At the time of its release The Haunting, based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House, was considered a fairly straightforward movie about a handful of people in a house possessed by evil spirits. But its reputation has only grown in the decades since. Steven Spielberg calls it one of the “seminal films” of his youth, and one of the scariest films ever made. Many critics agree that it is one of the most frightening films ever. Its innovative effects and groundbreaking camerawork make it feel much fresher and more modern than other films made contemporaneously. And its unstable atmosphere creates a disturbing, unsettling feeling in the viewer that persists long after the movie itself has ended.