Le manoir des fantasmes

"Dark Places" begins with an elderly man dying in some sort of asylum. Soon Edward (Robert Hardy) moves into the abandoned mansion owned by the dead man, as apparently he willed the place to him. The place is an absolute mess and looks as if it's sat derelict for decades. Supposedly, within the manor is some sort of hidden fortune...and folks who run the asylum ALSO want to get their hands on the money. The problem is that the longer Edward stays there, the longer ghosts from the manor begin to take over the drive him over the edge. How will all this end?

The main story idea isn't bad at all. But the way the story is handled technically is pretty bad. All the 'special effects' that show you Edward is experiencing bad things are more annoying and hard on the brain than anything else. The worst is at the 100 minute mark as well as those ultra-cheesy bats...they just look cheap and stupid. Overall, not a terrible movie but one that also isn't very good and is, surprisingly, a bit dull.

"Dark Places" tells of a man who inherits a house that is reputed to contain a stash of money hidden somewhere by the original owner. The new owner moves in, despite warnings from local people that the house is cursed, and enthusiastically begins hunting for the loot. Unfortunately for him, there are other people trying to get to the cash before he does, but worse still, the house really is haunted.

"Dark Places" is a moderately successful film that does a good job of weaving a mystery with it's storyline. The acting is also all pretty good, and with such star names as Christopher Lee and Joan Collins, it's amazing that this isn't one of the major British horror films of the 1970's, but once it gets going you'll soon realise that, as with a lot of other UK horror films of this period, the chances of something significantly exciting happening are pretty slim.

What doesn't help is having the lead character played by Robert Hardy, who, while being an excellent actor and playing the character well, just does not have the "leading man" quality required to carry the entire focus of the film. Joan Collinsd and Christopher Lee look great in their supporting roles, but then again, they always do. What does work well is the way the film starts to move between present day and flashback as Hardy starts to uncover more of the truth about what went on in the house before it's original owner died, and what the truth is behind all the stories of murder. The flashback scenes are great, and they reminded me the great things some 1970's films from the UK could do with a period setting. Look out for a fantastic cameo from Jean Marsh as the wife in the flashbacks, although many men may be more entranced by the young Jane Birkin as the governess, even though she doesn't do very much.

Sadly there's no real meat on this bony story, but it does have a couple of mildly grisly scenes and a kind of surprise ending, so it's fairly enjoyable.

I mean it.

I investigated systematically on the ghost genre and I can say this is one of the scariest ones. It surprised me, i didn't expected much from it, but it's very skillfully done, the way the flashbacks (or dimensional passages) start and stop are a masterwork.

It's a sort of a cheesy film but somehow, at the same time, is an excellent piece of cinema.

Here's the scariest scene of all my investigation: the one where our hero is knocking on the house's walls to find the place where the money is hidden, as he is tortured by the children voices, and they go "no, no ,no, no , no..."

You should see it if you didn't. And in the case you like it, try "The Haunting", "The Innocents" and "Picture of Jenny".

As far as I know, director Don Sharp, from the same genetation as Terence Fisher, Freddie Francis, Val Guest and Sidney Hayers, did not direct any horror films, except KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, CURSE OF THE FLY, and this one, an haunted mansion scheme film, his first. Don Sharp was a damn good and efficient film maker, very professional, and he had no proper style. He also made some AVENGERS series episodes, as John Hough, who also made a good haunted mansion mystery yarrn: LEGEND OF HELL, same year as this one. Nothing to do, concerning this one - DARK PLACES - with the today THE CONJURING or SINISTER US films series. It remains British but so efficient without being really horrific. It remains more a psychological drama than a pure horror film.

Dark Places is not a very well known seventies British horror movie; probably owing to the fact that it's not a Hammer movie, but it features an interesting story and a great cast, and overall this is certainly a very decent little thriller! The story has some fairly strong horror themes running throughout, but personally I wouldn't say this is a horror flick; Dark Places is a thriller, and the main focus is on the thing that makes the world go round - money, and a huge stash of it. At the centre of the film is a spooky old house, once owned by a mental patient who died. The house has now being taken over by the Asylum administrator who inherited the house. This is bad news for a few different people in the village - mostly notably scheming couple Dr Mandevile and Sarah. The reason being that before he died, the owner of the house hid a huge sum of money somewhere within the walls and the pair have been on the trail of it ever since. Not wanting to risk losing their cash, Sarah and the doctor hatch a plan to turn the situation to their advantage...

The key thing about this film is the old house at the centre, and therefore the chilling atmosphere stemming from it. Director Don Sharp has a history in horror, with a handful of films made for Hammer, as well as the excellent cult trash classic 'Psychomania' to his name, so it's quite unsurprising that this film has a horror atmosphere. The plot is well done also, with many different characters having a stake in the money at the centre of the story, and thus ensuring that the film remains interesting and varied. Dark Places features a very good cast, which makes it even more surprising that this film isn't better known. The great Christopher Lee is the biggest standout in his role as the doctor with an ulterior motive, while Joan Collins gives good support and provides some nice eye candy as his accomplice. The film also features performances from fellow British stars Robert Hardy and Herbert Lom, who also do well. Overall, this might not be a masterpiece; but it's certainly a good film and comes recommended to fans of British horror!