Return to House on Haunted Hill
Encyclopedia
Return to House on Haunted Hill is a 2007 horror film
and sequel to the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill
. Directed by Víctor García
, the film depicts a group of people searching for a mysterious idol
hidden inside a haunted psychiatric asylum
. Nearly everyone is killed during the search by supernatural forces, which seem to be connected to the idol.
) is the sister of Sara Wolfe (Ali Larter
), a survivor of events some years ago in the psychiatric asylum known as the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane. In the early part of the 20th century, the asylum was overseen by the sadistic psychiatrist
Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt (Jeffrey Combs
). Sara claims that ghost
s killed all who entered the building, but no one believes her. She commits suicide and Ariel tries to find out why.
Ariel discovers a diary written by Dr. Vannacutt that reveals the cruel history of the Institute. She and her friend Paul (Tom Riley) are then kidnapped by an unscrupulous art dealer, Desmond Niles (Erik Palladino
), who knows a great deal about Sara and Vannacutt's hospital. Ariel quickly realises that Sara didn't commit suicide: Desmond killed her. Desmond forces Ariel to help him find an artifact
allegedly located inside the old Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute, a figurine of the demon
Baphomet
. While Desmond's henchmen Samuel (Andrew Pleavin
) holds Paul captive outside the asylum, Ariel, Desmond, and four of Desmond's accomplices enter the building. Once inside, they encounter Dr. Richard Hammer (Steven Pacey
). Dr. Hammer has been lured into the asylum by his assistants Kyle (Andrew-Lee Potts
) and Michelle (Cerina Vincent
). Desmond is one of Dr. Hammer's former students, and Michelle is Desmond's lover. Michelle seduced Dr. Hammer to learn what he knew about the sanatorium and the Baphomet idol, and then lured Hammer and Kyle into the asylum so they could help search for the statuette.
Several loud noises are heard, and Ariel explains that the building has been rigged with a series of locks, bars, and gates that will keep everyone inside for at least 12 hours. Using MP5 submachine guns
, Desmond's henchmen damage the machinery and conclude they can still escape. The group splits up to search for the idol: Desmond following Ariel, Michele following Richard, and Kyle with Desmond's accomplice Norris (Gil Kolirin). The remaining henchmen, Warren (Chucky Venice
) and Harue (Kalita Rainford), each go off alone. Warren is immediately killed when his body is sucked into a wall. Harue is seduced by several lesbian
ghosts, but her face is sliced off by the ghostly Dr. Vannacutt and she dies. Ariel is separated from Desmond and dragged into a padded cell
. The ghost of a dead inmate (George Zlatarev) traumatizes
her by showing Ariel the depravity he and the other inmates suffered during Dr. Vannacutt's reign of terror. Vannacutt was driven mad by the idol, and later performed his ghastly experiments on the mentally ill. The ghost reveals that he led a revolt against Dr. Vannacutt, during which the sanatorium burned down. (The audience is shown footage from the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill which depicted these events.) The deaths of the characters in the previous film were assumed to be caused by the spirits of dead inmates seeking vengeance. But now Ariel is shown that the dead are actually forced by the idol to do Vannacutt's bidding and did not willingly kill. Ariel, overwhelmed by these visions, falls unconscious. She wakes to find herself in a straightjacket, and screams. Her cries lead Desmond, Dr. Hammer, and Michelle to her cell and they rescue her.
In the asylum's entrance hall, Norris is dismembered by ghosts. Ariel, Michelle, Desmond, and Dr. Hammer hear Kyle scream and rush to the entrance hall. Suddenly, the master locking mechanism begins to lock the house down again. Ariel is the only one able to rush out of the asylum in time. But she discovers that Samuel and Paul have entered into the house. The main door opens again as if to invite her in, and she returns to the interior of the hospital. Back inside the hospital, Samuel swears he heard Desmond tell them to enter the building. While Desmond and the others discuss the situation, Samuel is lured away by a shadow and killed by the ghost of Dr. Vannacutt. In the ensuing chaos, Paul, Kyle and Dr. Hammer subdue and disarm Desmond and Michelle.
