Maniac mansion

Surprsingly well-directed "gothic" tale of a group of people that "accidentally" get together in an old house in the middle of nowhere one creepy night only to find that, one by one, people start to disappear and/or die. Yep, this kind of story has been done over and over again, but this version works well for a number of reasons. The acting is pretty good from the all foreign cast. The lassies are lovely and have some talent. The characters that are meant to be creepy pull that off as well. The director Francisco Lara Polop creates a good deal of tension and breathes a lot of life into some otherwise stale plot contrivances. The mysterious old woman and the gigantic bald chauffeur popping up here and there really added some scares to the film. The story, even when it became clear what was going on, was nurtured in such a way as to still keep you involved. I liked Murder Mansion quite a bit. It is a great film to watch alone at night. Just remember that the road less taken sometimes is the road one should avoid.

1972's "The Murder Mansion" aka "Maniac Mansion" is a coproduction between Spain ("La Mansion de la Niebla" or The Mansion of the Mists) and Italy ("Quando Marta Urlo dalla Tomba" or When Marta Screamed from the Grave), exterior shooting outside Madrid, impressive fog shrouded interiors on Italian sets. A rather protracted opening with five people in three vehicles engaged in a spot of highway chicken before the narrative thrust centers on Analia Gade's Elsa, whose wealth is the only thing that binds her to faithless husband Ernest (Alberto Dalbes). Hard drinking Porter (Franco Fantasia) picks up comely hitchhiker Laura (Anna Lisa Nardi), only to lose her to motorcyclist Fred (Andres Resino), while Elsa's attorney Tremont (Eduardo Fajardo) and wife (Ylena Samarina) insist on a late night journey through a treacherous fog that finds all six stuck together in a desolate mansion near an abandoned cemetery. The owner is a beautiful young woman, Martha Clinton (Evelyn Stewart), relating tales of how a series of vampire attacks drove off all the local villagers, and how her own grandmother (whose portrait hangs above the fireplace) died with her chauffeur in a car crash 30 years earlier. None of this sits well with an increasingly agitated Elsa, who first met Fred and Laura while running away from specters approaching through the mist, the apparent ghosts of the long dead duo. We also see flashbacks to Elsa's student days, jealous of her father's affair with a schoolmate and still harboring a certain incestuous resentment that eventually plays out in unexpected fashion. Before that climactic burst there's atmosphere to spare but little spark until the final third, when Fred's opportune snooping reveals a haunting being conducted with tape recordings and a number of disguises, but who's doing it and why? A distinct lack of real supernatural forces may prove a letdown for first time viewers, but on this occasion patience has its reward with plenty of corpses piling up in the final reel. Better known in Italy as Ida Galli, Evelyn Stewart was no stranger to Mario Bava, in both "Hercules in the Haunted World" and "The Whip and the Body," then a costarring role opposite John Drew Barrymore in "War of the Zombies," while German-born blonde Ingrid Garbo contributes some eye candy in an almost naked cameo that can't compare with her fanged femininity in Paul Naschy's "Count Dracula's Great Love" (as Elsa's elderly father, Jorge Rigaud was just coming off "Horror Express," opposite Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing).

Unusual and likable Spanish/Italian co-production that plays something like a seventies Spanish, Old Dark House with giallo elements. Split more or less into three parts, the beginning takes place on the road, the middle introduces us to all the varied peoples holed up in the mansion in the fog and the final 25minutes are pretty wild action all the way. In truth there is nothing particularly violent or sexual but all the ladies are lovely, we really don't know what's going on any more than they do and we care enough to stick with it to find out. Worth it? Yes, I reckon so, it's just that little bit different and even the 'posh' English dubbing seems to help the strangeness that permeates the whole film.

Despite its hoary silent-era plot, this is a nicely atmospheric minor chiller from Spain. Actually, it's as much a mystery-thriller as a horror pic, having some stylistic elements in common with the Edgar Wallace series, but the spooky mansion and cemetery sequences would not be amiss in a Margheriti or Corman classic. The director and art director fill the screen with significant details and the brooding color cinematography is suitably eerie, if a mite garish (it was the 70s, after all). The cast is attractive, particularly Lisa Nardi, who's quite a dish in shiny leather jacket and tight bellbottoms; unfortunately, it looks like a few nude scenes were clipped for the American release. There's no gore to speak of, nor much Rollinesque artiness, just good old-fashioned gothic chills. Definitely worth a look for connoisseurs, but not quite a "keeper".

Lost in a sudden, thick fog, various motorists end up stranded at the MANIAC MANSION (aka: THE MURDER MANSION) for the night. Weirdness ensues, with lumbering specters and the apparent absence of geographic location.

Once inside the manor, things get even more odd, when the travelers meet Martha Clinton (Evelyn Stewart) who spins tales of local vampirism and ancestral witchcraft. There's also her giant chauffeur lurking about the grounds! Just where have these people wound up?

MM is a wonderfully creepy movie, with the perfect setting. There's a cemetery right outside, and labyrinthine catacombs beneath the sprawling estate.

Filled with an atmosphere of perpetual gloom, it plays like an extended episode of Rod Serling's NIGHT GALLERY. This is also the movie's biggest weakness, as it could have had about 20 minutes shaved off. It tends to go down some rabbit holes, like over-long flashback sequences and supernatural angles that don't add up.

Otherwise, it's a highly enjoyable cavalcade of ghoulish goulash with a nice double cross, double twist ending!

Co-stars the breathtaking Lisa Leonardi as Lisa...