The Haunting12A

Directed by Robert Wise | UK/USA | 1963 | 1h 52m | Starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Fay Compton

Wise’s adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ (1959) adheres closely to the novel. This is one of the few certainties in Hill House: the film follows the disintegration of Eleanor as she experiences her freedom and an eruption of sexual desire. Presented as part of the Fright’s Out! season, with an introduction by Dr Michael Goodrum

Classic Season: Fright's Out!

Reviews

‘Wise brilliantly uses black and white widescreen to strand his characters in odd-shaped rooms or corridors, making the watcher’s eye skitter frantically over the letterbox screen to catch every ingeniously rendered detail.’
★★★★★
Ian Freer, Empire Magazine

‘When The Haunting digs into the internals of its story, summons its spirits and lets them play havoc with cold reason, it has a power and fervor unmatched by any film ghost stories.’
James Powers, The Hollywood Reporter

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Haunting between October 11, 2025 and October 13, 2025.

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Today (Tuesday 16th June)
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17:45

Fairyland 15
£6 for Members
1h 56m
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20:30

The Holy Mountain U
£6 for Members
1h 45m
Rethinking Weimar Cinema
Made in 1926 by Arnold Fanck, The Holy Mountain is a landmark German Bergfilm featuring Leni Riefenstahl. Set in the Alps, it blends a romantic triangle with spectacular mountaineering, skiing and avalanches. Presented by Rethinking Weimar Cinema.

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Tomorrow (Wednesday 17th June)
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15:30

The Christophers 15
Descriptive Subtitles
1h 40m
A reclusive London artist (Ian McKellen) becomes the target of a scheme by his estranged children, who recruit a young painter (Michaela Coel) to infiltrate his home and uncover hidden works. Steven Soderbergh’s darkly comic chamber piece explores deception, legacy and artistic value.

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18:00

The Spirit of the Beehive PG
1h 38m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Director's Cuts: Lucile Hadžihalilović
In a small Spanish village under early Franco rule, a child’s fascination with Frankenstein blurs imagination and reality. Victor Erice’s celebrated classic is a landmark of Spanish cinema, revered for its poetic depiction of childhood and political shadowed history.

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20:30

Backrooms 15
1h 45m
When a patient vanishes through a strange basement doorway of a furniture showroom, his therapist follows him into a disorienting dimension. Expanding Kane Parsons’ cult online series, this feature-length adaptation stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve and bringing “liminal horror” to the big screen.

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Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

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