Ariel convinces the group to continue the search for the idol, as it is the only way to stop the spirits. The group first looks in the hydrotherapy
room. Desmond knocks Kyle into the water and flees with Michelle. Ariel tries to save Kyle, but he is dragged to the bottom of the pool by a ghost and slain. Dr. Hammer and Paul pull Ariel from the water just in time to save her life. Elsewhere, Desmond and Michelle argue over whether to keep looking for the idol. Convinced Michelle is trying to get the idol for herself, Desmond attempts to kill her. Michelle flees but is killed by the demonic Dr. Vannacutt. Desmond resumes the search alone. Ariel, Paul, and Dr. Hammer discover a grate leading to the sewer and a way out of the asylum, but it is blocked by iron bars too narrow for a person to fit through. The ghost of the rebellious inmate gives Ariel another vision, showing her that the idol is in a hidden chamber behind an oven in the asylum's basement crematorium
.
Ariel, Paul, and Dr. Hammer descend to the crematorium, locate the correct oven, and discover a secret exit at the oven's rear. They walk down a hidden corridor and discover the "heart of the house" (composed of living flesh). Ariel tries to destroy the idol with her handgun but it is indestructible. She removes the idol, reasoning that if it is flushed down the sewer and leaves the building all the spirits will be freed. The team ascends the stairs and leaves the oven but are ambushed by Desmond. With the idol threatened, the spirits begin attacking. Desmond is seized by ghosts and pushed into a furnace where he is burned alive. Paul avoids death by fleeing into the oven and back down into the heart of the house. Ariel and Dr. Hammer rush back to the sewer grate to flush the idol before Paul dies. But Dr. Hammer is overcome by the idol's evil and tries to strangle Ariel. They fight, and Ariel screams at Hammer—begging him to resist the idol's influence. Hammer recovers his senses, but the ghost of Dr. Vannacutt appears and begins killing him. Ariel seizes the idol and throws it through the grate and into the sewer. The spirits begin vanishing (saving Paul at the last moment). Several spirits attack Dr. Vannacutt, tearing him apart before all the ghosts vanish. With Vannacutt no longer controlling the locking mechanism, the building comes unsealed. Ariel and Paul leave.
In a post-credits scene
, a man and woman are shown about to make love on a beach. The woman feels something under the sand beneath her. They dig, and pull the Baphomet idol into the light.
technology (which permits viewers to manipulate up to seven aspects of the story line to create more than 90 different versions of the film). Actor Jeffrey Combs said that the script did not contain the "navigational branching" scenes, and director Victor Garcia admitted that these script changes did not arrive until the start of principal photography.
Return to House on Haunted Hill was the feature film directorial debut for Victor Garcia, who had previously helmed a single short film. It was also the first feature film screenplay from writer William Massa. Filming occurred in Sofia
, Bulgaria
.
, Warner Premiere released an unrated version with the Navigational Cinema technology, as well as an R-rated version that did not.
The unrated U.S. release did not contain any interviews, commentaries, or "making of" featurettes, but did include four deleted scenes; a music video for the Mushroomhead
song "Simple Survival" (featured on the film's soundtrack); and about 20 minutes of in-character interviews with the leads, which recapped the film's plot or provided limited backstory. Many of the Navigational Cinema features led to scene choices which included more nudity or gore, but only one choice materially changed the outcome of the story. An additional 60 minutes of video were shot to incorporate these choices.
The film did not receive a positive critical reception. A review in Wired
declared the plot and script to be atrocious, saying, "For some reason, the sequel throws in a mysterious idol as the cause of[Vannacutt's] Inherent Evil. Ugh. It's an impossibly contrived reason to get people back in the house, and the subplots about suicides and gangsters, is particularly out of place. The gore factor is adequate, but you won't actually care about anyone who's dying, making this a horrendous waste of time." The Web site DVD Talk
called the story a "retread", the characters "thinly-written", and the plot device of the Baphomet idol "completely arbitrary". However, some reviews felt the viewer ability to select alternate plots was intriguing and fun.
A third installment in the franchise had been planned, but poor DVD sales for Return to House on Haunted Hill led Dark Castle to cancel these plans in October 2010.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
and sequel to the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill (1999 film)
House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American horror film, directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter and Jeffrey Combs. It also includes a cameo appearance by Peter Graves...
. Directed by Víctor García
Víctor García (Spanish director)
Víctor García is a Spanish-born film director best known for his award-winning short film El ciclo and the 2007 American horror film Return to House on Haunted Hill.-Career:...
, the film depicts a group of people searching for a mysterious idol
Cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
hidden inside a haunted psychiatric asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
. Nearly everyone is killed during the search by supernatural forces, which seem to be connected to the idol.
Plot
Ariel Wolfe (Amanda RighettiAmanda Righetti
Amanda Righetti is an American actress and film producer. She is best known for her roles in The Mentalist, Friday the 13th and The O.C. In 2008, Righetti was the winner of the Best Actress award at the New York International Independent Film Video Festival for the Short Film category.-Early...
