when, in 1999, billionaire Steven H. Price and his guests were viciously slaughtered in the refurbished mansion. Though the authorities officially blamed Price himself for the gruesome massacre, survivor Sarah Wolfe insists that there was indeed a supernatural element at play. Now, eight years have passed since that fateful night, and Sarah's sister Ariel - a successful editor at a popular men's fashion magazine - has just received word that Sarah has committed suicide. Immediately sensing foul play, Ariel's suspicions are confirmed when a strange book arrives in the mail shortly thereafter. Sent by Sarah just before she died, the book proves to be Vannacut's personal diary. According to the diary, which Ariel manages to translate with a little help from archeologist Richard Hammer, an ancient Baphomet idol is hidden somewhere deep within the sprawling estate. In her last days, Sarah had become convinced that the idol was the source of the house's evil. Richard, too, shares this belief, and with the help of graduate students Michelle and Kyle he is determined to find the idol. But Ariel isn't about to go on a ghost hunt in the same mansion where so may atrocities have occurred, at least not until she is kidnapped by Desmond Niles and his vicious band of mercenaries. They too seek the Baphomet idol, and they too will soon discover why few people who venture into the former asylum ever come out alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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60% want to see it

5,771 ratings

Critics

20% liked it

5 critics

R, 1 hr. 19 min.

Directed by: Víctor García (VI)

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DVD Release Date: November 29, 2005

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Flixster Reviews (1,011)

  • cancercapricorn2002
    February 21, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    The sister of the survivor from the first film must go to the house on haunted hill... (technically, the only people returning are the viewers, since all the characters are new). She has a connection to the house (much like her sister did) and the inmates there. Also, a professor... read more and a bounty hunter are in search of an ancient relic.

    I will say that the plot was good. There was an actual reason to go in the house, and I found it plausible -- well worth waiting nearly a decade for a sequel. The working in of the Knights Templar and the Baphomet statue was very nice, and will appeal to those who like the occult. I imagine a lot of horror fans also enjoy the works of Eliphas Levi and Aleister Crowley and will feel at home with the references -- it was certainly nothing new to me. (Although, historically, the Knights did not really worship Baphomet as the myth goes.)

    Jeffrey Combs returns, and has a sizable role here. Not a large role, no real dialogue, but more than the five minutes he's had in other films the past few years. So his fans will appreciate that. And if you're a horror fan, you're probably a Combs fan.

    This film's strength is in the plot, and somewhat so in the acting. The characters are nothing special (they all have very one-dimensional motives) but they are acted well. Many will also enjoy the high blood content -- a man gets quartered, for example. And that's not the worst of it. There's even a death by refrigerator! Not quite creative on the level of, say "2001 Maniacs", but not bad.

    All you really need to know is if you liked the first film, you'll love this. Many reviewers have commented this is the better of the two, and I'm inclined to agree (although I'll still watch the original Vincent Price version over either of them). Solid story, good acting, blood... this is a horror film that goes above and beyond the typical straight-to-video schlock. Worth a look
  • WrenchLT
    January 12, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Dull, pointless sequel to the enjoyable and fun remake from 1999. It's probably the least scariest haunted house movie I've seen with no real attempts at scares or building atmosphere at all! But, it had some plus points: two lesbian ghosts, Jeffrey Combs returning briefly as Dr.... read more Vannecut and a few nice gory death scenes which are worth the wait. Mediocre overall though.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    November 27, 2009
    YosemiteSamFan
    "Return to House on Haunted Hill" An average horror film. The effects budget is okay, with innovative, but slightly CGI-ish effects. I liked the face skinning and the quartering (even though it's doubtful the entire body would explode from simply having the limbs pulled off.) The... read more location used to represent the House/Hospital in Los Angeles was an atmospheric ruined building in Bulgaria. From the outside and entryway, I thought they skillfully tried to match the setting of the original movie - but they got it seriously wrong by not having the trademark stained glass ceiling, gallery of skeletons on display and zoetrope treatment rooms. Sorry, it didn't feel like the same place! The deaths were by the numbers, it was predictable who would die next. The leading lady was the sister of the survivor girl from the first movie; it was obvious she'd survive. The other characters were stupid and greedy treasure hunters, looking for the Baphomet statue which Dr. Vannacutt hid somewhere in the house. There was no cheap CGI shadow ghost this time; instead the phantoms were the creepy smiling and teleporting Dr. Vannacutt (Jeffrey Combs reprising his great role), his nursing staff, and a dazzling array of freakish tortured mental patients, including a pair of lesbian ghosts. The writers couldn't resist using the house lockdown plot device again; but continuity was thrown away when they went to the basement and saw windows with daylight coming through clearly. The first film was much more fun - this one was forgettable.
  • kiriyamakazou
    July 8, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    I praised the original for it's characters. I will insult this sequel because of it's characters. The original managed to avoid the obvious who should die who should live, this sequel embraces it. This means we have a plot involving evil people out for an artifact so they can sel... read morel it and good people, out for an artifact so they can put it in a museum. The film is simple and enjoyable enough, but it plays it too safe. The CGI, gore and horror ranges from impressive to sub-par. Cerina Vincent looks a lovely though and makes her scenes sizzle like she did in Cabin Fever.
  • Stinger839
    April 5, 2009
    Stinger839
    Not only is it a quite convoluted yet simple plot, it isn't scary or even gory (what I mean to say is that the gore is not well done, be it crap CG or badly colored and wrong consistency blood). The acting is fair considering I have never seen any of these people before.

