The House That Dripped Blood

House comes off looking like an English knock-off of Night Gallery. While there's a very good cast buried in this film, the writing by original Psycho scripe Robert Bloch doesn't sever them very well. Denholm Elliot (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who)and Ingrid Pitt do their best given the material but there isn't much here to begin with. Bloch's script has no teeth and the direction is on a par with very average 1970's television programs.

It's a pity. The framing story for this anthology promised much more than it could deliver. A famous horror film actor (Jon Pertwee)has disappeared and one of Scotland Yard's finest is sent down to refer on the case. It turns out that the house where the actor was staying has a curse on it. Horror things happen to everyone that has rented it from A. J. Stoker (in an all too obvious tip of the hat to Bram Stoker and Dracula).

The first tale starts promisingly enough. A writer (Denholm Elliot)suffering from writer's block is hoping to jump-start his new novel about a strangler with a change of scenery. His wife doesn't care for the place but it suits the writer's personality to a tee. Fiction intrudes on reality when the writer begins seeing the murderer from his novel everywhere. His wife doesn't see anything. When the writer nearly strangles his wife, she insists that he seek help. Needless to say, things end badly.

The second tale involves a retired stockbroker (Peter Cushing giving a solid performance as always). He rents the house for the isolation and escape from the real world. He discovers a wax museum which would have seemed at home in the film House of Wax. He recognizes one of the figures; it resembles a former lover that he and his best friend fought over years ago. When Cushing's friend shows up to visit, he takes him into town. They visit the wax museum. The friend is mesmerized by the likeness of his former lover and can't leave the town.

The third tale involves a little girl isolated from all other children and her very frightened father who hires a teacher to tutor her. The third tale like the first two have a lot of potential. The telling of the tale is so poor, though, that it's hard to develop any sympathy for any of the characters or care what happens to them.

The fourth and final story provides the resolution for the framing story about the missing actor. It seems that the actor was appearing in a horror film about a vampire. When the actor purchases a cloak that belonged to a real vampire the tongue-in-cheek tale takes a turn for the worst for the actor and his co-star.

The transfer and print look exceptional. The colors are rich and the print suffers from minor analog imperfections. The mono sound is occasionally distorted but, on the whole, it sounds pretty good. The extras are minimal but given the nice transfer and widescreen presentation, fans may forgive this oversight. There is a nice interview with one of the producers.

What prevents the film from being effective are the telegraphed endings, hamfisted direction and lackluster writing. All of this is a surprise given the other films that came from Amicus Productions during the 60's and 70's. The film looks like an average television movie and has as much ambition. Horror film veterans like Roy Ward Baker (Asylum and Scars of Dracula) might have given this film a bit more energy and visual inspiration. Unfortunately, House is a relic of an earlier, more innocent time when bell bottoms were king and the few worthwhile horror films were low budget but sharp looking efforts from England.

No doubt I'll get some no helpful votes on this review (particularly if you remember this film fondly as I did)but, sadly, it hasn't aged well at all. The House That Dripped Blood has a couple of creepy and suspenseful moments but most of these are courtesy of the performances of Elliot, Cushing and Lee.