) is the sister of Sara Wolfe (Ali Larter
Ali Larter
Alison Elizabeth "Ali" Larter is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the dual roles of Niki Sanders and Jessica Sanders on the NBC science fiction drama Heroes as well as her guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s.Larter's screen debut came in the 1999 film...
), a survivor of events some years ago in the psychiatric asylum known as the Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute for the Criminally Insane. In the early part of the 20th century, the asylum was overseen by the sadistic psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt (Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
). Sara claims that ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s killed all who entered the building, but no one believes her. She commits suicide and Ariel tries to find out why.
Ariel discovers a diary written by Dr. Vannacutt that reveals the cruel history of the Institute. She and her friend Paul (Tom Riley) are then kidnapped by an unscrupulous art dealer, Desmond Niles (Erik Palladino
Erik Palladino
Erik Palladino is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Dave Malucci in the NBC drama series ER. He was also a series regular on the critically praised FX Television series Over There.-Early life:...
), who knows a great deal about Sara and Vannacutt's hospital. Ariel quickly realises that Sara didn't commit suicide: Desmond killed her. Desmond forces Ariel to help him find an artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
allegedly located inside the old Vannacutt Psychiatric Institute, a figurine of the demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
Baphomet
Baphomet
Baphomet is an imagined pagan deity , revived in the 19th century as a figure of occultism and Satanism. It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century...
. While Desmond's henchmen Samuel (Andrew Pleavin
Andrew Pleavin
Andrew Pleavin is an English actor known for his appearances in the TV film Attila, Unstoppable, Batman Begins, Attack of the Gryphon, Return to House on Haunted Hill and his roles in the British police dramas Messiah III: the Promise and the Bill...
) holds Paul captive outside the asylum, Ariel, Desmond, and four of Desmond's accomplices enter the building. Once inside, they encounter Dr. Richard Hammer (Steven Pacey
Steven Pacey
Steven Pacey is an English actor, best known for his role as Del Tarrant in the third and fourth seasons of the sci-fi series Blake's 7....
). Dr. Hammer has been lured into the asylum by his assistants Kyle (Andrew-Lee Potts
Andrew-Lee Potts
Andrew-Lee Potts is an English actor.He attended Intake High School Arts College and began his career in Musical Theatre. Potts is best known for his role as quirky student Connor Temple on ITV's science fiction programme Primeval, starring with his real-life fiancée, Hannah Spearritt...
) and Michelle (Cerina Vincent
Cerina Vincent
Cerina Vincent is an American film actress, and model best known for playing the Yellow Ranger Maya in the television series Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, a naked foreign exchange student in Not Another Teen Movie, and Marcy in Cabin Fever. She is considered a scream queen.-Early life:Vincent was...
). Desmond is one of Dr. Hammer's former students, and Michelle is Desmond's lover. Michelle seduced Dr. Hammer to learn what he knew about the sanatorium and the Baphomet idol, and then lured Hammer and Kyle into the asylum so they could help search for the statuette.
Several loud noises are heard, and Ariel explains that the building has been rigged with a series of locks, bars, and gates that will keep everyone inside for at least 12 hours. Using MP5 submachine guns
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
, Desmond's henchmen damage the machinery and conclude they can still escape. The group splits up to search for the idol: Desmond following Ariel, Michele following Richard, and Kyle with Desmond's accomplice Norris (Gil Kolirin). The remaining henchmen, Warren (Chucky Venice
Chucky Venice
Chucky Venn is an English actor, best known for two television roles, in both of which he played footballers: Curtis Alexander in Sky One's Dream Team and Tremaine Gidigbi in Footballers' Wives.Born Charles Venn, he grew up on the tough Mozart Estate, which was at the time a notorious...
) and Harue (Kalita Rainford), each go off alone. Warren is immediately killed when his body is sucked into a wall. Harue is seduced by several lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
ghosts, but her face is sliced off by the ghostly Dr. Vannacutt and she dies. Ariel is separated from Desmond and dragged into a padded cell
Padded cell
A padded cell is a cell in a mental hospital with cushions lining the walls. The padding is an attempt to prevent a patient from hurting him/herself by hitting his/her head on the hard surface of the walls...
