House IV

Many people believe that "HOUSE 1" was a classic horror film and had a great deal of style...but they are sadly mistaken. The first House is the weakest of the series and is one of the most boring horror films ever made, but you gotta give 'em credit for trying to make it decent. Then came "HOUSE 2" a much better film, not scary, but entertaining, and occasionally funny.

For a long time people were trying to find "HOUSE 3", but all they had were House 1,2, and 4. "THE HORROR SHOW" was filmed as "HOUSE 3" and still is known as that film. Then came this, the best of the 4 films. (Well, at least I thought so.)This film has a style that no horror film has captured, a suspense very few horror films have surpassed, and a plot that very few writers could come up with.

A widow and her paralyzed daughter move into the house that their husband/dad left them. Suddenly weird things start happening, to them and everyone around. Great performances by Teri Treas, Denny Dillon, Mellissa Clayton, and of course William Katt form the first "HOUSE" (He doesn't play the same Roger though.)Suspenseful, great story, acting, and music score. **** out of *****.

After the diversion in tone and content in the third entry, House IV is a return to the comedy with horror formula covered in the first two movies. It even has William Katt return as Roger Cobb, although he almost seems like a different character, which is a bit strange. Whatever the case, he has little more than a cameo and is killed off early, with the remainder of the picture focusing on his wife and daughter who live in a haunted house which is coveted by Katt's evil step brother. While this is a pretty limited film in a lot of ways, I sort of found it kind of hard to dislike. Unlike the earlier films, the comedy isn't particularly funny though, while the horror is once again playing second fiddle and is probably even more diluted here than before. Still, it does have good moments such as the scenes with the sinister dwarf businessman Mr Grosso, while the characters and story were good enough to ensure I was never bored.

I really like this series. This House movie contains less action &/or horror than the previous two (whatever happened to House III?), but is still fun. I love the fact that the daughter is paralysed and in a wheelchair -- yet Mom manages to not only get her into the Victorian house (not ground level by any means), but also into her upstairs bedroom without any visible lifts or elevators. Still, this movie does manage to have a good (not great, but good) storyline and fits well into the series. BTW - William Katt's character shouldn't be the same as in the first House. It takes place way too soon for this to be his second wife and second child and the first son to be gone.

"House IV" is the worst movie of the series.

**SPOILERS**

Kelly Cobb (Tracy Treas) and her husband Roger (William Katt) are deciding what to do with their old house, and Roger's brother Burke (Scott Burkholder) is trying to buy it out, which he is unsuccessful in doing. Their Native American neighbor Ezra (Ned Romero) has a secret artifact buried in the basement, that Roger's father knew and promised to keep it intact. During a trip, they get into an accident, killing Roger and injuring their daughter Laurel, (Melissa Clayton) reducing her to being in a wheelchair. Going back to the house, Kelly and Laurel decide to adopt it as a home, like Roger wanted. Her father disapproves of the move, but Kelly and Laurel try to make the most of it. Laurel suggests having a Halloween party, as weird things begin happening around the house. The new housekeeper her father ordered, Verna Klump, (Denny Dillion) seems to think Kelly's crazy for living in the house, and after some restless nights, Kelly has still not accepted his death. Burke is trying to get the house away, and is still unsuccessful, forcing her to think about him more and her to consider not to sell. When even more strange things happen around the house, Kelly is forced to believe her worst nightmares have come true and has targeted her and Laurel.

The Good News: The main thing with this movie is that house's design. It's a large, creepy house, with the perfect design for creepy goings-on. It's got the requisite two level design, a basement, large rooms, and an odd looking face when viewed front on. It's not as creepy as the house in Amityville, but it serves the purpose nicely. For this being a haunted house story, there are the usual things that aren't right or shouldn't be doing that. One of the best ones is the recurring gag of the water faucets spewing forth a sludge rather than water. It's a great visual jump the first time around, as it appears out of nowhere, then it happens again and gets us shocked. There were some other good gags in here, like a hand rising out of a pile of fallen ashes, or seeing Roger's face from the toppings on a pizza. Others are a bit more shocking. Easily the best one is the shower switching from water to blood without her knowing, and she becomes covered in blood searching around the room, and finds a threatening message written in the steam on the mirror. Even her few dreams are pretty creepy, and one provides the film's biggest shock.

The Bad News: This is far more of a talker film than most people may be accustomed to. There are no big set pieces until very late in the movie, and even then, they aren't very spectacular. What's even weirder is that most of them aren't in the least bit scary. It just takes way too long to get anything going, and when something does happen, it is usually just a split second image of something freaky, then it all goes back to normal. At times, it can feel like a drama more than a horror film, and that is its main problem. It feels too much like a dramatic-horror film than a straightforward horror film. Way too much time is spent on Kelly trying to mourn Roger's death and the drama of life after the death of a main family member than it does with giving the house a genuine sense of dread. It's not that the house isn't scary, it's just there's no suspense in the buildup. Stuff just happens and then it's like the supernatural aspects of the film go right out the window.

The Final Verdict: It focuses more on drama than horror, and with some scarier haunted house gags, this might be a little bit more remembered. As it stands, this is a film that will appeal more to those that don't like a lot of shocks or suspense in their films. Its heavy-handed drama will put off those that love action-packed films, who will exercise extreme caution here.

Rated R: Language, Violence and Brief Nudity

The family man Roger Cobb (William Katt) is visiting an old house that belongs to his family with his wife Kelly (Terri Treas) and their daughter Laurel (Melissa Clayton). His stepbrother Burke (Scott Burkholder) wants to buy the house but Roger refuses since he had promised his father to keep the real estate with his family. While returning home, the car has a flat tire and the car overturns. Roger dies and Laurel becomes paraplegic. Kelly decides to move with Kelly to the house and soon weird things happen. Soon she learns that the house was built over an Indian sacred soil crowded of spirits, Meanwhile Burke decides to press Kelly with his gangsters to force her to sell the house. What will she do?

"House IV" is an entertaining film with many flaws where the viewer cannot think. There are good scenes (maybe the shower scene is the best) but the story has many holes. Is Roger Cobb the same writer of "House" that retrieved his son Jimmy? If so, the guy has inherited another old haunted house and left his previous family? Kelly cannot afford to pay the plumber but the man is simply forgotten. Why Verna came to the house? Roger protects his family from beyond but is not capable to save the house? What Kelly and Laurel will do with the house burnt to the ground and without money? Y vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "House IV - A Casa do Espanto" ("House IV - The Frightening House")