A
police inspector arrives from Scotland Yard to investigate the
mysterious disappearance of a movie star who was staying in a nearby
house. A local policeman insists that he needs to understand the nature
of the house first, and tells him about the previous occupants. Method for Murder:
the thriller writer Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott) and his wife move
into the place, he is strugging to write his new novel and wants
somewhere to work. He invents a new character called Dominic to be the
lead killer in his novel, but soon he begins to see this man around the
house and whereever he goes. Waxworks:
The next occupant of the house is Philip Grayson (Peter Cushing), a
retired stockbroker whose life was damaged years ago by a lost love. He
explores the nearby town and finds a wax museum where he encounters a
statue who resembles his lost love, but sensing some evil in the place
he hurredly leaves - later when his friend Neville arrives, he takes
them to the museum again, and he too sees the lost woman in the
mannequin, becoming obsessed with it. John Reid (Christopher Lee) is
next to move in, in Sweets to the Sweet,
with a young daughter. He employs a teacher to educate her at home, but
she soon realises that Reid is a very strange man, with an odd terror
of his daughter. Finally, in The Cloak
we hear about the fate of the movie-star, Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee)
who is a veteran horror movie actor, shooting again alongside Carla
Lynde (Ingrid Pitt). In search of authenticity he goes after a
vampire's cloak from a mysterious old shop, and discovers that it is
turning him into a vampire...
After
their early success with the format, the Amicus producers Milton
Subotsky and Max Rosenberg seemed often reluctant to make another
portmanteau horror film, and during the 1960s experiemented with a
variety of genres and styles, meeting with, at best limited success. The House that Dripped Blood
(1970) was their third anthology horror film and is a great example of
how well the format can be used - although it has just four stories (as Torture Garden (1967)) compared to the usual five, allowing more time for each story. Although the link story is very poor
(especially the ridiculous attempt to provide an "explanation" at the
end), all four of the episodes work well and although the first three
could have been extended a bit more, none of them feel over rushed, or
drawn out, unlike many of the Amicus anthology stories.
Method for Murder is a nice little story, with some effective jump scares, although writer Robert Bloch (of Psycho fame)
seems to go the wrong way with the ending, and it doesn't really
make sense. The second tale is often rated very poorly, because of the
rather daft waxworks focus (would a painting perhaps have been a better
centrepoint?), but it does work quite well - a saga of lost love and
regrets that will probably strike a chord with many viewers. Sweets to the Sweet
is a solid segment, well written throughout, with some good
tension towards the end but simply a little unmemorable, particularly
on a second viewing. The final story is a great finalé to the film (or
would be, except for the unnecessary coda from the link story), making
a gentle mockery of the gothic horror films. Putting the comic episode
at the end of the film is probably the best place for it, leaving the
viewer entertained as the film ends, and not distracting from the more
scary opening stories.
Director
Peter Duffell does a generally good job here, building some tension and
a few scares in parts one and three, but he gives his best work in Waxworks
that gets a beautiful representation of solitude set to Franz Schubert's wonderful Death and a Maiden
(1824) and a fantastic dream sequence lit like a Mario Bava film -
although sadly that
particular story is let down by a rather ugly looking mannequin. The
rest of the soundtrack is provided by the little known composer Michael
Dress who provides a minimal but quite effective score.
The
third Amicus anthology production boasts a stronger than usual cast.
Denholm Elliott was an unusual choice, although he had appeared in
three television horror stories in the late 1960s, even playing Dracula
in an episode of the ITV series Mystery and Imagination
- he gives a superb performance as the tortured novelist. Peter Cushing
was all but essential casting (the American funders insisted on him,
along with Lee and Pitt) and gives one of his best performances as a
man haunted by lost love, at the time he was deeply affected by the
terminal illness of his wife, and it appears to add an increadible
resonance to his performance. Christopher Lee plays one of his usual,
rather uptight roles, and is well cast opposite the diminutive Chloe
Franks. Jon Pertwee was, at the time, the face of Doctor Who, but his
casting here seems to be more in reference to his earlier career in
British comedy films (most importantly perhaps, Carry on Screaming!
(1966)) and he gives a wonderful performance opposite the noticably
buxom Ingird Pitt, who at the time was a hot horror movie property and
has to spend most of her role simply looking pretty - but does it well. The House that Dripped Blood is probably the best overall Amicus anthology film. The Cloak
is certainly one of the studio's most effective all-out comedy efforts,
and although none of the three 'horror' titles rank in Amicus' top
five, they are all solid productions, without the 'duds' that ruin many
of the other portmanteau works. A quintet of superb acting
performances, and some inspired direction from Peter Duffell
(particularly on part two) really help in setting the film above its
rivals. Recommended to
Amicus followers, and a great place to start exploring their work for
any classic horror fans.
In
Brief
Anyone
famous in it?
Christopher Lee - best known for his Hammer work he also starred in Euro-horror, including Horror Express (1973). Peter Cushing - the most regular Amicus star, best known as Hammer's Frankenstein and Van Helsing. Denholm Elliott - a well known British actor, who also starred in Hammer's dire To the Devil a Daughter (1976). Ingrid Pitt - the Polish beauty who made her name in Hammer's Vampire Lovers (1970).
Directed by anyone
interesting?
Peter Duffell - an otherwise little known British director, who also worked on the highly regarded mini-series Flambards (1979).
Is it scary?
There
are a couple of scenes that might prove scary, but nothing much.
Any
violence/gore?
Nothing vivid.
Any sex?
None.
Who is it for?
A great place for Amicus newcomers, and generally enjoyable for all classic horror fans.
The
DVD
Visuals
Original
Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colour. The
print is good with only mild grain and only minor print damage.
Audio
English original mono sounds fine, plus rather unnecessary 5.1 and DTS remixes.
Subtitles
None.
Extras
The disc includes:
Audio
Commentary with director Peter Duffell and British horror writer
Jonathan Rigby. Some good conversation and plenty of interesting facts
come out about the film.
Interview featurette with actresses Ingrid Pitt and Chloe Franks, actor Geoffrey
Bayldon and director Peter
Duffell. More interesting stories about the film and its production. (17 minutes)
Text biographies
for Peter Cushing, Peter Duffell, Denholm Elliott, Chloe Franks,
Christopher Lee, Jon Pertwee and Ingrid Pitt, plus notes on the film
and excerpts from contemporary reviews.
77 image manually scrolling photo gallery.
Availability
A single disc release, and on an identical disc in the Anchor Bay UK Amicus Boxset.
Region
Region 2 (UK,
Europe) - PAL
Other regions?
Available on DVD in the
US from Lion's Gate, without the interviews or commentary, but a
new interview with Max Rosenberg. Also a German DVD with no features.
Cuts?
Believed to be fully uncut. English language print.
Summary
Probably the best overall Amicus anthology horror film, with a great cast and some inspired direction. Recommended.
A very thorough selection of extra features, coupled with a good looking and sounding print.
All
text in this review written by Timothy Young - 8th August 2007. Part of Horror September 2.. Text
from this review not to be used without authorization.