Das Haus der Verdammten

Chock full of 70's B-television staples, House Where Evil Dwells is the perfect movie to watch while getting drunk with a bunch of friends. It's hard to beat ghosts who must open and close doors to get in and out of the house they're haunting (silly Susan George opens the door after a monk exorcises the house and lets them all back in!) and giant attacking crabs muttering in Japanese. And not to be missed is the last scene in which out-of-shape Doug McClure is possessed by the ghost of a Samurai and awkwardly kicks and chops at MOW stud Edward Albert (oh, Trampas!) High camp that is sure to please.

This generally above-average horror entry is rather familiar plot-wise and, near the end, devolves - after a silly "exorcism" sequence - into a martial-arts actioner! But it offers some intriguing ideas, some creepy sound effects, a graphically bloody, and gripping, opening sequence and a surprisingly grim conclusion. It could've used a more talented leading man, though. (**)

Director Kevin Connor and wannabe action-hero / romantic lead Doug McClure, re-team in this ghost story set in Japan. They had been moderately successful together in the 1970's, with the likes of 'The Land that Time Forgot' (1975), 'At the Earth's Core' (1976) etc. Without plastic monsters to carry the narrative along though, the results are shabby and derivative in the most corny way.

The film begins with a prologue set in the 19th Century, with a samurai husband killing his wife and her lover before committing suicide. A move forward to the present introduces married couple Ted & Laura, visiting Japan and moving in to the house where the tragedy took place.

No surprises as to what happens next, with the spirits of the dead starting to take over the new inhabitants with family friend Alex (McClure) assuming the role of the wife's lover.

Everything rumbles clumsily along with the elegance and grace of a charging elephant, to an inevitable ( but surprisingly downbeat ) conclusion. Main points of interest are two feeble decapitations ( 'The Omen' has a lot to answer for in promoting this as a standard horror set-piece ), and the love-making scenes featuring the doe-eyed but extremely kinky Susan George. The first is a long 'Don't Look Now' inspired piece with her hubby, complete with piano music; the second a much shorter (probably at her insistence) entanglement with McClure, both looking pretty uncomfortable. Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining and both scenes show of her fantastic knockers so all is not lost.

Overall I can't decide whether 'The House where Evil Dwells' is rubbish, watchable rubbish, or entertaining in a masochistic kind of way. If you're not into the genre there is nothing here at all, but for horror fans there is probably enough to provoke the odd rye smile and appreciative nod of respect for effort.

BEST SCENE - in any other film the big, black, tree-climbing, Japanese-muttering mechanical crabs would have stolen the show. They are eclipsed though by the legendary family meal scene, where a ghostly head appears in the daughters soup. On seeing this apparition she asks what kind of soup it is (!!!!), to be told beef and vegetable, before uttering the immortal line "Ugh - there's an awful face in my soup". If this wasn't enough the reply is "C'mon, eat your soup for Daddy." Laurel & Hardy rest in piece.

I won't pretend this isn't a bad movie. Luckily it's often so bad it's entertaining. First off, the ghosts are ridiculous. A man catches his wife cheating and kills her and her lover violently. He then takes his own life. Later after they become ghosts they must have decided to make up and be friends.The three of them haunt the house where the murders take place. Mostly they just stand around shouting in Japanees. Giant mumbleing crabs will make you laugh out loud and must be seen!!! A terrible fight scene climax tops it all off. There is some suprising gore in this film, but it;s not really scary. The scariest thing about this movie is the lead man mustache which seems to spread on forever.

Director Kevin Connor telegraphs every element of the simple plot: a ghost love triangle from 1840 Kyoto is doomed to remain at the house where husband killed his wife, her lover and himself. New tenants Ted (Edward Albert), an American photo-journalist in Japan plus his wife Laura (Susan George) and daughter Amy (Amy Barrett) fall prey to the pesky ghosts, who ultimately involve family friend Alex (Doug McClure) in a sexy and bloody reprise of the triangle.

Otami (Mako Hattori), the original adulterous wife, set everything in motion by stealing an ivory-carved fetish from a witch, that Laura finds in the house and keeps as a talisman.

Pic plods along, with the transparent, double-exposure ghosts periodically moving into and possessing the leads' bodies, while causing typically unsettling phenomena in the nondescript house. Only scare occurs when Amy and a femme friend are subjected one night to a plague of insects and large "possessed" crabs, a throwback to the cute rubber beasties Connor previously spotlighted in his series of Doug McClure sci-fiers such as "The Land That Time Forgot".

Contrived final reel is quite funny, with a local Zen monk performing a "house exorcism" on cue, but Ted disobeying orders and letting Alex in, allowing the ghosts to scurry back into the house. At first the ghosts act as a rooting section for the brawling Americans, but then possess their bodies to turn the fight into a karate match and ultimately a bloodbath.

Cast is earnest in this silly assignment, with George delivering a convincing U. S. accent and shedding her clothes ably (along with the other leads) for okay softcore sex scenes. Studio work (at Toei) and views of Japan are mundane. Malevolent "House" titles in the horror genre remain a durable format, with pic falling in the realm of Dan Curtis's "Burnt Offerings" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" plus a nod to all those Nipponese ghost pictures such as "Kwaidan".

My review was written in May 1982 after a Midtown Manhattan screening.