. The ghost of a dead inmate (George Zlatarev) traumatizes
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
her by showing Ariel the depravity he and the other inmates suffered during Dr. Vannacutt's reign of terror. Vannacutt was driven mad by the idol, and later performed his ghastly experiments on the mentally ill. The ghost reveals that he led a revolt against Dr. Vannacutt, during which the sanatorium burned down. (The audience is shown footage from the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill which depicted these events.) The deaths of the characters in the previous film were assumed to be caused by the spirits of dead inmates seeking vengeance. But now Ariel is shown that the dead are actually forced by the idol to do Vannacutt's bidding and did not willingly kill. Ariel, overwhelmed by these visions, falls unconscious. She wakes to find herself in a straightjacket, and screams. Her cries lead Desmond, Dr. Hammer, and Michelle to her cell and they rescue her.
In the asylum's entrance hall, Norris is dismembered by ghosts. Ariel, Michelle, Desmond, and Dr. Hammer hear Kyle scream and rush to the entrance hall. Suddenly, the master locking mechanism begins to lock the house down again. Ariel is the only one able to rush out of the asylum in time. But she discovers that Samuel and Paul have entered into the house. The main door opens again as if to invite her in, and she returns to the interior of the hospital. Back inside the hospital, Samuel swears he heard Desmond tell them to enter the building. While Desmond and the others discuss the situation, Samuel is lured away by a shadow and killed by the ghost of Dr. Vannacutt. In the ensuing chaos, Paul, Kyle and Dr. Hammer subdue and disarm Desmond and Michelle.
Ariel convinces the group to continue the search for the idol, as it is the only way to stop the spirits. The group first looks in the hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
room. Desmond knocks Kyle into the water and flees with Michelle. Ariel tries to save Kyle, but he is dragged to the bottom of the pool by a ghost and slain. Dr. Hammer and Paul pull Ariel from the water just in time to save her life. Elsewhere, Desmond and Michelle argue over whether to keep looking for the idol. Convinced Michelle is trying to get the idol for herself, Desmond attempts to kill her. Michelle flees but is killed by the demonic Dr. Vannacutt. Desmond resumes the search alone. Ariel, Paul, and Dr. Hammer discover a grate leading to the sewer and a way out of the asylum, but it is blocked by iron bars too narrow for a person to fit through. The ghost of the rebellious inmate gives Ariel another vision, showing her that the idol is in a hidden chamber behind an oven in the asylum's basement crematorium
Crematory
A crematory is a machine in which cremation takes place. Crematories are usually found in funeral homes, cemeteries, or in stand-alone facilities. A facility which houses the actual cremator units is referred to as a crematorium.-History:Prior to the Industrial Revolution, any cremation which took...
.
Ariel, Paul, and Dr. Hammer descend to the crematorium, locate the correct oven, and discover a secret exit at the oven's rear. They walk down a hidden corridor and discover the "heart of the house" (composed of living flesh). Ariel tries to destroy the idol with her handgun but it is indestructible. She removes the idol, reasoning that if it is flushed down the sewer and leaves the building all the spirits will be freed. The team ascends the stairs and leaves the oven but are ambushed by Desmond. With the idol threatened, the spirits begin attacking. Desmond is seized by ghosts and pushed into a furnace where he is burned alive. Paul avoids death by fleeing into the oven and back down into the heart of the house. Ariel and Dr. Hammer rush back to the sewer grate to flush the idol before Paul dies. But Dr. Hammer is overcome by the idol's evil and tries to strangle Ariel. They fight, and Ariel screams at Hammer—begging him to resist the idol's influence. Hammer recovers his senses, but the ghost of Dr. Vannacutt appears and begins killing him. Ariel seizes the idol and throws it through the grate and into the sewer. The spirits begin vanishing (saving Paul at the last moment). Several spirits attack Dr. Vannacutt, tearing him apart before all the ghosts vanish. With Vannacutt no longer controlling the locking mechanism, the building comes unsealed. Ariel and Paul leave.
In a post-credits scene
Post-credits scene
A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run...
, a man and woman are shown about to make love on a beach. The woman feels something under the sand beneath her. They dig, and pull the Baphomet idol into the light.
Cast
- Amanda RighettiAmanda RighettiAmanda Righetti is an American actress and film producer. She is best known for her roles in The Mentalist, Friday the 13th and The O.C. In 2008, Righetti was the winner of the Best Actress award at the New York International Independent Film Video Festival for the Short Film category.-Early...
- Ariel Wolfe - Cerina VincentCerina VincentCerina Vincent is an American film actress, and model best known for playing the Yellow Ranger Maya in the television series Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, a naked foreign exchange student in Not Another Teen Movie, and Marcy in Cabin Fever. She is considered a scream queen.-Early life:Vincent was...
