Decided to catch the 'Rifftrax' version today. Honestly, I think Mike and the gang were the only thing stopping this stink bomb from falling into the sea.
'Hillbillys in a HAunted House' is about an hour long and is best summed up as follows:
A group of country singers lose their way on the way to a country jamboree, they end up getting directions to a spooky house, in the house it turns out theres some no goodnicks looking to do…something! To make these country singers leave. They dont. Cue a ton of sitting around, intercut with country music numbers, and eventually one of the gangs female singers wanders off, gets kidnapped, a gorilla shows up…and…the house they're stopping in may or may not actually be haunted.
Its a slog of a watch, the mirth of 'Hillbilly' antics can only really carry this film so far, NOTHING happens for the vast majority of the runtime, the dialogue is aiming for jovial but lands in just plain strange. The characters arnt that interesting either…and not even David Carradine and Basil Rathbone can bring the vibe up.
The films biggest flaw? its a haunted house movie with very VERY little 'Haunting' and certainly no 'Horror' to be had. its just a very dry, not particularly funny musical comedy set in a haunted house that isnt all that haunted.
VIsually its a bit of a wash too. It reminded me HEAVILY of 'Monsters Crash the Pyjama Party' its all quite flat, bland undressed sets, colour palettes that feel washed out and drab. Theres nothing here to grab the eye or catch the attention. It just feels like a lame duck.
Throw in some subpar acting and songs that are just…SO souless…and you've got the perfect makings of a stinker of a picture. Dont get me wrong! This is by no means one of the worst movies ever made! It does have one or two jokes that land quite well, and like a broken clock, our main male leads do manage to make a gag or two land well! But as I said at the start of this review, if it wasnt for the rifftrax gang VERY much adding some seasoning to this cold, wet, unseasoned chicken breast of a movie. I dont think it would have been anywhere near as enjoyable a watch.
I can recommend the rifftrax dub. I absolutely cant recommend the film itself…oooh boy its a stinker.
source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/hillbillys-in-a-haunted-house/
