Dr. John Markway recruits three strangers for a sleep-disorder study at the eerie and isolated Hill House. It soon becomes clear his real interest lies in the mansion itself and its sinister history, as they are forced to confront the nature of its horror…
Direction
Wise makes doors breathe. Literal breathing doors.
Cinematography
Dutch angles so aggressive they need therapy.
Sound
The knocking scene: no score, just your nervous system.
Director
Robert Wise
Julie Harris
Eleanor Lance
Claire Bloom
Theodora
Richard Johnson
Dr. John Markway
Russ Tamblyn
Luke Sanderson
Fay Compton
Mrs. Sanderson
Rosalie Crutchley
Mrs. Dudley
Lois Maxwell
Grace Markway
Valentine Dyall
Mr. Dudley
Diane Clare
Carrie Fredericks
Ronald Adam
Eldridge Harper
Verina Greenlaw
Dora Fredericks (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shirley Jackson hated the film's softened lesbian coding; the novel's Theo is explicitly queer.
Spielberg calls this his favorite horror film; its influence haunts The Shining's Overlook corridors.
GB
