La maison qui tue

Another Amicus Production anthology starring Christopher Lee and the late Peter Cushing. It seems like you can never go wrong with those two - or Amicus for that matter; classic performances by both men indeed. I don't consider these tales terrifying but they offer substance and quality that becomes enjoyable to the viewer. I won't go into any detail concerning each tale, but like usual, they all represent a unified theme. The conclusion is satisfying and I would love the opportunity to own this film. A fun way to spend your afternoon if you cherish the usual setup from Amicus - and, if you're not familiar, why not get acquainted?

Peter Duffel directed this anthology film that stars John Bennett as a Scotland Yard Investigator looking into the disappearance of two films stars(played by "Doctor Who" star Jon Pertwee, and Ingrid Pitt) who were last seen in an old house they had let while filming a new movie. The real estate agent tells him four tales about the mysterious house: 'Method For Murder' - A writer comes to believe his character(a mad strangler) has come to life. 'Waxworks' - Peter Cushing plays a retired man who becomes fascinated with a waxwork version of Salome, much to his regret; 'Sweets For The Sweet' - A man(played by Christopher Lee) treats his young daughter harshly out of fear, bringing an ironic fate upon himself. 'The Cloak' - The film star buys a cloak that turns him into a vampire. Good set of tales here, with fine direction and music score; Last tale is best, a real treat.

*contains very minor spoilers* (I'm sure the back of the box gives away more!)

Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Joss Ackland, Jon Pertwee...hey, this is one heck of a B-movie cast! All my British friends, together in the same horror anthology. Bliss. Mind you, I'm generally not too crazy about Amicus films; they're more screwed-up and cynical than their charming Hammer counterparts. But this time, Amicus got it just about right. The quality of the stories is uneven, but each has merit.

Story #1 is a pretty dull tale about a horror writer (played by Indiana Jones' buddy Denholm Elliot) who is haunted by one of his fictional creations, a strangler called Dominick. There are some interesting twists, yeah, but the characters are such stereotypes that it's hard to care much about them. And there's really nothing more tedious than writers writing about themselves! Stick with it, though, there's better stuff to come.

Story #2 is probably my favorite. The newly-retired Peter Cushing is haunted by a waxwork figure in a horror museum; it bears a striking resemblance to the late love of his life. An old friend, played by Joss Ackland (a very natural and likable performance), arrives and also falls under the wax girl's spell. I didn't really understand this story when I was ten, probably because I had not yet learned to pine for inaccessible women. However, since then I've been convinced that a wooden figure in a playground was modeled on an ex of mine, so suddenly this really resonates! A wonderfully sad, lonely tale.

Story #3 is also great. Christopher Lee gets to play a sort-of good guy, a rare treat for his fans; his daughter, as it turns out, is a little sorceress. The contrast between her sweet appearance and evil aims works rather well.

Story #4 is...ahem...rather silly, actually. It stars Jon "Doctor Who" Pertwee as a flamboyant horror film star. There's a lot of metahumor in this one; for example, Pertwee's character complains about having to star in cheap horror movies within the context of...a cheap horror movie called "The House that Dripped Blood"! "Doctor Who" was cheap, too, so one wonders if Pertwee was secretly complaining about his own career. But, apparently, he was actually spoofing Christopher Lee. The humor is this segment works, but it's strange to end such a dark movie with a goofy installment. I also don't know quite how to feel about seeing Jon get hoisted up on clearly visible wires during a "flying" segment.

After a somewhat dodgy epilogue with more Pertwee facing-making, the whole thing wraps up nicely with some cryptic remarks from an estate agent. On to the next British horror cheapie!

By their very nature, these anthology movies are mixed bags, but this is definitely one of the strongest. It's worth a look for the cast alone, and the middle two installments are definitely superior horror shorts.

When the Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) comes to a precinct to assume the investigation of the disappearance of the horror film actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee), the local officer tells stories about dwellers of the old house rented by Henderson. Segment 1 "Method for Murder" - The horror story writer Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott) moves to the house with his wife to write a novel. He creates a strangler serial-killer and soon he sees the man everywhere in the house. Is Charles becoming insane? Segment 2 "Waxworks" - the retired and lonely bachelor Philip Grayson (Peter Cushing) moves to the house and visits the Wax Museum of Horror in the nearby town. He finds a wax statue of a woman identical to the one he loved, and the owner informs that she is his wife that died some time ago. When his friend and former love rival visits him, he goes to the wax museum and is not capable to leave town impressed with the woman. Philiptries to help his friend with tragic consequences. Segment 3 "Sweets to the Sweet" - the wealthy John Reid (Christopher Lee) hires a teacher to give private education to his lonely daughter that has no friends and no toys. When candles disappear from the store, John has a heart pain during the night and discloses the secret of his wife and daughter to her skeptical teacher. Segment 4 "The Cloak" - the arrogant Paul Henderson seeks an authentic vampire cloak to use in the film he is working and he finds a weird fantasy shop and soon he finds that he becomes a real vampire when he wears the cloak. The skeptical Holloway decides to go to the house during the night and leans the fate of Henderson in a tragic way

"The House That Dripped Blood" is an anthology from horror studio Amicus with the lead story and four segments, all of them engaging and entertaining. Fans of horror films from Amicus and Hammer will certainly not be disappointed with the segments and the conclusion. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa que Pingava Sangue" ("The House That Dripped Blood")

Four stories written by Robert Bloch about various people who live in a beautiful, old mansion and what happens to them. The first has Denholm Elliott as a novelist who sees the killer he's writing about come to life. Some spooky moments and the twist at the end was good. The second has Peter Cushing becoming obsessed with a wax figure resembling his dead wife. The third has Christopher Lee who has a child (Chloe Franks) and is scared of her. It all leads up to a pretty scary ending (although the ending in the story was MUCH worse). The last is an out and out comedy with Jon Petwee and Ingrid Pitt (both chewing the scenery) and a cape that turns people into vampires! There's also a cute line about Christopher Lee playing Dracula.

This is a good horror anthology--nothing terrifying but the first one and the ending of the third gave me a few pleasurable little chills. Also the fourth one is actually very funny and Pitt makes a VERY sexy vampire! Also the house itself looks beautiful...and very creepy. It's well-directed with some nice atmospheric touches. A very good and unusual movie score too. All in all a good little horror anthology well worth seeking out. Try to see it on DVD--the Lions Gate one looks fantastic with strong colors and great sound.