La mansión de los condenados

Here is a film that will make your skin crawl. Richard Basehart plays Dr. Chaney, an eye surgeon who performs many eye transplants on his daughter so that she might once again see.

The transfer from VHS to DVD is poor adding to the creepy, dreamy and eerie feel of the sets and scenes. It adds to the stomach turning queasy feel of the story.

Injuries of the eyes always make people feel frightened so this really strikes a cord. Seeing the after effects of the transplant surgeries and watching the prep of the surgeries is truly unsettling.

The make-up effects are OK and I believe there is some real footage being used at some point but what is more disturbing is the doctor's obsession and the story itself of which I don't want to give away here.

Let me just say that the film is hard to watch and I doubt anyone will want to sit through it twice. It's hard to shake. It leaves greasy little snail tracks on your brain. I am a horror fan I can tell you I don't want to see it again. I'm glad the transfer to DVD isn't all that clear. More clarity would have made it harder to watch.

I first saw this in the late 80s n found it to be a bit boring but aft revisiting it recently, i found it to be disturbing, specially the suffering of the eyeless victims caged in the basement is frightening n very disturbing.

Thank God the little girl survives but can someone tell me what happens to the character of Lance Henriksen n the lead character Trish?

The director of this film Michael Pataki directed only two movies n one tv episode but acted in 178 movies, the most famous being Graduation Day, Halloween 4, Rocky 4, Sweet Sixteen, Dead & Buried, Dracula's Dog, Airport '77, The Bat People, Grave of the Vampire, The Return of Count Yorga, Dream no Evil n the tiny role in Easy Rider.

Michael Pataki shamelessly copied from Franju's Eyes Without a Face but somehow succeeded in creating the horror vibe.

No sane fella can find this movie comical cos it is truly disturbing seeing the plight of the eyeless.

While no classic, this low budget thriller exceeds its reputation. Creating a truly oppressive atmosphere-just what the story calls for-it features a strong performance by Richard Basehart and good support from a young Lance Henrikson. Particularly creepy, though not in a horror movie way, is the sequence where Basehart picks up a little girl to be his next subject, which, while not graphic, may be a bit much for some viewers. Yes, it is a sleazy movie, but for this story that is appropriate. The only letdown is the total waste of Gloria Grahame, who is given little to work with. She deserved better.

"Mansion of the Doomed" is an obscure but good horror film, one which I managed to see in a theater when it was first released back in 1976. Strangely enough, the story about a surgeon descending into madness because he was the cause of his daughter's blindness, works on two levels. As the guilt-ridden Dr. Chaney (Richard Basehart) attempts to restore his daughter's sight, literally removing the eyeballs of unwilling victims and transplanting them, one feels pity for this misguided man. In his madness, Chaney also believes he will eventually restore the eyesight of all of his victims, which makes him even more driven. At the same time, the victims are all imprisoned in a basement cell in the doctor's house, where they, themselves eventually go insane. The horror element lies with the attempts of these horribly mutilated souls to both escape and exact revenge on their captors. The cast is very good considering the limited material they had to work with (most of the shocks are visual) and play their parts with feeling. Besides Basehart, there is onetime screen siren Gloria Grahame as his assistant. Unfortunately, she is given little to do, but it's still good to see her. Trish Stewart is the daughter who eventually realizes where all the eyes are coming from. And Lance Henricksen is her boyfriend (and the first victim). Well directed by Michael Pataki and broodingly photographed, "Mansion of the Doomed", despite it's low budget, is an out-of-the-mainstream terror film, which inspires as much sorrow as fear. A DVD has just been released, but the picture quality is below average, and the sound is just OK.

Richard Basehart plays a doctor whose daughter is blinded in a car accident; the remainder of the film focuses on Basehart's attempts to restore his daughter's sight by kidnapping people and removing their eyes for unsuccessful transplants. Not bad horror flick, and very well-acted for such a low-budget effort. Basehart registers strongly as the determined doctor, as does '50's 'bad girl' Gloria Grahame as his devoted assistant, even though she is given very little to do. But be warned, this film is not for those with weak stomachs.