Blutspur ins Totenreich

"House of Shadows" is one of those 70s horror movies that has been standing on my must-see list since forever, but I forgot why exactly. Perhaps simply because it has a cool cover image. Or because I went through an Yvonne De Carlo adoration phase after seeing "The Munsters". Or maybe because I've always been a big admirer of obscure murder-mystery stories with a supernatural twist! For all three potential reasons, I was happy as a child when I coincidentally stumbled upon an old VHS-copy (a Greek release, moreover) of this film, because I don't think there are many other ways to see it. (*)

As long as you don't expect a mind-blowingly spectacular, visually perplexing, and intellectually scripted thriller, "House of Shadows" delivers neat entertainment. It has all the elements a good old-fashioned mystery thriller should have, including a grim 1930s setting, ancient and eerie mansions, a wide variety of suspicious characters, and lots of thunder-and-lighting spook effects. The plot is simple but effective as well. Orphan girl Audrey Christiansen is walking the dog of her employer Mrs. Howard during a stormy evening, when the irritating little poodle escapes and runs into a seemingly abandoned house. Once inside, Audrey witnesses the stone-cold murder of a beautiful woman that looks just like her. When the police are called to the scene, it turns out the murder that Audrey describes really did happen, ... only it happened 23 years ago already, and was never resolved. From then onwards, Audrey is spiritually linked to the murder victim, and she pursues to bring the truth to the surface. The murderer must also feel threatened, because pretty soon bodies are piling up again.

The film suffers from a slow and dragging middle-section, and too often I had difficulties keeping the various characters apart. The third act makes up for everything, though, with a couple of nasty murders and a vicious (albeit predictable) finale.

(*) "House of Shadows" can also be found on YouTube, but be warned that version is heavily cut. A gruesome ax-murder sequence as well as a sequence featuring a grisly car accident are entirely missing.

HOUSE OF SHADOWS is a gratefully overlooked little mystery. A perfect way to spend a stormy, rainy evening in your home, it provides enough dark suspense, terror, and an early 20th century setting that best fits the description. It's another in a string of forgotten low-budget thrills, but it comes very close to being a vintage classic all its own. The series of flashbacks will have you searching for the truth about an age-old murder up until the climatic ending. It works well as a light horror film to accompany the dark, haunting scenery. I may not be a legitimate fan of mysteries, but this is the best one I've seen.

In the 30's, the orphan Audrey Christiansen (Leonor Manso) has just arrived to be the company of the wealthy Mrs. Howard (Yvonne de Carlo), living with her and a couple of other employees in a mansion. While walking on the sidewalk with the little dog Timmy, it escapes from Audrey and enters in a dark house close to hers. Looking for the dog, she witnesses the murder of a woman called Catherine Webster on the second floor of the house, with her body rolling the staircase, but she is unable to see the killer. She comes back home, and together with Mrs. Howard, call the police. The detective informs that the crime described by Audrey happened twenty-three years ago and the killer has not been found. Audrey decides to investigate the murder by herself. She receives some visions from the past while investigating the truth behind the death of Catherine.

"La casa de las sombras" is a reasonable mystery-horror movie with an interesting premise, but poor screenplay and cinematography. The story is very confused, the image is very dark (I saw it on an old VHS) and dubbed in English and the effects are aged in 2004. The actress Leonor Manso, with twenty- eight years old in 1976, seems to be too old for the role of Audrey. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa das Sombras" ("The House of the Shadows")

Note: On 26 Jan 2014 I saw this movie again in the same VHS.

A beautiful orphan named Audrey finds the body of a young woman in an old empty mansion.It seems that the murder was committed twenty three years ago and the police was unable to find the body back then.The girl starts having nightmares as her private investigation keeps going.When she finds a hidden diary the truth begins to unravel...and the murders start again."House of Shadows" is a delightfully obscure and old-fashioned horror mystery with plenty of suspense.This rarely seen film was produced in Argentina starring Yvonne DeCarlo and John Gavin.The lighting is frustratingly dark sometimes,but the acting is solid and the mystery of an old murder mansion is suitably chiling.7 out of 10.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of House Of Shadows. Before we get into it, here are my ratings:

Story - 1.25 Direction - 0.50 Pace - 1.00 Acting - 0.75 Enjoyment - 0.50

TOTAL - 4.00

To be completely honest with you, I don't know how this film scored a 4 out of 10; it really should be less. The thing is, there are some elements of this film that showed promise.

The story is a good example. The premise is first-rate, however, the production of it into a first-rate script is lacking. It's a story of a love triangle that ends in misery - and a haunting. The haunting of Audry and her spectral visions are the one element handled well. And, for the most part, these are also directed successfully. Though, there are times when the soundtrack gets too busy and too raucous. The chorus of wailing ghosts is especially irritating and silly.

What lets House of Shadows down were the cast. Though the performances look good, the dubbing leaves a lot to be desired. Nobody's voice appears to match the person or their feelings. And the strange thing is the movie, though Spanish, looks to be spoken in English by the actors and actresses, as I could lip-read some of their dialogue. So why dub them with different voices for the English version? Unfortunately, it's Yvonne De Carlo who comes out worst in the dubbing stakes. I double dare you to keep a straight face, if you watch this film, when you get to the scene where she's "Baby Talking" to her dog. I felt embarrassed for her.

In the correct Writers' and Directors' hands, this could have been a classic Murder Mystery Ghost Story, but what you have is a mediocre and poorly created film. I would recommend staying away from it at all costs. Unless you are looking for a film project - a good remake would be a nice addition to the Ghost Story genre of Horror.

Feel free to come and visit my Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chiller lists to see where The House Of Shadows ranked in my charts.

Take Care & Stay Well.