    The hi... read moreghlight here is the set decoration and overall art direction though vast chunks of it smack of rented permanent studio installations. Makeup is a nice attempt but is basically laughable and wholly ineffective. BIG SKIP
  • bbcfloridabound
    May 4, 2008
    bbcfloridabound
    When it comes to Horror Slasher Kill'em Movies don't think I've ever given over a 3 Star rating, but this one gets 4.5 Stars. Not real gore, but good scenes to keep you on the edge, in my book well done. Yes add it to the collection.
  • drblood
    January 16, 2008
    drblood
    Hot lesbian ghosts, gore scenes that have you saying "Lush!" everytime they occur and enough CGI to keep video gamers entertained for years. Yes, this had it all!
    It wasn't as clever as the original by any stretch of the imagination but it was about equal to the remake. You can't... read more really hope for any more than that when it comes to sequels to remakes anyway. At least this one had a lot more ghosts.
    I liked the first hour of it but things started to run out of steam towards the end. All the best death scenes were used up by then. It all started relying on far too much CGI and was verging on the crappiness that was "Silent Hill" by the time everyone reached the crematorium. None of the jump scares worked and it lacked any real atmosphere.
    Characterisation was quite minimal but adequate and it looked good for a straight-to-DVD product.
    There really isn't much more to say about it. It was predictable and unoriginal but still very gory and quite entertaining.
    Jeffrey Combs was completely wasted in it though. I hope he got paid a lot for his one line.
  • Deano78
    January 8, 2008
    Deano78
    A pretty good straight to DVD low budget sequel to the underrated original. This definitely shows the budget constraints but there is plenty of cheesey acting, blood, elaborate deaths and pointless nudity of course. Just not up to the standard of the first one and not really scar... read morey.......watch after the credits to!
  • fb100002023516744
    June 9, 2011
    fb100002023516744
    Just as good as the first.
  • monkeybobbob
    March 10, 2012
    monkeybobbob
    Sequel to the remake that wasn't that great anyway. When the one survivor from the first movie dies randomly her sister decides she has to return to the haunted mansion and find out whats going on. Thats before she's actually forced into it by a rival who's after some baphomet st... read moreatue thing thats worth 5 million pounds but theres a writer/archiologist involved who also wants it put in a museum. Problem is, the ghosts at the mansion have something to say about that. Its all very predictable meaning the scares aren't scary and the attempts at humour don't work. So, a couple of cool deaths and a couple of hot women aside, this is pretty shit really.

View All Return to House on Haunted Hill Reviews

Critic Reviews

Steve Biodrowski
July 15, 2009
Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

If you've ever wondered what RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK would have been like if Lucio Fulci had directed it, here's your chance to find out: there's almost enough blood to fill the gaping plot holes %u20... Full Review

Scott Weinberg
October 18, 2007
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

There's just too much "down time" and not enough energy to keep the flick afloat. Full Review

David Cornelius
October 17, 2007
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com

Return is a movie that starts with twenty stories worth of bottom. And it's all drop from there. Full Review

Kevin Carr
October 16, 2007
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

as direct-to-video Halloween thrills go, it's not bad. In fact, it's better than some of the garbage that's being released in the theaters today. Full Review

John J. Puccio
October 8, 2007
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

Most of it is standard fright-flick fare, with almost no emphasis on the fright. Full Review

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