Arguably the best of
several horror-anthology films that Amicus Productions made in the ’60s and
’70s, The House That Dripped Blood
benefits from a droll sense of humor, glossy cinematography, and a cast filled
with some of the best actors borrowed from the stable of Amicus’ predecessor in
the British-horror market, Hammer Films. Like nearly all the “portmanteau” pictures
that Amicus made, The House That Dripped
Blood is much more frothy than frightening, benefiting from a (mostly)
brisk pace and a varied mixture of supernatural signifiers.
Written by Robert
Bloch (author of the novel Psycho,
which was adapted into the Hitchcock film of the same name), The House That Dripped Blood concerns a
U.K. mansion where tenants experience macabre tragedies. The perfunctory
wraparound device involves a Scotland Yard detective who has traveled to the area
surrounding the house in order to investigate the most recent death. As he’s
given the case histories on previous mortalities, flashbacks illustrate the
creepy goings-on at the haunted abode.
The first story, “Method for Murder,” is
about a crime novelist (Denholm Elliot) who believes a homicidal character he
invented has come to life. In “Wax Works,” a retired gentleman (Peter Cushing)
discovers that a wax museum near the house contains a likeness of the
gentleman’s lost love. “Sweets to the Sweet” follows a stern father (Christopher
Lee) as he tries to control the life of his angelic-looking daughter, who, naturally,
has a dark secret. “The Cloak,” the only full-on comedy vignette of the batch, portrays
the adventures of a pompous movie actor (Jon Pertwee) whose quest for authenticity
in a vampire role goes too far, and whose buxom costar (Ingrid Pitt) goes batty for him.
Director Peter Duffell and cinematographer Ray
Parslow shoot the hell out of the movie, using ironically selected foreground
objects and elaborately moody lighting to create a colorful look that both
captures and satirizes the cartoonish visuals associated with classic screen
horror. And except for “Sweets to the Sweet,” which takes too long laying
groundwork before things get evil, Duffell paces the movie elegantly. In so
doing, he gives his seasoned performers room to mug and scowl, which works well
since florid acting is yet another staple of vintage fright films. (In fact,
stylized horror acting is overtly lampooned in “The Cloak.”)
Of the four
stories, “Method for Murder” is probably the best simply because it gets down
to business immediately and creates actual tension during scenes in which the
novelist thinks he’s going crazy. (It also helps that Elliott is masterful at
conveying barely contained anxiety.) “The Cloak” is whimsical, if not
laugh-out-loud funny, and the combination of Pertwee’s flamboyance and Pitt’s
sensuality works well. (Pertwee played the title role in the enduring Doctor Who BBC series during the early ’70s,
and Pitt starred in various eroticized features for Hammer.) Made at a time
when horror movies were getting nastier by the minute—more gore, more skin,
more violation of every kind—The House
That Dripped Blood is cheerfully old-fashioned entertainment.
The House That Dripped Blood: GROOVY
3 comments:
I remember this! Quite nifty. (To any out there not versed in Hammer films, the Pitt Peter refers to is of course the great Ingrid.)
Another trip down memory lane for me, and another old favourite you have prompted me to revisit this weekend!
Something about the theatricality of certain british horrors from this period (the Dr Phibes films being the perfect examples) always works for me. There was a class of post war British character actors who brought these movies to life.
LOVED THIS FILM!!
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