- Michelle - Erik PalladinoErik PalladinoErik Palladino is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Dave Malucci in the NBC drama series ER. He was also a series regular on the critically praised FX Television series Over There.-Early life:...
- Desmond Niles - Tom Riley - Paul
- Andrew Lee Potts - Kyle
- Jeffrey CombsJeffrey CombsJeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
- Dr. Richard B. Vannacutt - Steven PaceySteven PaceySteven Pacey is an English actor, best known for his role as Del Tarrant in the third and fourth seasons of the sci-fi series Blake's 7....
- Dr. Richard Hammer - Kalita Rainford - Harue
- Gil Kolirin - Norris Boz
- Andrew PleavinAndrew PleavinAndrew Pleavin is an English actor known for his appearances in the TV film Attila, Unstoppable, Batman Begins, Attack of the Gryphon, Return to House on Haunted Hill and his roles in the British police dramas Messiah III: the Promise and the Bill...
- Samuel - Chucky VeniceChucky VeniceChucky Venn is an English actor, best known for two television roles, in both of which he played footballers: Curtis Alexander in Sky One's Dream Team and Tremaine Gidigbi in Footballers' Wives.Born Charles Venn, he grew up on the tough Mozart Estate, which was at the time a notorious...
- Warren Jackson - Tatina De Marinis - Ariel's Assistant
- Stilyana Mitkova - Sara Wolfe/Ghost
- George Zlatarev - Lead Inmate Host
- Laia Gonzàlez - Nurse Ghost
- Ali LarterAli LarterAlison Elizabeth "Ali" Larter is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the dual roles of Niki Sanders and Jessica Sanders on the NBC science fiction drama Heroes as well as her guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s.Larter's screen debut came in the 1999 film...
- Sara Wolfe (flashback) - Geniva Lorentosa - Naked Beach Model #1
- Oksana Borbat - Beautiful Woman Ghost #1
- Xeniya Fesenko - Beautiful Woman Ghost #2
- Nikolav Iliev - Man on Beach
- Zhasmina Toskova - Woman on Beach
Production
Dark Castle Entertainment announced it would produce a sequel to The House on Haunted Hill in August 2006, and said it had cast Amanda Righetti in the lead at the same time. In June 2007, Warner Bros. agreed to co-fund the sequel under its Warner Premiere brand, a subdivision of the studio that focuses on direct-to-DVD releases and other digital media. The pictured was filmed using high-definition digital media, and the script and shots were designed for use with the Navigational CinemaNavigational Cinema
Navigational Cinema is a technology found exclusively on high definition optical formats .Developed by Warner Bros., Navigational Cinema is a next-gen milestone that promises to allow users to choose between dozens of different storylines for a truly interactive viewing experience.The first title...
technology (which permits viewers to manipulate up to seven aspects of the story line to create more than 90 different versions of the film). Actor Jeffrey Combs said that the script did not contain the "navigational branching" scenes, and director Victor Garcia admitted that these script changes did not arrive until the start of principal photography.
Return to House on Haunted Hill was the feature film directorial debut for Victor Garcia, who had previously helmed a single short film. It was also the first feature film screenplay from writer William Massa. Filming occurred in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
Reception, releases and sequel
In June 2007, Warners and Dark Castle announced an October 2007 release for the DVD. It was released October 16, 2007. In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Warner Premiere released an unrated version with the Navigational Cinema technology, as well as an R-rated version that did not.
The unrated U.S. release did not contain any interviews, commentaries, or "making of" featurettes, but did include four deleted scenes; a music video for the Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead is an American industrial metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in Cleveland Warehouse District, the band's music can be described as a synthesis of alternative music, heavy metal, and electro-industrial...
song "Simple Survival" (featured on the film's soundtrack); and about 20 minutes of in-character interviews with the leads, which recapped the film's plot or provided limited backstory. Many of the Navigational Cinema features led to scene choices which included more nudity or gore, but only one choice materially changed the outcome of the story. An additional 60 minutes of video were shot to incorporate these choices.
The film did not receive a positive critical reception. A review in Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
declared the plot and script to be atrocious, saying, "For some reason, the sequel throws in a mysterious idol as the cause of
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
called the story a "retread", the characters "thinly-written", and the plot device of the Baphomet idol "completely arbitrary". However, some reviews felt the viewer ability to select alternate plots was intriguing and fun.
A third installment in the franchise had been planned, but poor DVD sales for Return to House on Haunted Hill led Dark Castle to cancel these plans in October 2010.